Please include any reasons you can think of for an organization to succeed or fail.
F -Continuing to do what we've always done because we've always done it. Forgetting to ask the question of how certain work contributes to the vision (being wary of pet projects or personal agendas). S - Being willing to take risks that will move the needle towards the vision. Part of accountability, but a winning organization celebrates wins and all the "little people" who helped make the win happen
fail - lack of leadership, unclear roles & responsibilities, poor internal communication, lack of policy to protect assets succeed – effective public interface, people working on objectives they're passionate about, interpersonal respect & accountability, clear long term goals
It helps organizations to have someone in an paid administrative role of some kind that is tasks to assist the executive to keep things moving along, make sure paperwork is completed, manage day to day operations (banking, minutes, sending meeting agendas etc). To take the "pain in the butt stuff" off of the volunteer board members.
Unaware of the time and effort needed, and cost of a venture (COP & ROI). Many people make it through, but many do not. Knowledge, careful planning, and support or coaching along the way can help a new organization or business succeed
Purpose is not solving a customer/client issue
A successful organization will make progress between each meeting, advancing towards goals and projects.
Q1.1 What have you learned about the needs & gaps in the agrifood sector and the expectations from stakeholders (the community) New NAFMA is to serve?
There is a gap between the small to medium "producers" and the end users
We have certainly seen passion in the room from those who attended sessions, but I think there is a gap in truly understanding demand and supply. I think it is important to have products PULLED into the marketplace rather than PUSHED like we see in the commodity world. If we take supply out of the equation for now, is price the only factor inhibiting demand or are there other factors and how do we mitigate them? Gap in close/accessible agri-food processing infrastructure Gap in food production knowledge because agriculture has become so commodity and export focused. Gap in knowing who is out there. Every session we had saw people finding out about their neighbors with connections being made. We have to do better than just letting the players find each other accidentally, whether that is producer - producer, producer - processor, producer/processor - other stakeholders.
A lot of "great ideas" over and over again: new directories, maps, platforms, societies, resource banks, etc. etc. but the challenge has been longevity, coordination, and cohesion. And willingness to cooperate, aggregate, share & network assets. Groups work in silos, valuable energy is lost to duplication or fragmentation. Need more than one-off tools or temporary initiatives. Small producers & processors lose out to multinational "food" giants with marketing power, brand recognition & distribution to convenience markets. Need to promote new (old) business principles, foster collaboration, support & amplify existing efforts, and hold space for collective strategy.
That there needs to be people and a place that can keep people connected and a place that people in the industry can reach out to. A place that houses resources, has a website that is kept up to date that shares information on the who/what/where of those in the sector and a group that can apply for funding to get things happening (projects, events etc.) There is still a desire for people to connect face to face and establish new business to business relationships that grow from their commonalities of their passion and/or desire for good food. That there is opportunity to help those who have food to sell it in different ways (home sales, farmers markets, grocery stores, direct to caterers/restaurants etc). We need to create awareness of what those opportunities are. That on-line food sales are great for pick up or curb side - but anything that has to be shipped pushes the costs to the point where it is not viable for most people. Transportation of any food product is expensive and anything that we can do as a group to solve the logistical problems would be a benefit. The reduction of services and resources from the province (eg. roping the web) are missed and there appears to be a desire to have those resources available again. As farms and businesses transition to the next generation, we see different ideas being generated about how to do the business differently and how they can are looking at options of not just hauling cattle to the feedlot, or selling all their grain for export. Agritourism in mostly fairly new to our operators and there is a growing opportunity and desire for consumers to make a connection with land, food and community. This group can bring together the partners that are in the tourism side with those that are in the food side and connect those dots. I thought going into this project that most rural kids had a good background around where food comes from, and I have discovered this is not the case. Education is needed on all levels and ages and particularly with our children who will grow that knowledge and bring some life long changes to how they look and understand food.
While there are opportunities in the local food sector, they are not always easy to enter, or for businesses to expand or change. In order for businesses to expand, they need: time, the know-how, understanding the regulations, direction and steps to follow. While they are smart individuals and very capable, the time needed to run their current business and explore new options, is limited. They also need to see a return for all their time and effort, and these factors are enough to stop them from continuing to pursue an opportunity. To expand into a larger market means a place or system to aggregate, store and distribute food (a cooperative, or distribution center). It needs someone to step up who can focus on this role. Producers are often too busy. Maybe it requires a non-producer that takes this on as their business, or producers may need to collaborate and hire someone.
Our agriculture model is too focused on commodities like cereal grains and canola, produced primarily for export. As farming operations continue to increase in size, fewer people are left in rural areas and many communities are dying. At the same time, most the food we consume is being imported. There needs to be an increased focus on using our land resource for growing our own food. There needs to be an investment made in both increasing the demand for food grown here as well as increasing the supply and in the infrastructure and resources to support growth in supply and demand. People all along the supply-demand chain need to be brought together to make this happen.
1) need for a "one stop shop" for people to able to access local food providers/growers. 2) basic education on how to buy locally 3) local food available in stores (either grocery and/or local stores that want to offer local sourced food) 4) regulatory changes that allow local safe food to sold 5) education to address negative perceptions of buying from a local producer, processor, etc 6) more support and more promotion of farmers/local markets 7) we need stakeholders to stop waiting for someone else to do the work or come up with the solution/plan to make this work
Distribution is still a need/gap especially for rural (who New NAFMA is serving)
Connect businesses in the agri-food sector to the public while being supported by public enterprise.
Q1.2 As New NAFMA works toward its Vision, what will be the impacts on communities/economy?
A voice for the small to medium producers to say they are here and here is what we grow or raise or produce
Better knowledge of our neighbors and how they fit into the wheel More collaboration between players or maybe it is more reliance on each other Fewer agri-food imports; more self-sufficient communities Increased jobs across the sector More services to support the community Less rural out-migration
Community/economic food system Initiatives will be more able to move their work forward, multisolve, benefit from work being done by other groups/regions.
Those in all parts of the food wheel will feel connected and have had an opportunity to step into and get involved in the food system (locally, regionally or to whatever extent they need) and to find out ways to fill the gaps and solve some struggles. Many more people will know who is growing, raising, producing foods and be able to refer and make connections of buyers and sellers. Keeping those dollars circulating at a local/regional level. That our children won't think that food only comes from the grocery store. That our local community, our region and our country can become more food secure and that we will be less reliant on the ups and downs of markets, politics and weather conditions. That the environment will be less impacted by us shipping so much food from thousands and thousands of miles to the places it is sold.
A greater presence of local food - in retail, restaurants, farmers markets, catering and events; easier opportunities to get into the market (knowledge, training, access).
Increased economic activities related to agrifood enterprises, drawing more people to rural communities for employment opportunities. Schools, hospitals and other businesses will benefit from population growth.
1) closer stronger local communities 2) better more thriving economies (not sure of exact number but when you spend $ 1 at a locally owned and operated store $ 0.66 get spent in the community) 3) buying local keeps fund in the community but also allows producers to diversify revenue streams for their farms. allowing smaller operations to succeed 4) when I go to the Farmers Market there is this sense of accomplishment/happiness by buying from person/local producer. people seem much happier. I do not get that feeling/vibe from people at the grocery store
Impacts would be driven by the goals - so can't articulate impacts until goals are set
Small businesses will thrive as they are connected with the public. Public will be educated and clearly understand where they can access local foods in their communities.