Article:
A visit to The World Farmers Market Coalition General Assembly
written by Rich Bewley
August 29th, 2024
Arriving Rome for this year’s World Farmers Market Coalition (‘The Coalition’) General Assembly on the 11th July 2024 was a shock to my system, after nearly a month of blanket grey skies in Copenhagen. Adjusting to the blue skies and red-hot pavements took longer than expected, it took no time however to settle in and get chatting with old friends and new at the Campagna Amica Mercato del Circo Massimo, for what has become a highlight of the yearly calendar. The team behind organizing the assembly on behalf The Coalition (including our very own Viola) put on an incredible event. The first night, farmers market organisers from over forty countries met before being promptly whisked to the Vatican for an aperitivo. No expense spared, there was a full offering: entire wheels of parmesan; zucchini flowers; and sparkling wine.
A tribute and Italian delicacies
The serious business began on Friday, with first a note of tribute to The Coalition’s Executive Director Charisse McGill, who sadly passed away unexpectedly at the age of 42 in January this year. This was followed by some illuminating speeches by representatives of Italy’s broad political spectrum; the most noteworthy of which was Roberto Gualtieri’s, the mayor of Rome, who talked impassionedly about the core values of farmers markets and the small producers who attend them as a conglomeration of resilience, belonging and community.
Punctuated by frequent breaks for coffee and a number of Italian delicacies – all prepared for us by Campagna Amica’s all-female kitchen – the day continued with panel discussions on the expansion of farmers markets globally; the possibility of cooperation with rural development projects; and improving relationships between farmers markets, and cities/municipalities. We also heard about different experiences in establishing national market associations in Korea, Canada, and Kenya, and an update on the Coalition’s first truly international project The Mediterranean and African Markets Initiative, which is providing technical support to develop new farmers markets in Albania, Egypt, Lebanon, Kenya, and Tunisia.
Visiting stalls from all over the world
Saturday came around all too quickly, as it was the last full day to visit the stalls of our fellow farmers market organisers, who’d brought produce from all over the world. I’ve now developed a taste for Ghanaian spiced rum and chocolate from the Dominican Republic, and can’t wait to try Egyptian molokkhiya.
Throughout the whole day, there was a special exhibition dedicated to food endangered by the loss of biodiversity from all over the world. The Danish submission was the ‘Egg Yolk’ potato, a round shape and bright yellow potato originally from Langeland that Leon and Ninna at Hyldemarken are saving from extinction.
The yearly frantic exchange of produce is reminiscent of a school playground, where we all try and get our hands on the things we’ve been eyeing up – sadly Selorm and I had finished the last of his spiced rum, but we brought home some Lebanese chocolate and date syrup, and dried chillis from Mexico and South Korea to grow from seed next year.
The last formal event of the conference, and arguably the most insightful, was a real farmers market organisers dream. A speed dating round followed by regional working groups allowed us to get into the nitty gritty of what makes a farmers market successful. We focused on the theme of this year’s GA, which was ‘Better Together’ – stressing the importance of resilience in nonprofit projects like ours, secured by working toward a more sustainable food system through establishing strategic partnerships. With hope we can use some of that knowledge to keep Grønt Marked going, and to keep it growing!
See you next year!
The final day was a great chance to say goodbye to everyone at a lunch and reception hosted by Azienda Agricola Serra Madre, southwest of Rome, and to plan future collaborations with markets all over the world. A huge thanks to Campagna Amica and Coldiretti for organizing, excited to see you again next year!
GRØNT MARKED
A visit to The World Farmers Market Coalition General Assembly 2024
written by Rich Bewlet
August 29th, 2024
Arriving Rome for this year’s World Farmers Market Coalition (‘The Coalition’) General Assembly on the 11th July 2024 was a shock to my system, after nearly a month of blanket grey skies in Copenhagen. Adjusting to the blue skies and red-hot pavements took longer than expected, it took no time however to settle in and get chatting with old friends and new at the Campagna Amica Mercato del Circo Massimo, for what has become a highlight of the yearly calendar. The team behind organizing the assembly on behalf The Coalition (including our very own Viola) put on an incredible event. The first night, farmers market organisers from over forty countries met before being promptly whisked to the Vatican for an aperitivo. No expense spared, there was a full offering: entire wheels of parmesan; zucchini flowers; and sparkling wine.
A tribute and Italian delicacies
The serious business began on Friday, with first a note of tribute to The Coalition’s Executive Director Charisse McGill, who sadly passed away unexpectedly at the age of 42 in January this year. This was followed by some illuminating speeches by representatives of Italy’s broad political spectrum; the most noteworthy of which was Roberto Gualtieri’s, the mayor of Rome, who talked impassionedly about the core values of farmers markets and the small producers who attend them as a conglomeration of resilience, belonging and community.
Punctuated by frequent breaks for coffee and a number of Italian delicacies – all prepared for us by Campagna Amica’s all-female kitchen – the day continued with panel discussions on the expansion of farmers markets globally; the possibility of cooperation with rural development projects; and improving relationships between farmers markets, and cities/municipalities. We also heard about different experiences in establishing national market associations in Korea, Canada, and Kenya, and an update on the Coalition’s first truly international project The Mediterranean and African Markets Initiative, which is providing technical support to develop new farmers markets in Albania, Egypt, Lebanon, Kenya, and Tunisia.
Visting stalls from all over the world
Saturday came around all too quickly, as it was the last full day to visit the stalls of our fellow farmers market organisers, who’d brought produce from all over the world. I’ve now developed a taste for Ghanaian spiced rum and chocolate from the Dominican Republic, and can’t wait to try Egyptian molokkhiya.
Throughout the whole day, there was a special exhibition dedicated to food endangered by the loss of biodiversity from all over the world. The Danish submission was the ‘Egg Yolk’ potato, a round shape and bright yellow potato originally from Langeland that Leon and Ninna at Hyldemarken are saving from extinction.
The yearly frantic exchange of produce is reminiscent of a school playground, where we all try and get our hands on the things we’ve been eyeing up – sadly Selorm and I had finished the last of his spiced rum, but we brought home some Lebanese chocolate and date syrup, and dried chillis from Mexico and South Korea to grow from seed next year.
The last formal event of the conference, and arguably the most insightful, was a real farmers market organisers dream. A speed dating round followed by regional working groups allowed us to get into the nitty gritty of what makes a farmers market successful. We focused on the theme of this year’s GA, which was ‘Better Together’ – stressing the importance of resilience in nonprofit projects like ours, secured by working toward a more sustainable food system through establishing strategic partnerships. With hope we can use some of that knowledge to keep Grønt Marked going, and to keep it growing!
See you next year!
The final day was a great chance to say goodbye to everyone at a lunch and reception hosted by Azienda Agricola Serra Madre, southwest of Rome, and to plan future collaborations with markets all over the world. A huge thanks to Campagna Amica and Coldiretti for organizing, excited to see you again next year!