Regional self-sufficiency: A multi-dimensional analysis relating agricultural production and consumption in the European Union

Abstract

Short food supply chains and circularity are discussed as key factors for a sustainable food system. Although self-sufficiency ratios (SSR) are often used to characterize agri-food systems, the concept of SSR remains inconsistently defined, particularly when means of production such as livestock feed are explicitly considered. We present a systematic conceptualization of SSR, i.e., the ratio of domestic production to consumption within a region along three dimensions: a) livestock products, b) cropland products, and c) primary agricultural biomass. While a) and b) refer to the domestic production and net-trade of livestock resp. crop products, c) relates to domestic agricultural primary production and primary biomass consumption representing the feed embodied in consumed livestock products. As such, the third dimension indicates the potential self-sufficiency for a region assuming consumed livestock products stem from domestic livestock, fed with domestic crops and grass. We quantify these three SSR dimensions for 226 regions (NUTS2) in the European Union (EU) based on detailed agricultural statistics and models. Results show that 14 % of EU regions were self-sufficient, and 26 % were import-dependent for all three dimensions. We find that 54 % of regions were self-sufficient for ruminant livestock products and 39 % for monogastric livestock products underlining a spatially concentrated pork, egg, and poultry production structure in the EU. Moreover, 21 % of regions are dependent on crop imports and simultaneously self-sufficient or net-exporters of livestock products. Our investigation on the relationship between agricultural production and consumption discloses a widespread disconnectedness of European livestock systems between land use and consumption. Expanding a narrow understanding of food self-sufficiency by integrating a primary biomass perspective allows for a more nuanced debate on sustainable agri-food systems. The results, first, demonstrate the substantial role of net-trade in the supply of regional food systems and, second, indicate room for stronger circular integration of crop- and livestock systems.