Innovations in Agricultural and Food Systems Sustainability in California

Abstract

Despite the dominant trends toward farm consolidation and cheap food policies in California, there are many examples of producers who are adopting regenerative on-farm practices and supporting organizations that assist small, beginning, and sustainability-focused farmers to thrive in a challenging environment. Sustainability innovations profiled in this case study are variously related to the three broader concepts of socioecological systems, integrated landscape management, and rural-urban interface. After reviewing these concepts, this case study presents the main barriers to sustainable farming and sustainable food systems, which are identified in interviews with producers. This case study then profiles illustrative examples of economic, social, and environmental innovations at the farm and institutional levels, which have achieved success at overcoming these barriers and are sufficiently documented for sharing and scaling-up impact. Producer innovations to reduce climate and market risks are then classified on a scale continuum. Finally, this case study presents the diverse types and qualities of support available to sustainability-focused farmers and ranchers in California, with clear policy implications for broadening and deepening this support.

Diversified Farming Systems: Impacts and Adaptive Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States, Norway and China

“…We chose three geographical locations for our policy and case-study investigation: United States/north-central California, European Union/western Norway and China/southeastern China, building on a previous comparative collaboration on sustainability perspectives in agriculture (Elias and Marsh, 2019). This study, therefore, presents a unique opportunity to explore and compare the impacts of a global pandemic on farmers and agri-food supply chains, and to assess and compare both farmer and policy responses, in three very distinct regions.…”

Resilience of Community Food Systems (CFS): Co-Design as a Long-Term Viable Pathway to Face Crises in Neglected Territories?

“…Elias and Marsh [ 10 ] consider that sustainability innovations in agricultural and food systems are situated within three broader concepts: socio ecological systems, integrated landscape management, and the rural–urban interface.…”

“…Agroecological diversification strengthens ecological and socio-economic resilience by offering a variety of products, eligible to access new market opportunities. Successful platforms typically blend innovative marketing and financing with the scaling-up of farm- based agroecological practices to meet landscape objectives [ 10 ]. Complementary information and communication technologies (ICT) technology can be used to lower costs and enhance information asymmetries for higher market transparency.…”

Sustainable Condition of the Agricultural Sector’s Environmental, Economic, and Social Components from the Perspective of Open Innovation

“…Economic factors represent the level of productivity of an industry, as well as its profitability and its payment capacity [37,38], while social factors relate to the local context, the participation of actors in benefit-sharing, and sustainable consumption [37,39]. Within this context, a significant amount of research has focused on the relationship between agriculture, sustainability, and climate change, in terms of both the risks associated with different climate scenarios and regions [37][38][39][40]43,44] as well as the steps that ensure innovations required for the sustainable development [24,45,46].…”

“…Many scientists [24,40,[46][47][48][49][50][51] believe that balancing factors of production, profitability, environmental protection, and social considerations contributes to the sustainability of the agricultural industry. This has been accompanied by attempts to develop practical systems for measuring sustainability in the different systems of farming, cropping, and livestock raising on which humanity depends for subsistence.…”