Henk Renting

Understanding Alternative Food Networks: Exploring the Role of Short Food Supply Chains in Rural Development

In this paper we explore the development and incidence of alternative food networks within a European-wide context. By developing a consistent definition of short food supply chains, we address both the morphology and the dynamics of these, and then examine empirical evidence concerning their incidence and rural development impact across seven EU member states. These developments need to be seen as one significant contribution to the current transitions in rural Europe concerning the crisis of conventional intensive and productivist agriculture and the public consumer pressure for a larger variety of distinctive ‘quality’ food products.

Rural Development: From Practices and Policies towards Theory

Both in practice and policy a new model of rural development is emerging. This paper reflects the discussions in the impact research programme and suggests that at the level of associated theory also a fundamental shift is taking place. The modernization paradigm that once dominated policy, practice and theory is being replaced by a new rural development paradigm. Rural development is analyzed as a multi-level, multi-actor and multi-facetted process rooted in historical traditions that represents at all levels a fundamental rupture with the modernization project. The range of new quality products, services and forms of cost reduction that together comprise rural development are understood as a response by farm families to both the eroding economic base of their enterprises and to the new needs and expectations European society has of the rural areas. Rural development therefore is largely an autonomous, self-driven process and in its further unfolding agriculture will continue to play a key role, although it is a role that may well change. This article provides an introduction to the nine papers of this ‘special issue’ and the many reconfiguration processes embodied in rural development that they address.in rural development

Exploring multifunctional agriculture. A review of conceptual approaches and prospects for an integrative transitional framework

In the last decade the multifunctional agriculture (MFA) concept has emerged as a key notion in scientific and policy debates on the future of agriculture and rural development. Broadly speaking, MFA refers to the fact that agricultural activity beyond its role of producing food and fibre may also have several other functions such as renewable natural resources management, landscape and biodiversity conservation and contribution to the socio-economic viability of rural areas. The use of the concept can be traced to a number of wider societal and political transformation processes, which have influenced scientific and policy approaches in different ways amongst countries and disciplines. This paper critically discusses various existing research approaches to MFA, both from natural and social sciences. To this aim different strands of literature are classified according to their focus on specific governance mechanisms and levels of analysis into four main categories of research approaches (market regulation, land-use approaches, actor-oriented and public regulation approaches). For each category an overview of the state-of-the-art of research is given and an assessment is made of its strengths and weaknesses. The review demonstrates that the multifunctionality concept has attracted a wealth of scientific contributions, which have considerably improved our understanding of key aspects of MFA. At the same time approaches in the four categories have remained fragmented and each has limitations to understand MFA in all its complexity due to inherent constraints of applied conceptualizations and associated disciplinary backgrounds. To go beyond these limitations, we contend, new meta-level frameworks of analysis are to be developed that enable a more integrated approach. The paper concludes by presenting the main lines of an integrative, transitional framework for the study of MFA, which analyses multifunctional agriculture against the background of wider societal change processes towards sustainability and identifies a number of key elements and research challenges for this.

Methodological and Conceptual Issues in the Study of Multifunctionality and Rural Development

Acareful analysis of the scale and depth of the more recent changes in rural areas reveals the contours of a new development trajectory. The key features of this trajectory are diversity and multifunctionality: diversity reflected in the actors involved, the particular activities undertaken and the patterns of motivation that emerge, and multifunctionality in the simultaneous and interrelated provision of different functions (Van der Ploeg et al. 2000). Researchers involved in rural development face a two-fold challenge. First, they must improve their understanding of multifunctionality and, second and more practically, they must acquire insights into the complex and interrelated processes that contribute to the development of rural areas. The aim of this article is to outline the complexity of those rural development processes that specifically relate to the phenomenon of multifunctionality. An attempt is made to structure the various patterns of multifunctionality found in the European countryside, and different levels of multifunctionality, key changes, linkages and influences have been identified. More specifically, an attempt is made to find adequate ways of unraveling and visualizing the complex interrelationships and changes involved in the rural development process. In addition, we have tried to improve our understanding of these interrelationships taking into account their spatial and temporal dimensions. Finally, we have tried to identify the data needed for a quantitative assessment of the changes taking place at the different levels of farm, farm household, other rural enterprises, region, multipliers, and substitution effects. In the discussion reference is made to several case studies from the impact research programme. 1

Pluriactivity as a Livelihood Strategy in Irish Farm Households and its Role in Rural Development

