Contribution of periurban farming systems to local food systems: a systemic innovation perspective

Rosalia Filippini,Sylvie Lardon,Elisa Marraccini

doi:10.36253/bae-10855

Abstract

The debate on food security has highlighted the connection between periurban farming systems (PFS) and local food systems (LFS) for academic research. Several researchers have called for in-depth analysis of the participation and impact of farmers in LFS, and the systemic innovation perspective can provide relevant analysis of the sustainability of this agro-food system. The objective of the current study is to investigate the integration of PFS into LFS from the systemic innovation perspective, by analysing systemic failures and merits that hinder or promote the contribution of PFS to LFS for farmers and commercial actors. The case study is the LFS of the urban Pisa region in central Italy. Results show that farmers there are adapting to urban pressure, which improves the sustainability of their farming practices. At the same time, commercial actors have a commercial opportunity to include local farmers in their economic strategy. Nevertheless, individual initiatives must be coordinated to support the sustainability of both LFS and PFS. This study thus developed an innovative method to identify systemic failures and merits for farmers and commercial actors to address sustainability strategies at the territorial level.

Highlights

Agriculture currently faces several systemic challenges, such as volatility in commodity prices, climate change, obstacles in generational turnover, and increasing labour costs, all of which influence how agriculture produces food
The objective of the current study is to investigate the integration of periurban farming systems (PFS) into local food systems (LFS) from the systemic innovation perspective, by analysing systemic failures and merits that hinder or promote the contribution of PFS to LFS for farmers and commercial actors
Some farmers indicated that another failure of integrating PFS into LFS was the need to address conflicts with urban residents who do not understand the daily work on farms, which produces noise, smell, etc

Summary

Introduction

Agriculture currently faces several systemic challenges, such as volatility in commodity prices, climate change, obstacles in generational turnover, and increasing labour costs, all of which influence how agriculture produces food. The population growth expected in urban areas has raised serious concerns about the ability of agro-food systems to feed people in the near future (Fraser et al, 2005; Godfray and Garnett, 2014). According to the FAO (2010), periurban farming systems (PFS) throughout the world need to be involved directly in relocating food systems to respond to the new challenges of food security. The literature defines PFS in several ways: geographically, PFS are agriculture performed near urban areas (Filippini et al, 2018), while relationally, PFS are agriculture which has a functional relationship with an urban area (Nahmías and Le Caro, 2012). PFS are defined as farming systems near the main urban area of the case study, including territorial, production, social, and institutional factors

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion