INNOVATION IN FOOD POLITICS – FOOD CENTERS
Just as every food product needs cold storage, cities also need city refrigerators where food is stored collectively and processed according to the demand.
One of the biggest expectations of a citizen from the authorities is the convenience of continuous access to fresh and economical food. When you go to the market, imagine that you find a wide variety of products and all of them are fresh and hygienic. Furthermore, imagine that the food prices remain extremely reasonable and stable throughout the year. Seems impossible? Unfortunately, we are all used to price fluctuations, lack of quality standards in food products….
Besides, we expect the world population to be 12 billion in 2050. In other words, in 30 years, food consumption will be about twice of what it is now. We have to develop projects in order to source the food on our planet efficiently. Although the situation looks hopeless, it is possible to save the future of food with a simple and visionary project. A project where the producer, the trader and the consumer can be satisfied at the same time: Food centers.
Food centers, which include both food storage and food processing, are giant food facilities where production and storage come together. All products such as meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, milk are collected and tested on a single food platform. They are processed with modern techniques and brought to the table and to the economy as value-added products.
For example, consider that apple farming is strong in a region. If there is a food center in the region, many investors will be looking for being a part in this center, close to the source of the raw material. Apples will be stored as fresh as first day and released to market at any desired time. In addition, apples will be processed under modern and hygienic conditions, and for instance, dried apples can be produced and sold all over the world. A fish facility in the food center will supply the fish from a near source, process it quickly and release it to the market as frozen fish fillets or canned based on customer demand.
Processing all these different food products at the same location will bring controlled and planned production to the region, as well as will make the region an attraction center. A fully-fledged organized facility close to the raw material will excite the food companies. Thus, it will attract investors from all over the world. It will provide a high quality and economical production infrastructure especially for medium-sized food companies that make up 70% of the total food production. With a low installation investment, they can start doing business quickly in a safe and attractive environment without getting stuck with procedural and legal obligations. Thus, they will find the opportunity for flexible and rapid growth.
Food centers can be financed and managed in many different ways. Main investors may be local governments or private sector players supported by governments. There are about 50 facilities in a food center of 20,000 tons storage capacity. Some of these facilities can be used by investors, some of them can be rented to local and foreign entrepreneurs. The investor, who owns the food center has 2 types of revenue; a rent income and a margin income on the total value produced. The return on investment doesn’t exceed 4 years.
Sustainable food export
The other application area of food centers is for improving the foreign trade of a country in food sector. Suppose that Turkey establishes a food center in Angola and all food products importing from Turkey are distributed from that the center. With the support of the regional administration, the export operation will be easier. In addition, the food products will be stored for long periods without deterioration, and value-added products will be produced in the region with Turkish raw materials. Moreover, political and financial risks will be minimized, so exporters will work in an atmosphere of trust. Turkish companies will be motivated for exporting to Angola and Turkish brands will be gaining reputation in the region market.
Food centers samples
The food center is actually a new concept in the world. It is just being expressed as a result of revolutions in food technologies, food economy and consumer consciousness. Moreover, especially during the pandemic period, we all felt the importance of reaching food very deeply. In fact, the importance of the food storage and processing has increased a lot with the pandemic and it mobilized the authorities.
Cities which had foreseen this need before, established food centers in earlier times. Rungis, which has 2,234,000 m2 of land and 1,200 facilities in Paris; and Merca Madris, which has 2,200,000 m2 of land and 800 facilities in Madrid, are examples of these.
The projected capacity of the food center, suitable for the needs of a population of 1.000.000 people, is approximately 20,000 tons. An average of 50 food facilities is expected to be in this facility. That means an open area of 100,000 m2 and a closed area of 40,000 m2. Food centers are designed to answer many operational needs such as management, security, technical issues, water-energy storage areas, loading, restaurant, weighing, and personnel department.
Every city’s need
While people living in developed countries spend about 10% of their income on food, this rate reaches up to 50% in developing countries. The efficiency in food is primarily an important issue for the welfare of the people. Besides, food centers increase the value of the city by attracting investors, provides high income and employment. Moreover, they bring prestige to the local administration because they represent vision and social responsibility.
The greatest power for a consumer is to reach healthy, hygienic food all the time. The greatest power for a food producer is to be able to process and store food efficiently. The greatest power for a state is to provide good food for its people under any circumstance.