Files
Abstract
Farmers Markets are receiving an increasing attention by both food chains actors and social scientists. Economic
and sociological studies are contributing to the comprehension of these forms of exchange. Both consumers and
producers are fostering their expectations about the renewal of a mode of exchange which sustained local production‐
consumptions linkages. The main economic function of these organizational structures seems to be the
reduction of the price paid by the consumers and the enhancements of allocation of farm products. The basic
interpretation of these forms of exchange focuses on market structure, nonetheless the exchange relationships
seems to emphasize several dimensions, including economic and cultural aspects. The objective of the paper is
of investigating the role of networks among producers and consumers in structuring and making viable the
Farmer Markets as structures of short food supply chains. The basic idea is that the strength of Farmer Markets
is the ability of satisfying the consumers expectations about a few characteristics of the products, entailing given
cultural and economic aspects. The study argues that under this view the Farmer Markets may be thought of as
a emerging form of production‐consumption interaction. According to existing evidences it is suggested that the
network is also the emerging forms of horizontal relationships among the producers participants to the markets.
The paper aims at suggesting that basic types of trust act as key factor in structuring the networks and in promoting
the stability of the market.