This document analyzes agro-food consumption groups in Barcelona. It evaluates the social and environmental impact of cooperatives based on defined indicators and finds they perform well. It also maps the network between cooperatives and local suppliers, finding most interactions are local and proximity is important. Information and communication technologies are shown to help organize commercialization and the network. The conclusions state a local agro-food network exists, cooperatives score highly on social measures, proximity is key, and ICTs add value in organization.

1. Mapping agro-food consumption groups
in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Information and Knowledge Society
Doctoral Programme
Amb el suport de la
Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca
del Departament d’Economia i Coneixement
de la Generalitat de Catalunya.

2. Short circuit of commercialization food schedule. Source: Elaborated by Binimelis &
Descombes (2010) from Maréchal (2008); Valls (2006) and Venn et al. (2006).
Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Types of Short Circuits of Food Consumption

3. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Historical review of Barcelona cooperatives timeline

4. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Barcelona Cooperatives and Suppliers Map

5. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Research Objectives
1) Evaluate the weight of SSE in the performance of each
consumption group project, with the hypothesis of a high grade of
SSE indicators accomplishment.
2) Analyse the network between producers and consumers, with the
assumption of a strong local short circuit network.
3) Determinate the role of ICT in the development of this type of
business model, with the hypothesis that ICTs contribute in a
better network organization among the group consumer
members and between consumers and producers.

6. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Methodology
Quantitative methodology, such as statistics analysis and geographic
information systems; and a qualitative methodology, around semi-
structured interviews.
We performed three data analyses:
1) The Social and Solidary Economy items grade of accomplishment
of each cooperative.
2) Networks of producers and consumers: their connections and the
geographical distance between product origin and the place where it
is commercialized
3) The impact of ICTs in the organization of demand and supply.

7. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Social and Solidary Economy Items
1) Social Impact
a) Proximity
b) Fair trade
c) Transparency
d) Social Integration
e) Cooperation
f) Participation
g) Ethical Finance
2) Environmental Impact
a) Ecological Criteria
b) Waste Management
c) Energy Efficiency
3) Organization and activity
a) Wage Levels
b) Personal and Professional Development
c) Genre equity
d) Internal democracy
e) Free Software

8. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Social and Solidary Economy Items – Social Impact

9. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Social and Solidary Economy Items – Environmental Impact

10. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Social and Solidary Economy Items – Organization & Work Impact

11. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Distance (Median) between Cooperatives and Suppliers
1 1 1 1
19 19 22
27 27 31
40 42 42 42 47 47 57 57 65 66
88 92 92 95 95 95 106 121 126 137 145
174 174
1,194
5,139
8,414 9,27110,128
1
10
100
1000
10000
100000
Dist. Q1 Dist. Mediana Dist. Q3

12. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Number of Cooperatives and Distance (Median)
between Cooperatives and Suppliers
19 22
95
137
31
92 95
66
92
65
47 47 57
145
1,194
19
8,414
40
5,139
9,271
1
42
95 106
174
27 27
42
88
1 1 1
42
57
121 126
174
10,128
1
10
100
1000
10000
100000
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Cooperativas Dist. Q1 Dist. Mediana Dist. Q3

13. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Barcelona Cooperatives & Suppliers Consumption Network Analysis

14. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Interactions Size – Type of Products

15. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Interactions Size – Number of Products

16. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Role of ICT in the Development of this Type of Business Model
1) Organization tools (internal and suppliers)
a) Google Drive
b) Own Software
c) Mail
d) Mailing list
2) Communication tools
a) Blog
b) Facebook
c) Twitter

17. Mapping agro-food consumption groups in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Conclusions
1) Exists an actual local network around the agro-food product.
2) Agro-food cooperatives have a high performance levels as
measured by SEE indicators.
3) Proximity is one of the key issues of the initiatives analysed.
4) ICTs proves to add much value when it comes to the organization
of agro-food commercialization.

18. Mapping agro-food consumption groups
in the city of Barcelona
R. Espelt, I. Peña-López, P. Losantos, E. Rodríguez, T. Martín and F. Pons
Information and Knowledge Society
Doctoral Programme
Amb el suport de la
Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca
del Departament d’Economia i Coneixement
de la Generalitat de Catalunya.
More information:
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