The STUDIA UNIVERSITATIS BABEŞ-BOLYAI issue article summary

The summary of the selected article appears at the bottom of the page. In order to get back to the contents of the issue this article belongs to you have to access the link from the title. In order to see all the articles of the archive which have as author/co-author one of the authors mentioned below, you have to access the link from the author's name.

Agricultural direct marketing implies the selling of agricultural, mainly horticultural products directly to the public either through on-farm markets (farm-shops), community-based farmers’ markets, or post, electronic mail and internet web order. These types of distribution channels can supply customers with fresh, ripen and healthy produce without the physical and social costs of transportation. In our view direct marketing alone is not competitive enough, as it should combine innovation with the complexity of multifunctional agriculture, rural development and countryside management. The synergies from decreasing local unemployment, entertainment and rural education (edutainment) of city dwellers, local craft products, organic production, pick-your-own (PYO) and agritourism can balance out the above mentioned disadvantages. The important barriers are the increasing rural traffic, a certain degree of environmental contamination and the limitation of the role of professional marketers and dealers. Direct marketing deserves state subsidies in the preliminary phase of implementation.

Keywords: direct marketing, rural development, agricultural products