The food retail mass market strengthens the spatial and sociocultural disconnection between social agents located at the edges of the food value chain, that is, producers and consumers. Moreover, it makes it hard for small producers to survive, unable to compete in a distribution system centered on large agribusinesses that supply large volumes of agricultural produce, whether fresh or processed. This caused the productive abandonment of many peri-urban and rural productive lands in Spain, which covered local and regional markets._x000D_
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In view of this worrying situation, from the productive, economic, and territorial point of view, apart from traditional direct selling strategies, many local projects which value direct contact with producers, nearness, and trust have arisen in many parts of Spain, especially in urbanised areas. _x000D_
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Consumption groups and cooperatives of producers give examples of good practices in redesigning the food value chain from the side of the consumers. These projects boost the relationship between producers and consumers and value-productive processes from a social an economic point of view._x000D_
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In the Region of Valencia, there are more than 35 agroecological projects designed by consumers and producers which have grown in parallel to mass retail distribution._x000D_
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In this research, 32 consumption groups and 3 producer cooperatives have been contacted in order to know their structure, management, and potential to become an alternative to the food mass retail system._x000D_
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Ana Espinosa Seguí / Raffaella Rose / Obdulia Monteserín Abella
University of Alicante (Spain) / University Jaume I de Castellón (Spain)

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ID Abstract: 305