Saturday, November 22, 2003
One of the promising economic development strategies for rural areas and regions involves building smaller, more flexible and sustainable agribusiness systems.
Once a fringe business model for the health conscious, organic produce is aggregating into a large market opportunity.
Here's an example of a business in Vermont that fits this profile. Read more.
The U.S. has the largest market in organic foods, but the economic development strategy is not as well defined as it is in the U.K. Learn more by visiting the Soil Association.
In a recent report, the Soil Association, which certifies organic foods in the U.K. estimated that the size of the U.S. market for organic foods was $9.5 billion.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
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Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Smaller, more flexible agribusiness systems
