Getting a Sense of Agriculture: Visitor Experiences from an Agricultural Fair

Abstract

This article explores how different visitors experience the performances, promotions and each other at Denmark's most visited agricultural fair. Visitors acknowledge differences between urban and rural visitors but no tension or conflict. Embodied knowledge and tactile experiences seem like the most legitimate way to understand agriculture from the perspective of both rural-urban and farming/non-farming visitors, and they are also a key thematic focus in this article. Some performances even provide the visitor with a sense of trust in agriculture which, temporarily at least, can mitigate concerns about the overall food production system. Making sense of the activities at the fair seems to be achieved through embodied experiences as well as broader cultural identifications relating to and integrating images and experiences of landscapes, people and animals and their interaction. The results of this article should thus contribute to the sociological body of work trying to make sense of the changing meanings and roles of agriculture and farmers to the general public, as well as provide insights into how such meanings are created and maintained both inside and outside of the event.

Agricultural Fairs Management: A Literature Review

“…Lastly, due to the fact that the majority of articles broadly address the historical context and the significance of fairs for society, the conclusions tend to discuss identified issues and suggest future work with a focus on data collection, as seen in Mitchell (2006). There were also discussions about the application of surveys or interviews to visitors, collecting positive and negative data from the fair, but without proposing objective solutions to the problems identified, as presented in Larsen (2017).…”

“…The well-being of society is also prioritized in social management, focusing on prioritizing the common interests of the participating groups and those impacted by the event (Cançado et al, 2016). In Kile and Chick (2002) and Larsen (2017), the importance of event quality for visitors is emphasized. Agricultural fairs have become tourist attractions and leisure opportunities for families and friends who take advantage of weekends to purchase agricultural products and enjoy cultural displays, for example.…”

The Cross Over Process of Employees’ Dedication on Visitors’ Satisfaction using UWES Work Engagement Model: A Case on MAHA Expo 2018

“…Therefore, agriculture events must evolve in response to consumers' demand to ensure the longevity of their appeal. For example, the visitors have expressed desire to witness performances motivated by the exhibitors' care for the animals and for these visitors to get the chance to assess both, the business side, and on the community side of exhibiting farmers (Larsen, 2017) One of the agriculture events, the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism (MAHA), is organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries where it aims at promoting agriculture and agro-based industries. The MAHA fair highlights efforts made by the government agencies, as well as presenting numerous business opportunities.…”

A Research on Producer Reasons for Participation into Agricultural Fairs

“…Although the primary target of the fairs is marketing and sales, they play a significant role in reaching sectoral research and development (R&D). Although the origin of the agricultural fairs goes back to the 18 th century, several numbers of agricultural fairs organized every year and they have thousands of visitors each time, a number of studies investigating the potential effects of such fairs on visitors are quite limited (Larsen, 2017). Traditional efficiency of agricultural fairs in bringing the buyers and the sellers together decreased through the development of different agricultural marketing methods, rapid developments in urbanization and information technologies and thus visitor mass in fairs of developed countries turn from rural to urban population (Acharya and Lillywhite, 2016).…”