Local Food Systems Research Articles

Food sovereignty in sub-Saharan Africa: Reality, relevance, and practicality

The recent discourse on food sovereignty places much emphasis on democracy in determining localized food systems, and whether the food is culturally appropriate while leaning heavily on sustainable agricultural practices such as organic agriculture, ecological intensification, agroecology, nature-based solutions, and regenerative agriculture. Sustainable agricultural practices are intended to ensure that the land is managed without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, while going further by focusing on improvements on soil and land health. However, what are the practicalities of food activism and relying entirely on nature while yields are still very low in much of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)? We attempt to answer this question in four main sections: (a) we start by defining the concept of food sovereignty and the associated practices, (b) we highlight some of the main socio-ecological conditions that are common in SSA, and (c) we present evidence of some of the limitations of food sovereignty due to the diversity in ecological, political, cultural, and socio-economic contexts that characterize SSA; finally, (d) we focus on food preferences, marketing and certification aspects. We conclude that agroecology alone cannot solve the multiple objectives of increasing crop productivity and replenishing soil nutrients especially on small farms and relying on natural rainfall. There is an urgent need to combine superior crop varieties and judicious use of external inputs in tandem with the manipulation of the agroecological processes to increase the efficiency of input use and achieve higher food productivity, resilience to climate change, and preservation of the natural resource base in specific locations.

Staple Crops Processing Zones, Food Security and Restoration of Local Food Systems in Zimbabwe

With the adoption of Staple Crops Processing Zones (SCPZs) and Agro- Processing Zones (APZs) by Western countries and Asia, it is time for Zimbabwe to follow suit in order to address food insecurity challenges that the country has been facing since the year 2000. This article examines the possibility, rationality, utility, practicality and mechanics of designing and implementing SCPZs in Zimbabwe’s identified agro-processing nodes in order to boost and integrate food productivity, processing and marketing whilst restoring local food systems. Methodologically, the study utilises secondary data sources, drawing comparisons and valuable lessons from cases of successful SCPZs implementation in Europe, China and Asia. The agricultural development theory provides the theoretical framework that anchors the study, whilst the SCPZs as well as the food security rural-urban migration nexus constitute the conceptual frames of analysis. The research findings suggest that although there are multiple threats to food security in Zimbabwe, the adoption and implementation of SCPZs equally present significant opportunities for boosting food security and restoring local food systems through value chain developments. The study findings are key in informing the format, structure, design and operational modalities of SCPZs as a strategy for boosting food security and restoring local food systems in Zimbabwe.

Biocultural heritage construction and community-based tourism in an important indigenous agricultural heritage system of the southern Andes

ABSTRACT Traditional agricultural systems reflect the close relationship between human communities and local ecosystems. The inheritance of knowledge, practices and beliefs, in which this relationship is materialised, or biocultural memory, is key for these systems’ conservation and adaptation to social-environmental changes. Heritage construction processes may be used in a bid to conserve and increase awareness of this inheritance. Tourism is one alternative but is not immune to controversy. Through a qualitative methodology and participatory action research, this study examines biocultural heritage construction in an Important Agricultural Heritage System (IAHS) in Mapuche-Pewenche territory in the southern Andes. Based on the community-based tourism experience of two campesino cooperatives, our study points out how local actors understand and interpret their heritage as well as the opportunities and challenges of showcasing it through tourism. We found that the inheritance is understood as the way of life associated with Mapuche rural culture and, particularly, agricultural practices that support local food systems with a strong identity component. In these experiences of community-based tourism, we identify opportunities and challenges for reinforcing biocultural memory and inheritance in an IAHS. We discuss tourism development in IAHS sites, putting the communities that inhabit and maintain them in a central position.

How community capacity building in urban agriculture can improve food access in predominantly Black communities

ABSTRACT Black Americans face disparate health burdens of diet-related chronic diseases. Black Americans who live in communities with inadequate access to healthy foods are at an even greater risk for disparate health outcomes. Urban agriculture in communities with inadequate access to healthy food can complement the existing traditional food system and can make a difference in the accessibility of fresh fruits and vegetables and subsequently, increase fruit and vegetable consumption. However, integrating urban agriculture into a local food system can be challenging. Community capacity-building efforts have the potential to enhance organizational development and enable collaborations to enhance efforts to incorporate urban agriculture into communities with inadequate food access. This study used Chaskin’s relational framework to describe community capacity-building efforts to enhance urban agriculture in predominantly Black communities. We found that strategies for community capacity building in urban agriculture include building on existing resources, community engagement, expanding organizational capacity, identifying threats to community capacity building, and identifying ideal solutions to enhance community capacity-building efforts. Urban farmers, gardeners, and advocates identified these strategies to strengthen local control of the food environment through sustainable urban agriculture. Additional research is needed to further identify community engagement strategies that emphasize sustainability, such as workforce development efforts, building networks for new growers, and strengthening connections between farmers, gardeners, urban agriculture advocates, and community residents.

