Influence of social actors in the commercial circulation of plant species in fairs and markets of Córdoba city (Argentina) and its sorroundings

Abstract

Background and aims: The fairs and markets present in the cities are a sample of the biocultural heritage of a region. The objective of this work is to identify and characterize the social actors and the places of sale -in addition to determining their relationship with agrobiodiversity- in fairs and markets in the city of Córdoba and surroundings.

M&M: Based on participant observation, interviews with different degrees of structure, 30 municipal fairs (FM) and 5 agroecological fairs (FA) were visited. Species and product censuses were carried out. Variance analyzes and similarity indices (Sörensen) were carried out between the different points of sale.

Results: The social actors identified in the commercialization were, in FM, “feriantes” or “puesteros” (they manage 49 species, most of them exotic); in FA, “productores agroecológicos”, “distribuidores” and “elaboradores” (manage 49 species, mostly native). In addition, the presence of “vendedoras ambulantes” was identified (they offer 8 species of Andean tradition). The species have greater similarity between FM and FA than between fairs and “vendedoras ambulantes”.

Conclusions: The complementarity and differences between the fairs and the market depend on the characteristics of the social actors involved, the buyer/seller relationship, their botanical knowledge, personal, cultural and economic values that determine and influence the present agrobiodiversity; they all develop sales strategies that combine “tradition” and “innovation”. The different options in the markets favor the formation of a complex and dynamic urban botanical knowledge.