Practice Note: How to stimulate the development of short food supply chains and farmers' markets through digital platforms?

To foster the development of SFSCs and in particular of farmers' markets (FMs), Coldiretti, the main farmers’ organization at the Italian and European levels, developed and promoted the use of a smartphone application called 'Campagna Amica', aiming at raising consumers’ awareness about the benefits associated with FMs. The pilot action in the context of the Strength2Food project aimed at exploring the effectiveness of the mobile application “Campagna Amica”. The key recommendations coming out of this pilot action are as follows: For practitioners (both organizations and farmers): - Foster cooperation among farmers via joint initiatives and collective management systems; - Promote the establishment of indoor, strategically located FMs; - Cultivate resilience and adaptive capacity; - Contribute to consumer food education; - Promote the use of digital platforms and tools for communication and marketing; - Improve professional marketing skills; For policy makers and public authorities: - Increase the number of FMs and food fairs in urban areas; - Promote public food procurement procedures that favor the use of agricultural products sourced locally; - Encourage the use of indoor public areas for new FMs; - Promote educational initiatives for citizens on SFSCs; - Provide support and visibility to SFSC initiatives; - Offer financial support to agricultural producers and FMs through national and EU funds.