Sustainable nutrition: a spatially explicit modeling approach for urban land use planning

Rapid urbanization has influenced the transformation of local and global food systems, altering the availability, access to, and distribution of healthy food. Micronutrient deficiency and hunger have been exacerbated worldwide. Balancing social, economic, and environmental needs and demands is complex, and often presents tradeoffs between nutritional security and sustainable practices. While various frameworks have been developed to support policy and decision makers in prioritizing tradeoffs that impact urbanization and food production, they are not easily operationalized due to complexities of implementation stemming from the availability of data, place-specific nuances, and methodological difficulties, among others. There is a need to develop analytical approaches to enable researchers, planners, and policymakers to better understand the impact of land use choices on sustainable local food production. The foodshed approach can be a powerful tool to improve the sustainability of regional and local food systems. This research proposes a simulation strategy to evaluate the impact of agricultural land use and crop choices on nutritional production in rapidly growing urban areas. The application of this framework for decision-making is exemplified in the Toluca Metropolitan Zone, Mexico by showing how tradeoffs between macronutrient and micronutrient daily requirements could be explored under a variety of land use scenarios. This analytical framework can be used to understand options for providing nutritional security to the local population.

Prominence of the Home Garden: A Study of Bogawantalawa South Grama Niladhari Division, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

Home garden is an integral part of local food systems in developing countries. It has a longstanding practice among the Sri Lanka for centuries. The main objective of this study is to analyze environmental and socio economic importance of home gardens in Bogawantalawa South Grama Niladhari Division (GND), Nuwara Eliya. The data was obtained from the primary and secondary sources. The questionnaire survey was designed to collect primary data from thirty households according to simple random sampling techniques. Field observation was conducted to identify the core dimensions of environmental importance. Collected primary data have been analyzed through an Excel spreadsheet and summarized the quantitative data using descriptive and quantitative analysis methods. Qualitative methods of content analysis were also carried out. As key findings, environmental importance of the upcountry home garden of the study area have been addressed. Conserving biodiversity and conservation of diverse plants,preventing the environment from chemical, habitats for animals and other beneficial organisms and reduced soil erosion and maintenance of landraces. The important socio economic importance are generation of employment opportunities and income, food and nutrient security of families, created a relaxing environment, improving health and preserving indigenous knowledge. In addition to this, this study identifies the challenges of the home garden and gives some recommendations to keep the sustainability in home garden.

Strategies to Help Health Care Organizations Execute Their Food System Leadership Responsibilities.

Food systems influence environmental sustainability and health. The fact that our current food production and distribution practices neither support nor promote planetary or human health raises ethical concerns. Since health organizations offer food to patients, community members, and employees, they are situated at key intersections among food systems, agricultural policies and practices, and public health. This article considers the nature and scope of health care organizations' local food system leadership responsibilities and describes how health care organizations' food practices can help improve health outcomes and motivate equity.

Assessing food self-sufficiency of selected European Functional Urban Areas vs metropolitan areas

The resilience of the local food system is being underlined as one of the most important strategic goals for a sustainable future. However, since the question of what constitutes the local scale of food production depends largely on the type of product and supply chain, the associated foodshed can range from a site scale, city and city region up to wider region and country level. As a proof of concept whether functional urban areas (FUAs) can serve as references for local food systems, we provide evidence on their capacity to provide vegetarian diet supply to their residents. Applying the Metropolitan Foodshed and Self-Sufficiency Scenario (MFSS) model methodology we estimate the level of potential food self-sufficiency of the FUAs. We quantitatively compare the results for FUAs with the results of local planning documents of metropolitan areas. The approach is applied to 9 city regions representing different European countries: Wrocław (PL), Ostend (BE), Berlin (DE), Avignon (FR), Copenhagen (DK), Bari (IT), Brasov (RO), Athens (EL), Barcelona (ES). The results show that vegetarian and local food demand could be satisfied in first five FUAs of these city regions. However, if the same number of calories as current diet delivers is to be maintained only the first three FUAs have enough agricultural land to supply vegetarian ingredients to this diet. The results for metropolitan comparison return the same three cities plus Bari. We discuss the use of FUA in defining foodshed area and the role of consumers’ dietary choices in regional food self-sufficiency.

