Working Together to Build Cooperative Food Systems

Anderson, Colin; Brushett, Lynda; Gray, Thomas W.; Renting, H.

doi:10.5304/jafscd.2014.043.017

Cited by 26 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Finally, emerging local food networks require various forms of cooperation (see, for example, the special issue on "Cooperatives and alternative food system initiatives", [18]) as seen in the following examples.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmer Cooperation as a Means for Creating Local Food Systems—Potentials and Challenges

Lutz¹,

Smetschka²,

Grima³

2017

Sustainability

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmer Cooperation as a Means for Creating Local Food Systems—Potentials and Challenges

Lutz¹,

Smetschka²,

Grima³

2017

Sustainability

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“…In the dimension of management capacities, the group attributed the least importance to the administrative capacities criterion (W L 0.187, W G 0.044) and it was classified in tenth place among the twelve criteria of the model. Among the previous criteria, marketing capacities stands out; in this respect Knickel et al (2008), Schermer et al (2010) and Anderson et al (2014) showed empirical evidence on the importance of skills, knowledge and market competencies for agrarian producer organizations that seek to articulate agri-food systems and how these skills are becoming tools that facilitate community development. Additionally, these skills also ensure that producers have access to markets and participate in them in a more democratic way at multiple scales.…”

Section: Estimation Of Priorities Of the Elements Of The Model Based mentioning

confidence: 99%

An analytical model to evaluate the performance of associative seed producer organizations in the framework of Plan Semilla - Agrosavia (Colombia)

Lázaro-Palacio

Aranda-Camacho

2019

Agron. colomb.

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Low access and use of quality seeds limit agricultural competitiveness. Since 2013, the Corporacion Colombiana de Investigacion Agropecuaria -Agrosavia- initiated “Plan Semilla” with the aim of consolidating nuclei of quality seed producers under associative schemes that guarantee quality seed supply in the regions where the seeds will be used. Between 2013 and 2016, we undertook characterizations of the organizations participating within the framework of Plan Semilla using various qualitative tools for their diagnostics. However, it was not possible to specify the actions that needed to be taken in order to strengthen these organizations. The aim of this research was to generate an analytical model to evaluate the performance of participating organizations that would establish quality seed production nuclei and to validate the model’s use in those organizations that produce cocoa seed in the Plan Semilla framework. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to construct the model, which is composed of 4 dimensions (technical capacities, environmental resources, organizational capacities,and management capacities) that are related to criteria that are considered decisive for the consolidation of nuclei of quality seed producers. The model was assessed by 11 experts who identified the importance weight of the elements. In the validation, we used indicators from 30 cocoa seed producer organizations participating in Plan Semilla. We calculated additive utility functions and used a cluster analysis to define the thresholds and to establish the level of performance of the organizations. The results have improved the procedural rationality for the classification of organizations that seek to consolidate quality seed production nuclei.

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“…Despite the extensive areas of green and brownfield land which remain in public ownership, only very limited evidence exists of public sector authorities taking lead roles in stimulating community food growing (Anderson et al 2014). Often their involvement conforms to (and is limited to) a traditional regulatory and planning policy role.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governing Social Innovation: Exploring the Role of ‘Discretionary Practice’ in the Negotiation of Shared Spaces of Community Food Growing

2016

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Despite the extensive areas of under‐used green and brownfield land that remain in public ownership, little academic attention has thus far been given to the role of the public sector in utilising this resource for shared forms of community food growing. Building upon recent calls for more research targeted towards the governance of social innovation, but also the spaces and places in which it occurs, this article presents an in‐depth qualitative account of one such public sector‐led attempt at instigating the co‐production of community food growing. Guided by social innovation theory and Lipsky's (1980) street level bureaucracy, the discussion pays particular attention to the discretional practice of front line public sector workers. Whilst at one level public sector‐led initiatives lack sufficient intention or scope for bringing about the transformation of existing social orders, their contribution to propagating individual and smaller scale occurrences of social innovation in the context of community food security should nevertheless not be overlooked. It is by adopting a more micro‐level, situated and process orientated approach to the analysis of alternative forms of collaborative public sector‐led community food growing, that it becomes possible to evidence the presence of innovative practice as it unfolds on the ground.

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Working Together to Build Cooperative Food Systems

Cited by 26 publications

References 10 publications

Farmer Cooperation as a Means for Creating Local Food Systems—Potentials and Challenges

Farmer Cooperation as a Means for Creating Local Food Systems—Potentials and Challenges

An analytical model to evaluate the performance of associative seed producer organizations in the framework of Plan Semilla - Agrosavia (Colombia)

Governing Social Innovation: Exploring the Role of ‘Discretionary Practice’ in the Negotiation of Shared Spaces of Community Food Growing

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