Within the European Union, Ireland is one of the countries that has a very high number of farms where the farm operator and/or spouse works outside the family farm. The role of off-farm employment in the viability of Irish farm households is central to both farming and the sustainability of rural communities. This article examines the importance of pluriactive farm households at both local and regional levels by refering to cases studies drawn from the West of Ireland. It shows that off-farm work by Irish farm families is neither a new phenomenon nor purely the result of economic necessity. It also indicates the considerable socio-economic and environmental importance of pluriactivity. The article concludes by relating the realities of pluriactivity to the future rural and agricultural policy of the European Union. It suggests that the growing role of pluriactivity for farm households should be viewed more as a key strategy in the maintenance of a ‘living countryside’ than as an indicator of conventional agriculture’s failure to sustain farming populations.

Reconnecting Nature, Farming and Society: Environmental Cooperatives in the Netherlands as Institutional Arrangements for Creating Coherence

An important implication of agricultural modernization has been the break-down of interlinkages between farming, ecology and society. Historically, farming systems evolved from the specific responses of farming communities to local ecological conditions. The totality of regionalized farming systems arising out of this co-production moulded the countryside into an ‘archipelago’ of differentiated ruralities. During the period of agricultural modernization, the nature of co-production changed thoroughly. The natural elements in co-production were increasingly artificialized or replaced by industrial artefacts. This paper analyses the emergence of environmental cooperatives in the Netherlands as a movement towards a renewed embedding of farming in its local environment. Environmental cooperatives are local farmers associations that promote activities related to sustainable agriculture and rural development and claim to be actively involved in effectuating rural policies in their locale. Since the foundation of the first cooperative in 1992, numbers have rapidly grown to over 100. This paper examines the genesis and practices of environmental cooperatives and assesses their socio-economic and ecological impact. The importance lies most of all, so the authors contend, in that they represent valuable ‘field laboratories’ for building stimulating and supportive institutional contexts for remodelling Dutch farming along the lines of environmental and economic sustainability. Copyright

Impact and potential : a comparative review of European rural development practices

Rural development practices are found throughout Europe and cover a wide range of different types of activity. At first sight there does not seem to be much similarity between these different practices. This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of some 30 cases of rural development from the different tracts of European countryside studied in the first phase of the impact research programme. The paper summarizes several of the communalities that were revealed in the analysis and goes on to consider differences that may be relevant to policy, especially in relation to the levels of socio-economic impact generated by rural development practices in terms of extra income and employment. By means of clustering sets of cases according to regional and farm level impact data, a number of underlying factors in successful rural development and its translation into socio-economic impacts are identified. Important factors relate the dissemination of activities by integrating new participants and repetition by others, the unleashing of synergy effects within clusters of compatible and mutually reinforcing rural development activities,and the construction of regional ‘protected spaces’ within the dominant technological regime that favour rural development.

The road towards sustainable rural development: issues of theory, policy and research practice

Developing a more widespread diffusion of sustainable agricultural practices as part of progressing rural sustainable development is being hampered by different modes of environmental social thought. This introduction to this special issue on ‘Reconstituting of nature through rural development practices’ argues for a realignment of social theory and empirical practice in considering the real potentiality of alternative and emergent rural development cases. The social science of agro-ecology is introduced as an initial framework within which to assess such alternatives and emerging tendencies. Copyright

Agri-Food systems and territorial development: innovations, new dynamics and changing governance mechanisms

The chapter explores the linkages between farming systems and agri-food chains in a territorial development context. Lock-in effects within the current agri-food system are analysed through a socio-historical analysis. Then the experiences of emergent, still relatively small-scale, alternative food networks are assessed in terms of their transformative potential to enable sustainable food systems at a larger scale. Finally, the analysis focuses on the transition processes of agri-food systems at the territorial scale and considers the changes needed in governance modes. The chapter underlines the interdependencies and possible complementarities between the various actors of agri-food systems from production to consumption, including intermediaries as well as public policies and civil society. It emphasizes the transition and governance aspects involved.

Vulnerability Analysis of Urban Agriculture Projects: A Case Study of Community and Entrepreneurial Gardens in the Netherlands and Switzerland

We identified the main challenges and perturbations faced when an urban agriculture (UA) project is established. The analysis was based on a vulnerability and resilience framework. Perturbations stemming from biophysical factors did not have a decisive impact on the continuity of UA projects. Perturbations related to socio‐institutional factors were the most threatening to the continuity of UA projects. Our case studies give an insight in potential perturbations and responses by UA projects in the Netherlands and Switzerland.