Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: Facing the continuous loss of family-run farms across Europe, farmers are seeking new pathways to sustainability. One such pathway is involvement in local food supply systems. Often, this requires new forms of cooperation among farmers and with consumers. Little is known, however, about how this cooperation works in practice and how it might be better fostered. This paper aims to illustrate various forms of cooperation in relation to small-scale farming and the establishment of local food supply. It sheds light on challenges farmers are facing and on the potential measures they can adopt to tackle these challenges. By means of an Austrian case study, researchers applied a participatory method (Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation) and conducted workshops with farmers. Research shows that local production, processing and distribution infrastructure becomes more affordable when farmers collaborate with each other and with consumers and institutions. Furthermore, sharing and collectively developing know-how helps to optimise local farming and food supply systems. However, farmers often lack the knowledge and time to establish new collaborations and to re-organise labour, logistics and communication processes. They would benefit from the availability of cooperative schemes that help facilitate such processes and innovations.
Source: Sustainability
DOI: 10.3390/su9060925
Authors: Juliana Lutz, Barbara Smetschka, Nelson Grima
Institution: University of Klagenfurt
Language: English
Topic: Organic Food and Agriculture
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,896
OpenAlex ID: W2616884456