The Role of Local Authorities in Shaping Local Food Systems

Given the importance that current food-related challenges pose to our society, the potential of local food initiatives to address sustainability has gained increased attention. Nevertheless, research has increasingly demonstrated that local food initiatives are limited in fulfilling their sustainability potential. This realisation has led many scholars to argue that the path towards food system transformation needs to be based on interconnected networks of these ‘alternative’ practices—what this paper terms local food systems. Nevertheless, as many local food initiatives rely on funding and volunteer work, their capacity to create infrastructures for integrated approaches is limited. In this context, influential players—those who can provide resources, such as local authorities—become key in the assemblage of local food systems. However, there is limited understanding of how the role of local authorities affects the internal dynamics of local food systems and potential outcomes. This study addresses this research gap by analysing two case studies (Preston, England and Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country). Using urban political ecology (UPE) as a theoretical framework, this study offers original insight into the key governance elements affecting the direction of local food systems and thus the alignment of diverse local food initiatives, limiting their sustainability potential.

Engaging Farmers, Culinary Schools, and Communities in Value-Added Production to Strengthen Local Food Systems

Value-added products can generate farm income and improve community food access, yet lack of available kitchen infrastructure and labor can limit farm production capacity. This project explored how community-based culinary schools might fill the gap. A unique “product share” model was identified and piloted, meeting the collective needs of farmers, a culinary school, and urban consumers. By researching farmer crop availability and business model preferences, and aligning value-added production with community food preferences, we demonstrate a successful pilot indicative that similar initiatives can be replicated in other metropolitan areas, with potential to engage cross-disciplinary extension professionals.

The Social Supportive Role of Food and Meals Following Hurricane Florence

Abstract This study uses the Theory of Social Support to examine the impact of Hurricane Florence on the local food system during the immediate response to the disaster focusing on the social supportive nature of food and meals. Using a quick response disaster research methodology, field observations and qualitative interviews were conducted in Eastern North Carolina, in the days following Hurricane Florence in September 2018. Individuals affected by Hurricane Florence were recruited from emergency food and meal distribution sites. A codebook consisting of 66 parent and child codes based on the Theory of Social Support was applied to analyze 23 individual interviews. Sharing food with neighbors and/or relatives and utilizing post-disaster community feeding services improved the coping capacity of survivors. Results from this study contribute to the understanding of the post-disaster food environment and may help to improve food related response and recovery to meet the needs of those affected.

Growing health: Building partnerships in healthcare and food systems for improved food access in Appalachia

Hospitals not only provide access to healthcare services in rural areas; they also serve as major employers and economic drivers. The goal of this pilot study was to improve our understanding of how a rural healthcare system in Appalachian Kentucky could be leveraged to expand access to fresh fruits and vegetables. We conducted 11 semi-structured interviews with food system and healthcare stakeholders in Hazard, Kentucky, to (1) improve our understanding of key barriers to accessing and utilizing fresh produce for healthcare worker and patient populations, (2) identify models for direct-to-consumer market channels and farm-to-institution programming in collaboration with a local hospital, and (3) explore the potential of those models to foster greater consumption of fruit and vegetables among community members. Stakeholders emphasized the need for staff support and funding during program development and discussed the difficulty in maintaining prior local food and health promotion efforts when pilot funding expired. Other considerations included the importance of community ownership, robust communication and coordination among stakeholders, and attunement to the opportunities and challenges of a hospital-based approach. Direct farm-to-consumer models were considered feasible but would require accommodation for low-income consumers, such as vouchers, sliding-scale payment methods, or “double dollar” programs. Farm-to-hospital initiatives were discussed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and reduced hospital cafeteria usage, which may limit the success of some events but highlights the potential for to-go options such as pre-prepared salads, lightly processed snacks, and medically tailored meal kits. Results of this study illustrate the challenges and opportunities of leveraging a rural hospital as an anchor institution for expanding local food system development in rural Appalachia. This study also offers insights into the intersections of health, culture, and economy in an Appalachian community, and provides a framework for expanding local food system initiatives.

