Small Farm Clusters and Pathways to Rural Community Sustainability

Brasier, Kathryn J.; Goetz, Stephan J.; Smith, Lindsay; Ames, Molly; Green, Joanna; Kelsey, Tim; Rangarajan, Anu; Whitmer, Walt

doi:10.1080/15575330709489826

Cited by 24 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Following the Windmill approach of Leonardo et al [34], we explored the influence of the various service arrangements that determine farmers' options for marketing their produce. We looked at farmers' access to markets, associated transaction costs, and fit of service arrangements with particular degrees of market integration [13,17]. The service arrangements offer varying degrees and combinations of the horizontal (between farmers) and vertical (with input and output side chain actors) coordination that are necessary to effectively integrate smallholders into markets [11,35].…”

Section: Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In practice, upgrading occurs in so-called agribusiness clusters, i.e., geographic concentrations of producers and other actors engaged in the same subsector that facilitate the required linkages to input and output markets [11]. In clusters, the range and types of input-output connections for dairy farms and small and medium enterprises are increased, positively influencing knowledge creation and transfer between actors, enabling them to benefit from economies of scale (e.g., volumes of inputs and outputs) and scope (e.g., use of imported semen and sale of milk to new markets) [12][13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intensification and Upgrading Dynamics in Emerging Dairy Clusters in the East African Highlands

et al. 2018

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Based on farmer and value chain actor interviews, this comparative study of five emerging dairy clusters elaborates on the upgrading of farming systems, value chains, and context shapes transformations from semi-subsistent to market-oriented dairy farming. The main results show unequal cluster upgrading along two intensification dimensions: dairy feeding system and cash cropping. Intensive dairy is competing with other high-value cash crop options that resource-endowed farmers specialize in, given conducive support service arrangements and context conditions. A large number of drivers and co-dependencies between technical, value chain, and institutional upgrading build up to system jumps. Transformation may take decades when market and context conditions remain sub-optimal. Clusters can be expected to move further along initial intensification pathways, unless actors consciously redirect course. The main theoretical implications for debate about cluster upgrading are that co-dependencies between farming system, market, and context factors determine upgrading outcomes; the implications for the debate about intensification pathways are that they need to consider differences in farmer resource endowments, path dependency, concurrency, and upgrading investments. Sustainability issues for consideration include enabling a larger proportion of resource-poor farmers to participate in markets; enabling private input and service provision models; attention for food safety; and climate smartness.

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Section: Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intensification and Upgrading Dynamics in Emerging Dairy Clusters in the East African Highlands

et al. 2018

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“…Our initial question is whether agro-clusters reduce poverty in a region as well as in its neighbours. Agro-clusters offer various advantages in terms of improving agricultural productivity and reducing poverty (Kiminami and Kiminami 2009;Brasier et al 2007); such clusters generate income opportunities for farmers and create employment opportunities for other rural people. Income generation and employment creation assist rural households to move out of poverty (Estudillo and Otsuka 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agro-clusters and Rural Poverty: A Spatial Perspective for West Java

Wardhana

Ihle

Heijman

2017

Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies

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Neighbouring economies are likely to influence one another. The concentration of farming activities referred to as an 'agro-cluster' generates opportunities for income and employment in a given region and its surrounding area. We analyse the link between poverty rates and agro-clusters by accounting for spatial spillovers. To quantify agroclusters, we employ one input-oriented and one output-oriented measure. Our analysis applies six spatial econometric specifications and focuses on 545 subdistricts of West Java, where about 10% of the population live in poverty. We find that the concentration of agricultural employment substantially reduces poverty in a subdistrict as well as in neighbouring subdistricts. We also find that specialisation in crop outputs has positive impacts on poverty reduction and that localisation externalities are fundamental to agriculture's success. These findings imply that policy interventions may be applied in a spatially selective manner because they will generate spatial-spillover effects on poverty reduction in surrounding areas.

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“…It has also coincided with a new approach to local/regional economic development that is based on industry clusters. Industry clusters, according to Brasier et al [6], are "geographic concentrations of firms or businesses in a particular field that cooperate, share local resources, exchange knowledge, and also compete." (The literature on industry clusters is extensive (e.g., [7][8][9][10][11][12][13])).…”

Section: Conceptual Framework: Sustainability Economics Geographymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Evolution of Racehorse Clusters in the United States: Geographic Analysis and Implications for Sustainable Agricultural Development

et al. 2020

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Sustainability is frequently defined as the need to place equal emphasis on three societal goals: economic prosperity, environment, and social equity. This “triple bottom line” (TBL) framework is embraced by practitioners in both corporate and government settings. Within agriculture, the horse-racing industry and its breeding component are an interesting case study for the TBL approach to local development. The sector is to some extent a “knowledge industry”, agglomerating in relatively few regions worldwide. In the USA, choices made by breeders or owners are likely affected by sudden changes in specific state policies, especially those related to gambling. Both of these unusual conditions—for agriculture at least—have been playing out against a background of national decline in the number of registered racehorse breeding stock. This study traces changes, between 1995 and 2017, in the geographic distribution of registered Thoroughbred and Standardbred stallions. We find that isolated, scattered registered stallions have largely disappeared, strengthening one or more core states (or counties) that had an initially high percentage of stallions. The gainers and losers among previously core regions appear to be heavily influenced by state-level policies. It follows that such policies can influence the conservation of agricultural landscapes as well as racing revenues.

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Small Farm Clusters and Pathways to Rural Community Sustainability

Cited by 24 publications

References 17 publications

Intensification and Upgrading Dynamics in Emerging Dairy Clusters in the East African Highlands

Intensification and Upgrading Dynamics in Emerging Dairy Clusters in the East African Highlands

Agro-clusters and Rural Poverty: A Spatial Perspective for West Java

The Evolution of Racehorse Clusters in the United States: Geographic Analysis and Implications for Sustainable Agricultural Development

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