Short Value Chains in Food Production: The Role of Spatial Proximity for Economic and Land Use Dynamics

Dominik Bertram,Tobias Chilla,Carola Wilhelm

doi:10.3390/land10090979

Abstract

Agricultural land demand tends to be in weak condition vis-à-vis settlement development, transport infrastructure and industry expansion. At the same time, the awareness and demand of consumers for regional food is constantly rising, in particular in urban regions. The resulting challenge is that high demand for regional food is concentrated at places where land for food production tends to be particularly under pressure. Against this background, our article reflects on the extent to which regional food supply chains support the status of agricultural demand in the competition for land. The main aim of our paper is to understand the role of proximity between the different stages of value creation, including cultivation, production (manual or industrial) and trade (retail, direct marketing). Our empirical study on the example of three products in Bavaria (Germany) shows that short distances within food value chains support the agricultural condition in land use dynamics (beer, sweet cherry, asparagus). The analyses are based on official and internal statistics as well as expert interviewing. This mixed-methods approach results in value-creation mappings and provides spatial differentiation of the economic process. Proximity between at least two stages of value creation plays an important role to explain the economic trends and land use dynamic. These findings are rooted in arguments of efficiency, tacit knowledge, networks, as well as product reputation. However, the role of proximity does not automatically play a role but has to be stabilized by strategic measures such as product innovation and marketing measures.

Highlights

Accepted: 14 September 2021Agricultural land use is under pressure in many parts of Europe [1]
Recent research is increasingly focusing on the role of small farm activities in regional food systems, predominantly in the context of sustainable agricultural landscapes and food security [13,14,15]
We aim to respond to the following two questions: What is the interrelation of short value chains and land use dynamics? What role does spatial proximity play in the value creation process for economic and land-use dynamics? Our objective is to contribute to a more differentiated understanding of the spatial dimension in value creation

Summary

Introduction

Accepted: 14 September 2021Agricultural land use is under pressure in many parts of Europe [1]. Urban sprawl and accelerated expansion of sub-centers are leading to increasing landscape fragmentation and partial abandonment of traditional agricultural lands [2,3] This contributes to concentration processes in agriculture and food production throughout recent decades [4]. Recent research is increasingly focusing on the role of small farm activities in regional food systems, predominantly in the context of sustainable agricultural landscapes and food security [13,14,15]. These studies highlight that small farms currently play an important role in food production and regional food availability. The recent Covid19-pandemic put Published: 16 September 2021

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