AGRICULTURE & CONSUMPTION: ZERO KM MARKETS HAVE CAPTURED THE COVER OF “MICKEY MOUSE”. COLDIRETTI: A SALES SLUMP IN HIS SUPERMARKETS PUSH UNCLE SCROOGE TO VISIT FARMERS MARKETS WHERE HIS NEPHEWS SHOP

Zero km farmers markets have captured even the cover of “Mickey Mouse”, one of the most famous weekly comic books. In the last issue, farmers markets attract customers because they offer, “home grown healthy food” and stingy Uncle Scrooge says, “After having lost a fortune, I now try to save as much as I can”. This is one of the curiosities of the workshop “Food consumption: structural changes, new trends, responses to the crisis” promoted by Coldiretti Group in 2013 and coordinated by Professor Fabrizio De Filippis. The decline in sales in his supermarkets - reports Coldiretti – pushes Scrooge to visit farmers market where even his nephews shop. “The products are zero km from vegetable gardens around Duckburg,” explain Huey, Dewey and Louie, “so you avoid long, air polluting trips and the fruits and vegetables are excellent because they are freshly picked.”

Grandma Duck is of course one of the farmers who, besides selling her wares, gives out recipes and advice on gardening. Scrooge and his rival Rockerduck then attempt to exploit the farmers market idea and expand it on an industrial level, but forcing the natural pace only gives a poor product, so their customers go back to buying at farmers markets. The cover story in the latest issue of the Italian edition of the popular comic book, “Uncle Scrooge and the country in the city” is an important recognition of the success direct sales by farmers have had in times of crisis in Italy. Sales have increased 30%, in contrast with the general trend that shows a decline in all forms and distribution for all types of products, according to the Coldiretti analysis on the Italian statistics company, Istat, data for July 2011.

In 2010, 8.3 million Italians purchased products in the more than 800 “Country Friendly Farmers Markets” located in all the Italian regions, with 16.000 participating farmers. The success of direct sales by farmers is the result - says Coldiretti - of the search for optimal combination of quality, safety and price, but also the increasing perception of social and environmental responsibility with every purchase. In the Country Friendly farmers markets - continues Coldiretti – one finds local products that did not have to take long journeys in polluting means of transportation, offered for sale directly by the farmer in respect of precise rules of conduct and an environmental code of ethics verified and controlled by a third party. 62% of visitors to farmers markets are women, 48 percent between 35 and 54 years old and 68% have medium-high education level. The choice of shopping at a farmers market is strongly influenced by healthy food, product information and being reassured about what you put in the pot, according to the Coldiretti / SWG survey. The amount of time a person spends in a farmers market “getting to know” it is on average 32 minutes-this is very high considering the size of the structure. Some of the reasons consumers shop in farmers markets are: there is a wider range of products, opening times are flexible, organization of group purchasing with the producers and the opportunity to visit the farm or “adopt” a production.

The most bought products at farmers markets, Coldiretti points out are, in this order: vegetables, fruit, cheese, cold cuts, wine, milk, bread, fruit conserves, dried fruit, cookies and legumes, and the average amount of money spent is 26 euros per visit. The degree of satisfaction is extremely high for 75% of shoppers, average for 20% while it is low for only 2% and 3% did not respond. The positive assessment - concluded Coldiretti - is confirmed by the fact that 91% of the customers recommend this form of purchase to others by word of mouth, which is the only way, these markets are “advertised”.