Impact of state-led food localization on suburban districts’ farmland use transformation: Greenhouse farming expansion in Nanjing city region, China

Abstract

State-led efforts of food localization have been conducted across mainland China under the umbrella of Vegetable Basket Project since the end of the 1980s, with the purpose of addressing urban food security. Food localization as a counter movement to globalization has been extensively studied for its debatable role in promoting the sustainability of food systems in developed economies. Previous studies failed to recognize food localization initiatives driven by the state and its significant impact on suburban farmland use. To fill this gap, this study discusses the key features of state-led food localization with the case of Nanjing, China through examining governmental policy documents, local food production plans and the remote sensing data of greenhouse expansion. Furthermore, the impacts of a state-led food localization strategy on the transition of suburban farmland use, particularly on the expansion of greenhouses, have been investigated by employing the binary logistic regression model. We argue that state-led food localization has substantially promoted the expansion of greenhouse farming for the purpose of stabilizing a sufficient local food supply, particularly vegetables. It has also provided support through means such as subsidy, agriculture extension service and technology training to smallholders, including local and migrant farmers.