Food waste in time of COVID-19: The heterogeneous effects on consumer groups in Italy and the Netherlands

Since COVID-19 outbreak, States adopted different combinations of measures to restrain its spread that affected individual behaviors and the already fragile local and global food systems. The aim of this research is to contribute to the scientific debate around food systems sustainability through the analysis of behavioral shifts in household food waste drivers, specifically occurring during the recent global pandemic. A survey was developed based on an extended version of the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability (MOA) approach. A representative sample of 3000 respondents in Italy and in the Netherlands (1500 per country) completed this survey in May 2020, while lockdown to mitigate the first wave of COVID-19 outbreak was active in both countries. A cluster analysis based on individual food-waste- related behaviors identified four homogenous groups of consumers in the Italian sample and five in the Dutch sample. The comparative analysis of these groups led to the identification of several communalities in behavioral patterns, both within and between the two countries. Results suggest that in both countries, self-reported quantities of household food waste actually decreased, with a stronger reduction reported by Italian consumers. The MOA approach allowed to explain this perceived reduction as largely depending on the increase of opportunity to dedicate more time - to food-related activities as compared to the pre-COVID-19 period, with positive consequences on food management ability. These findings assist in drafting recommendations for tailored interventions to reduce the amount of domestic food waste and preserve positive behaviors emerged during lockdown, that could be continued in the absence of crisis.

Reflecting on COVID-19 for integrated perspectives on local and regional food systems vulnerabilities

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted multiple vulnerabilities and issues around local and regional food systems, presenting valuable opportunities to reflect on these issues and lessons on how to increase local/regional resilience. Using the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) in Canada as a case study, this research employs integrated planning perspectives, incorporating comprehensive-systems, regional, place-based, and temporal considerations, to (1) reflect upon the challenges and vulnerabilities that COVID-19 has revealed about local and regional food systems, and (2) examine what these reflections and insights illustrate with respect to the needs for and gaps in local/regional resilience against future exogenous shocks. The study used a community-based participatory approach to engage local and regional government, stakeholders, and community members living and working in the FVRD. Methods consisted of a series of online workshops, where participants identified impacts related to the food production, processing, distribution, access, and/or governance response components of the local and regional food systems and whether these impacts were short-term (under 3 months), medium-term (3 to 12 months), or long-term (over 1 year) in nature. Findings from the study revealed that food systems and their vulnerabilities are complex, including changes in food access and preparation behaviours, lack of flexibility in institutional policies for making use of local food supply, cascading effects due to stresses on social and public sector services, and inequities with respect to both food security impacts and strategies/services for addressing these impacts. Outcomes from this research demonstrate how including comprehensive-systems, regional, place-based, and temporal considerations in studies on food systems vulnerabilities can generate useful insights for local and regional resiliency planning.

Global value chains, food and just transition: a multi-scale approach to Brazilian soy value chains

ABSTRACT The article analyses the Brazilian soy value chains using a justice-based, multi-scale approach following the international debate on just transition to sustainable and healthy food systems in the context of climate change. It highlights the challenges and limits to promote just transitions based on dominant global value chains, while assessing private strategies as false solutions for sustainability and climate change. The multi-scale approach allows for linking global trends and private strategies to their intersections with local and national food systems. Systemic drivers of inequalities together with parameters for promoting food and environmental justices are the backdrop of the approach.

SDG Performance in Local Organic Food Systems and the Role of Sustainable Public Procurement

Alternative food systems have occupied a steady niche in the food systems transformation discourse as one of the transformative pathways capable of addressing many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Being one of the alternative approaches, organic food systems are often in the spotlight of transformation discussion. While their outcomes and, to a lesser extent, potential to address the SDGs have been documented, the attempts to provide empirical evidence for the latter contribution are largely lacking. The study aimed to close this gap by assessing the performance of SDGs in local organic food systems with the territorial approach. For this purpose, a mixed methods research design and actor-oriented approach have been used. The research employed a multiple-case study design to examine three European territorial organic food systems to uncover their contribution to SDGs and thereby their role in food systems transformation towards enhanced sustainability. Analysis at the target level revealed the central role of SDG 12, responsible consumption and production, addressed by the highest number of targets manifested through corresponding outcomes of all three analyzed case studies. The analyzed systems uncovered a leverage potential of sustainable public procurement to unfold other SDG targets through synergetic interactions of the respective outcomes.

