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Project Topic
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BLUMI-Med aims to understand local urban markets in a context-sensitive manner in order to develop pathways for enhancing their sustainability, upscale local urban markets and broader benefits also for social and cultural values and the local economic fabric, and develop ICT-related business opportunities. That way, BLUMI-Med aims to contribute to reducing food waste and loss, reducing the carbon footprint of food systems, closing cycles in the economy, improving WEFE (Water-Energy-Food-Ecology) Nexus performance, developing local economies and increasing food security of local populations. Against this background, BLUMI-Med investigates the differentiated nature of local markets in urban and peri-urban areas, their roles in the respective food systems and their sustainability. A consortium of 15 research, practice and innovation partners spread across ten Mediterranean countries with an emphasis on social science and economics background on agriculture and food systems will collaborate in BLUMI-Med. In a transdisciplinary manner, the project will develop a conceptual and methodological framework relying on a Multi-Actor Approach (MAA) for capturing the characteristics, determinants, and sustainability of the diversity of local urban markets across the Mediterranean. It will study and engage with 19 local urban market cases in 9 countries across all Mediterranean regions. It will produce a typology of local markets in urban areas across the Mediterranean that allows transferring project findings and upscaling recommendations. For each (type of) case, innovative stakeholder initiatives, ICT-related business opportunities, and policy- and regulatory approaches will be developed for improving the sustainability of the related food systems and for upscaling local urban markets. They will be identified, adapted to local contexts, and validated throughout the MAA, in close collaboration with stakeholders at different levels and entrepreneurs. Gender issues will be mainstreamed across all components of the work of the consortium including the research, innovation, the MAA and local and higher-level policy recommendations. Empirical research will be based on a conceptual and methodological framework for an integrated sustainability assessment of local urban markets (stakeholder, value chain, food system and foodshed, multi-level governance and policy, gender analysis and producer and consumer decision-making perspectives) and employ a mixed-method approach combining various qualitative and quantitative methods. Multi-faceted and targeted dissemination and broad communication are integral parts of BLUMI-Med as the project sees its communication as directly raising sustainability and attractiveness of local urban markets. With this program, BLUMI-Med relates to Topic 2.3.1 Leveraging urban and local food systems for sustainable food systems transformation. It contributes to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). Regarding the PRIMA SRIA, it contributes to Operational Objectives 4 (Smart and Sustainable Farming) and 8 (New Agri-Food Business Models). BLUMI-Med is also aligned with EU initiatives such as the Green Deal, specifically the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
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