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Introduction 2

Objectives 3

Methodology. 3

Results 4

I) What are farmers markets? 4 A) Elements of definition. 4 B) Products that could be found at farmers markets. 6 C) Emergence of farmers markets in the world. 6 II) Irish farmers markets: a heterogeneous situation. 8 A) A late development for farmers markets 8 B) Legal frame for farmers markets in Ireland. 9 C) Types of “farmers markets” encountered in Ireland. 11 D) Conclusion on Irish Farmers markets. 20 III) French markets: a good model? 21 A) France: the country of markets 21 B) Regulation of public markets in France. 21 C) Public Farmers markets: the “Marches de Producteurs de Pays” (Country Farmers Markets) example. 26 D) Private farmers markets. 28 E) Conclusion on french farmers markets 32 IV) Retailers’ competitive factors with farmers markets. 33 A) Premium/speciality label. 33 B) Local sourcing. 35 C) Difficulty to deal with retailers. 38 D) Conclusion. 38

Conclusions and recommendations. 38

I) The need of regulation to control farmers markets 38 II) The need for homogeneity: certification scheme and national organisation. 39 III) Beware of too strict criteria. 40 A) No Farmer only criteria. 41 B) Allowance of traders/crafts 41 C) Quality criteria. 42 D) Farmers markets at the farm. 42

Annex. 43

References. 44

Introduction

Over the last thirty years, the Irish food sector has known many changes. The main changes have occurred concerning on the one hand structural change, and in the other hand on strategic changes (Philipe Cantillon ). The concentration of the market place, the market entry by foreign groups and the growth in market share for symbol groups are the main structural changes observed over the past 30 years. Concerning strategic changes, they could be described as the increase of private label and the centralization of retail