Living rice to newly married couples is considered a symbol of prosperity and fertility, but it can also be an act of food waste. Avoiding this is the objective of the initiative that has presented in Greece the training and marketing platform for farmers Wikifarmerin collaboration with the Primary Agricultural Cooperative of Chalastra, one of the largest in rice production in Europe.
The initiative seeks to combat waste and support local production
As explained by Wikifarmer, 200 tons of edible rice are wasted every year in the almost 55,000 weddings held annually in the country. A pressure situation for farmers, who also see how 40% of their production does not reach supermarkets for not complying with certain standards.
That is why, by the hand of the creative agency McCann Worldgroup Greciathe initiative “The Wedding Rice” (“Wedding rice”) proposes to throw non -edible rice at the wedding and, therefore, not commercialized by the country’s farmers.
Thus, Wikifarmer offers its platform so that local producers sell non -edible rice, and encourage consumers to buy to allocate it to weddings. In this way, the company aims to help increase the value of harvests and, at the same time, favor the balance between supply and demand. As noted, the Greek market annually consumes 20,000 tons of Carolina rice -the variety used at weddings -but produces only 9,500.
The audiovisual piece of the campaign, with parasol production, explains the initiative. Wikifarmer is committed to an open model, and has created a specific website in which these producers can join for reuse your rice. They just have to download a template for packaging and add it to production, and then sell it directly to consumers through Wikifarmer.
Consumers can also participate acquiring rice through the platform.
The process is summarized in the idea of the campaign that is expressed on the website through the phrase, “Not at the altar, yes on the plate”, Which pursues the economic benefit for these businesses without harming a tradition entrenched in Western culture.
“With this initiative, farmers earn more and edible rice goes to where it should. It is a Win-Win proposal”, Explains Wikifarmer on Instagram.
“We believe that this campaign is a good example of how creativity and tradition can go hand in hand to face the multiple challenges of the real world”, They maintain from McCann Worldgroup Grecia in a statement, referring to the purpose of a social and environmental nature of the initiative.
More info: “The Wedding Rice”
