A contemporary concept of the value(s)-added food and agriculture sector and rural development

Abstract

The changing structure of agriculture strains the historically close relationship between commodity agriculture and rural development. Meanwhile, growth in consumer interest for differentiated, value-added products has the potential to create community economic development opportunities. However, the evidence regarding the benefit of value-added programs for broader community wealth is mixed. We argue that the mixed findings result, in part, from differences in how "value-added" is defined. Value-added agriculture has been conceptualized in many ways. Taking a USfocused approach, we first review four main concepts: value-added, short food supply chain, values-based supply chain, and civic agriculture. Building on these, we present our definition of a value(s)added food and agriculture sector, incorporating three features: (1) Consumers make purchases that simultaneously provide utility and enable a price premium; (2) the shared principles among firms and their relational arrangement support the distribution of the value, and thus the premium, across the chain and between owners and employees (the use of "principles" or "values" prompts the "(s)" in our definition); and (3) supply chain actors have a demonstrated commitment to the community. We discuss how this definition contributes to debates in, and has implications for, community economic development policy.

A Regional Imperative: The Case for Regional Food Systems

“…About half the cases were described as "hybrid"-they combined alternative (for example, "local" or values-based) and mainstream (national and international) businesses. A hybrid model appears to be "a pragmatic way to deal with the lack of food supply infrastructure in many places" (Clancy & Ruhf, 2010, p. 10) and to scale up value-added products to enter larger markets (Clark et al, 2020).…”

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“…The process of resocializing local food systems actively constructs new forms of value. Clark et al (2020) call for a "reorientation of the term "value-added" to "value(s)-added" to capture facets of food and agriculture development linked to community wealth" (p. 189). This concept of "value(s)-added" looks at the values expressed through supply-chain relationships, particularly in short food supply chains (SFSC), and how bringing farmers closer to consumers contributes to transparency, clearer provenance, and quality.…”

Back to Nature With Fenceless Farms—Technology Opportunities to Reconnect People and Food

“…Homogenisation of technologies such as genetics refines the production methods. However, complex supply chains can make it difficult for farmers to connect with consumers and create value by delivering specialised products that consumers are willing to pay more for (Clark et al, 2020). Critical to raising the value of a product is the ability to differentiate it in the marketplace (Schulze-Ehlers and Anders, 2018).…”