Abstract
Periurban agriculture is being hit by the effects of the globalized food system, as well as by concrete aspects of urban sprawl. Nonetheless, proximity to the main markets provides an opportunity to sustain agriculture in highly urbanized areas. In this sense, an increasing number of local initiatives is arising within the context of Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs). The economic impact of these initiatives, however, is limited by problems and inefficiencies that hinder their capacity to scale up. The present paper sets forth the results of a research project developed in Madrid and Cataluña. The study is based upon documentary and empirical research addressing the main problems periurban farmers are facing in relation to local food distribution. Among other factors, these refer to regulatory barriers, logistics, competition and dealing with consumers’ preferences. We conducted a questionnaire with a representative group of farmers from each region in three towns presenting different demographic sizes along with another questionnaire extended to the owners of small grocery stores, who play a vital role in the supply of fresh food in these municipalities. Our research demonstrates that most of the problems arising when dealing with SFSCS can be solved by introducing new forms of cooperation among the different agents of the food chain.
Highlights
Within a context of prolonged economic and financial crisis, along with financialization and liberalization of food-related issues, agriculture has been hit considerably harder than other economic sectors by climate change, volatile prices, the demands of the global markets [1], and by intense pressure from the city, which is encroaching upon the urban fringe [2,3,4]
The study attempts to answer the following key questions: (a) can Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) be considered as an economic alternative for small and medium-sized periurban farms?, (b) what are the main factors limiting turnover?, (c) which models provide the greatest potential for scaling-up in terms of participation? once we have identified the barriers limiting the scaling-up of SFSCs, the challenge we face involves providing a series of management criteria which, by way of a conclusion, will contribute to enhancing the efficiency, viability and competitiveness of periurban agriculture
The research results demonstrated that direct selling to restaurants and shops (25.8%) and farmers’ markets (21.7%) represented the SFSCs most used by periurban farmers, far ahead of ecommerce and local purchases by companies catering to public canteens
Summary
Within a context of prolonged economic and financial crisis, along with financialization and liberalization of food-related issues, agriculture has been hit considerably harder than other economic sectors by climate change, volatile prices, the demands of the global markets [1], and by intense pressure from the city, which is encroaching upon the urban fringe [2,3,4]. For some authors, concentrating the large distribution channels in a very limited amount of companies endows the latter with tremendous power of decision in the food supply, permitting them to subject the small farmers to harsh conditions of payment, low prices for their products, as well as the obligation to provide products with specific homogeneous characteristics under strict delivery conditions [7]; all this jeopardises the future of agriculture, in periurban spaces where the pressures are much greater [8,9] In this sense, different authors have pointed out out that SFSCs are a game changer, representing social innovation, which allows the products of rural smallholders and periurban farmers to resist the standardization of food, as they promote greater recognition and better prices for quality produce [10,11,12]. This helps to promote relations of proximity in the urban food systems, a fact that contributes to enhancing food safety and sovereignty [13]
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