Local food systems : Explorative findings from Finland

In this paper we look at local food systems as alternatives to conventional food supply chains. Supporting alternative food systems at the local level is a way to promote the viability of rural areas and create and sustain local food strategies. The objective of the paper is to increase our understanding of local food systems in order to promote the competitiveness and success of small rural food suppliers in rural areas. The aim is to discover incentives for different local actors to increase the use of local food offerings. The paper first discusses the concept of local food as well as local food systems as alternatives to more standard and industrial type of marketing channels. The paper also presents results from two case studies to highlight some practical experiences from the local food systems as well as their future development needs. The first case focuses on local food systems between rural food suppliers and local catering businesses. The second case deals local food systems between rural food suppliers and rural tourism enterprises. Finally, some implications for actors involved in local food systems as well as policy makers are suggested. Furthermore, some suggestions for the further research are proposed. (Résumé d'auteur