Co-creating value in mountain agriculture: participatory design and ex-ante economy-wide assessment of a voluntary quality certification scheme in Cyprus

Across Europe, geographical indications and voluntary quality labels are promoted as tools to valorise territorial identity and support rural development, yet evidence on the capacity of voluntary labels to generate economic effects beyond the farm level remains limited. This study examines the co-design and early piloting of a voluntary territorial certification scheme for fruit and vegetables in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus and explores its plausible economy-wide implications. Using a participatory action research approach, farmers, rural policy makers and researchers co-produced the Troodos Mountain Agriculture label through iterative negotiation of criteria and governance arrangements. The resulting four-pillar protocol, covering mountain identity, social responsibility, food quality and safety, and environmental stewardship, operates through mandatory baselines and a flexible, points-based compliance system overseen by a farmer-led committee. Nearly 70 producers contributed to the design, and 15 participated in a two-year market pilot. To examine how certification-induced value changes might propagate through the local economy, the study constructs a regional input-output model for the Troodos Mountains, disaggregating agriculture into four farming systems. A certification-linked price premium of 5-10%, parameterised from pilot interviews and early retail placement, is modelled as an exogenous value shock. Under this ex-ante scenario, the model projects a €0.9-1.8 million increase in regional output (0.3-0.6%) and 20-39 additional jobs (0.6-1.2% of total employment), largely concentrated within farming, reflecting structural constraints and limited backward linkages. Integrating participatory co-design with ex-ante economic modelling highlights that wider development effects remain contingent on territorial economic structures and governance arrangements. • Co-designed four-pillar Troodos Mountain quality label with local stakeholders. • Points-based compliance tested with 68 farmers, governed by producer committee. • Regional input-output model quantifies label's broader economic effects. • 5-10% price premium generates €0.9-1.8m economic output and creates 20-39 new jobs. • Method integrates social innovation with ex-ante rural development analysis.