The resilience of sub-urban small farming in Bucharest Metropolitan Area in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

In Romania, the immediate effects of the pandemic have revealed a strain on food supply chains due to the limitations related to social distancing between producers/deliverers/consumers. The paper aims to identify and analyze the resilience of small farmers in southern Romania (i.e., Bucharest Metropolitan Area) to the new conditions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. By combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, the analysis focused on the COVID-19 pandemic pre-conditions, impacts and resilience, as well as the post-COVID-19 solutions - the medium- and long-term measures necessary to sustain the effort of the farmers to cope with risks and uncertainties in the future. The study shows a close connection between some pre-existing conditions and farms capacity to become resilient to the shocks caused by the pandemic. Hence, organic farms demonstrated the highest resilience, while leisure and recreational farms the lowest. The research has improved the existing knowledge on the sub-urban farmers as key players of metropolitan agriculture and promoters of sustainability and food security for cities and identified some elements of resilience during COVID-19: reconnecting with local food production, networking, door-to-door delivery, multi-functionality inside the farm, etc. Particularly, backing small farmers to meet market requirements and access digital marketing are among the key measures to support local food systems and short food supply chains to adapt to future shocks.

Planning toward sustainable food systems: An exploratory assessment of local U.S. food system plans

National planning and health organizations agree that to achieve healthy and sustainable food systems, planners must balance goals across a spectrum of sustainability issues that include economic vitality, public health, ecological sustainability, social equity, and cultural diversity. This research is an assessment of government-adopted food system plans in the U.S. that examines which topics, across the three dimensions of sustainability (social, environmental, and economic), are included in local food system plans and conducts an exploratory analysis that asks whether the community capitals (built, cultural, social, financial, human, and natural) available in a community are associated with the content of food system plans. The research team first developed a Sustainable Food System Policy Index made up of 26 policy areas across the three dimensions that, in aggregate, define and operationalize sustainable food systems. With this index we evaluated a sample of 28 food system plans for inclusion of these policy impact areas. We then performed an exploratory regression analysis to examine whether the availability of community capitals was associated with the content of food system plans. Findings indicated that jurisdictions integrated a broad range of issues into their food system plans; however, there are certain issues across every dimension of sustainability that are much less frequently included in plans, such as strategies related to participation in decision-making, financial infrastructure, and the stewardship of natural resources. Regression analysis identified statistically significant linear relationships between particular capitals and the proportion of policy areas included in plans. In particular, higher metrics associated with poverty were associated with the inclusion of fewer policy areas and with a potentially narrower policy agenda. This study adds to the plan evaluation literature as one of the first attempts to document the content of a sample of U.S. food system plans through a sustainability lens, contributing to the knowledge of what types of issues are advanced by local food system plans and the policy implications of current gaps in planning agendas.

The Role and Functions of Stakeholders in the Development of Local Food Systems: Case of Lithuania

Abstract This article based on the example of Lithuanian pilot areas (districts) aims to supplement the knowledge about the role and functions of stakeholders in the development of local food systems (hereinafter LFS). An analysis of the scientific literature has revealed a clear role of stakeholders in different countries, but this approach and experience are unique in each country. The results of the case study of Lithuania showed that an analysis of pilot areas and a questionnaire survey at the municipal level identified 14 institutions that could make a significant contribution to the organization of LFS. However, horizontal links between LFS stakeholders are relatively weak, functions and roles are not clearly defined in the pilot areas. Research methods used in the article: analysis and synthesis of scientific literature, document analysis, case study, questionnaire survey, logical abstraction, comparison method. The insights and results of this article contributed to a deeper understanding of LFS as a phenomenon in Lithuania, and from a practical point of view, other districts of Lithuania could discover, self-assess and adapt their LFS organization principles, identify stakeholders and their functions.

Managing across boundaries for coordinated local and regional food system policy

As society experiences greater food- and agriculture-related crises, including those related to climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to rethink conventional silos of hierarchical government. Know Your Farmer Know Your Food (KYF2) was an ambitious collaborative interagency model to address local and regional food system (LRFS) development across a multitude of policies and programs. KYF2, as a public management strategy for implementing public policy, was associated with an investment of more than $1 billion through more than 40,000 LRFS initiatives. Our aim is to document and evaluate the extent to which KYF2 changed the way the USDA implements LRFS policy. Guided by public management, policy implementation, and collaboration literature, we use a mixed methods approach by: 1) conducting a document analysis to determine the internal implementation goals of KYF2, and 2) surveying USDA staff members involved in KYF2 and using statistical and network analysis of survey data to evaluate the evidence about whether KYF2 achieved internal goals. We find that KYF2 legitimized LRFS work within USDA agencies, changed and institutionalized the ways in which daily business is conducted, and elicited new cross-agency collaborations. KYF2, as a cross-boundary innovation, enabled the USDA to coordinate implementation of LRFS policies across 17 agencies, integrating LRFS department-wide and creating policy feedbacks that resulted in legislative change. The development and passage of public policy is often a focus for change, but this study suggests that management strategies to coordinate existing policies can also significantly impact the way in which governments engage in complex, multi-sector issues.