The online platform 'Adelaide.farm', was launched on Wednesday, January 11th, at the Regional Directorate of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Algarve, Patacão, Faro, to allow small producers to sell their products "at fair prices," delivering them to local points for collection by householders.
The project aims to "solve the problem of the disappearance of small farmers", although it could also cover large producers, explained its promoter, Alice Teixeira, who also wants to help stop the increasing abandonment of agricultural activity due to lack of economic viability.
The platform will link producers - who are committed to selling their products at fair prices and in whatever quantities they like - to consumers, who can have access to seasonal products, collecting them at delivery points all over the country.
The aim is to have a number of locations where deliveries are to be made - managed by a local organiser, who can be a farmer or a cooperative, as long as they are linked to the farming activity.
The price of the products is defined by the producer, who must always receive more than half the final sale price, and the organiser is also given a margin of between 20% and 30% of the value.
MyFarm, a company that promotes the platform, was born at the Polytechnic Institute of Beja, receives a percentage of sales: 5% in the case of sales of wholesale products to professionals, and 16% in the case of domestic sales.
Alice Teixeira says what is intended "is for the consumer to become loyal to a group of farmers and to help them pay the production costs over a period", paying a monthly fee of three, six or twelve months.
The consumer may also choose to buy a basket of products closen by the organiser, a popular option used in other countries.
For professional consumers, such as restaurants, grocery stores or even other producers, wholesale products are available for sale, which allows them to benefit from discounts, depending on the quantity ordered.
Producers who want to get involved in the project must subscribe to the platform, although the registration has to be validated, with a simplified platform management tool to account for costs and revenues. According to Alice Teixeira, the name given to the project is a way of paying homage to a farmer from the region of Leiria called Adelaide who was forced to abandon agriculture due to lack of profitability.
Luís Miguel Campos, also a partner in the project, said it was "a different business model" whose objective "is not to make money, but that farmers can earn more and consumers can buy better quality products at good prices."
