A territorial approach to social learning: Facilitating consumer knowledge of local food through participation in the guarantee process

Abstract

Recognition of the link between the origin of local food, farming practices and their territorial settings is important in increasing consumers’ trust and perceived value of quality schemes. Using the concepts of social learning and Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS), this study aims to strengthen consumers’ knowledge regarding local food and its territorial anchoring, by associating product quality with territorial attributes while facilitating consumer participation in the guarantee process. First, a total of 199 online questionnaires assessing consumer preferences for local food showed limited awareness and knowledge of practices connecting products, production processes and quality attributes. Additionally, based on an existing PGS for a local cheese with (Thessaly, Greece), we combined consumer expectations and producers’ guarantees through farm visits and a participatory focus group facilitated by interactive visualisation technology. Results showed that visualised knowledge of intangible and tangible territorial resources raised consumers’ awareness and appreciation of specific quality attributes while helping co-construct shared meanings related to the place of production, local know-how and historical and cultural practices. Thus, it appears that this approach further prepared the ground for consumers’ future ‘physical’ or ‘virtual’ engagement in a bottom-up collaboration for the ongoing negotiation of trust and social control built on trust. © 2022 European Society for Rural Sociology.