The role of public administrations in promoting open municipal markets

Abstract

Agroecological transitions require steps to be taken to shorten food circuits that prioritize local food markets and their social dimension. Such a measure would include open municipal markets (OMMs) because of their role in promoting the social nature of the agroecological transitions. In rural areas, OMMs managed by public administrations are facing a major crisis. This paper aims to decipher the claims of the actors involved in the OMM crisis and to focus on strategies that could be taken by municipalities. Semistructured questionnaires, direct observations, and participative workshops with stallholders, consumers, local producers, and the researchers of the university were used to analyze social relationships within the framework of OMMs in the Province of Girona, Catalonia. The actors revealed a lack of connection between collectives and within the same group of stallholders. The absence of shared aspirations, along with the scant interest of public bodies in investing in the markets or recognizing their economic and social role, have all contributed to the current decline in OMMs. Open municipal markets are an active asset that are at risk of being abandoned in remote rural areas. If the actors in the market could collaborate, this would help to encourage the local economy and community cohesion and to actively promote the social dimension of the agroecological transitions.