First mapping results available
As to the roles in the food chain, we see in the pie chart below that the largest portion of the interviewed companies are primary producers (53%), followed by institutional kitchens, cafeterias, and restaurants (18%), and retailers (16%). These results, just like the others presented below, are not yet reflecting the real situation in the region. At the moment, we can only observe a first trend. By collecting more data we will see whether the trend continues or will be reversed.
The main residual flows are illustrated in the word cloud below. We see lots of food wasted, the reason of which needs to be cleared up in further inquiries. Also the volumes of plastic, manure and oil give reason to develop possibilities for resource recovery.
About 62% of the interviewed entrepreneurs are actively involved in environmental and/or social matters. In the word cloud, the most important items are presented: livestock grazing, meadow bird protection, organic production and no use of pesticides.
Some 59% of the interviewed entrepreneurs want to learn from other SMEs in the region. The most important themes are: marketing, new (business) opportunities, financial management and general knowledge creation.
During the winter and spring of 2017, the mapping process will continue. Market data concerning food supply and demand will be collected and transferred into a database. The increase in data volume will allow sufficiently accurate results for analysing matches and mismatches between regional food supply and demand.
To be continued!