Mid-tier supply chains/values-based food supply chains have emerged, in both France and the United States, as viable alternatives for small and mid-sized farms that had previously struggled. These supply chains deliver more products to a larger region than short supply chains such as farm-direct markets and are distinguished from the dominant long supply chains by (1) products that are differentiated from the mainstream based on superior quality, environmental stewardship and social responsibility; and (2) the characteristics of the strategic relationships that link the supply chain participants. On the demand side, regional supermarkets, restaurants, public and private institutional buyers, and individual consumers have demonstrated their eagerness to seek out and pay premiums for these types of high-quality food products that are delivered via trusted and transparent supply chains and characterized by their authentic farming stories. The set of case studies presented in this paper (three from each country) will highlight both the parallels and differences in the development of these innovative supply chains between two countries with quite dissimilar agricultural and food sector traditions and policies.
Agriculture of the middle » désigne, dans le contexte nord-américain, des systèmes alimentaires qui se positionnent entre marché des commodités et circuits courts. L'objectif de cet article est de décrypter ce que recouvre cette notion aux États-Unis puis d'examiner comment, en enrichissant les questionnements produits par les travaux sur les circuits courts et les circuits de proximité, elle interroge et permet d'éclairer l'organisation de systèmes agri-alimentaires émergeant en ex-région Rhône-Alpes à l'interface entre circuits courts et circuits longs. Après avoir mis en perspective la notion d'agriculture du milieu avec des concepts plus connus en France, ceux de circuit de proximité, de système alimentaire localisé (SYAL) et de système alimentaire territorialisé (SAT), les auteurs proposent la notion de Systèmes alimentaires du milieu (SYAM) pour appréhender ces situations d'entre-deux. MOTS-CLÉS : agriculture du milieu, système alimentaire, circuit court, Rhône-Alpes "Agriculture of the middle" as a new understanding of Rhône-Alpes Agriculture? In North America, the notion of "Agriculture of the middle" has been proposed to deine food systems between commodities market and short supply chains. The objective of this article is irst to understand what the reality of Agriculture of the middle in the USA is. Authors evaluate the relevance of the concept to further extend the results on alternative food systems studies and to analyze new forms of agri-food systems emerging in Rhône-Alpes. After a comparison of agriculture of the middle with several concepts in use in France, the notion of "Food system of the middle" is introduced to understand these in between systems. (JEL: L1, R11).
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