The future of small farms and small food businesses as actors in regional food security: A participatory scenario analysis from Europe and Africa

This research was supported by the `Small Farms, Small Food Businesses and Sustainable Food Security' (SALSA) project, which has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 677363. Funding for open access charge: CRUE-Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Ortiz Miranda, D.; Moreno-Pérez, OM.; Arnalte-Mur, L.; Cerrada-Serra, P.; Martinez Gomez, VD.; Adolph, B.; Atela, J.... (2022). The future of small farms and small food businesses as actors in regional food security: A participatory scenario analysis from Europe and Africa. Journal of Rural Studies. 95:326-335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.09.0063263359

Actions to strengthen the contribution of small farms and small food businesses to food security in Europe

This study stems from a participatory foresight exercise conducted in nine Mediterranean, Baltic, Nordic and Eastern European regions, aiming to strengthen the role of small farms and small food businesses in ensuring food security. A wide range of stakeholders participated by attending workshops. They represented farmers’ organisations, food businesses, consumers’ organisations, NGOs, researchers, extension services, professional groups, and administration and public bodies. The actions proposed by participants are scanned and categorised around six broad objectives, stakeholders’ priorities and their underlying beliefs and preconceptions are discussed around the current debates of the literature, and the drivers that influence the feasibility of the proposed actions are discussed. Furthermore, the alignment of stakeholders’ -driven objectives with the European Strategies on food, agriculture, and rural areas is examined, with a focus on: (i) the EU Farm to Fork Strategy, (ii) the Rural Action Plan contained in the Long-Term Vision of Rural Areas developed by the EU Commission, and (iii) the Common Agricultural Policy in force since January 2023

Assessing the role of small farms in regional food systems in Europe: Evidence from a comparative study

The importance of small farms is well established and recognized in developing countries, but far less is known about their role in Europe, where agriculture is largely industrialized. In this paper we use a comparative analysis of evidence from 15 European countries to assess the contribution of small farms to regional food production and availability, across geographies and products. We collected information about regional (NUTS-3) level production, trade and consumption of 91 products across 25 European regions using official statistics, expert interviews, and farm-level surveys. This information was used to develop product-specific systems maps which were coded and systematised. We then used a Random Forest algorithm to establish which system variables were more likely to explain variation along two dimensions: the contribution of small farms to regional production (i.e. proportion of regional production coming from small farms) and their contribution to regional food availability (i.e. proportion of their production that is consumed within the region). Our results suggest that the contribution of small farms to regional production is closely related to the relative abundance of small farms in the agricultural landscape, while their contribution to regional food availability is driven by structure of specific supply chains and the market linkages available to small farms, and in particular the degree of selfprovisioning and direct sales to consumers. These findings shed light on the relatively unknown word of European small farms, showing their importance in food production and availability, and providing new evidence to inform more effective policy for these often-neglected actors of the food system

The drivers of change for the contribution of small farms to regional food security in Europe.

The capacity of the food system to respond to the economic, demographic and environmental challenges ahead has become a topic of increasing interest, with particular attention to the roles and responsibilities of the different actors to ensure more sustainable food systems that can guarantee food and nutrition security for all. In this paper we approach the need to better understand the factors that can condition the potential contribution of small farms to regional food and nutrition security in Europe, acknowledging the role that small farms play in Europe at present. The analysis is based on a survey to 94 experts from 17 regions (NUTS3 level) in 11 different European countries, which identified the drivers of change according to the regional experts. These drivers were then categorized and their relative relevance assessed. The results indicate that some relevant drivers in the European context are linked to the capacity to adopt technologies and practices allowing adaptation to climate change, and the capacity to connect to food markets, with emphasis in the need for cooperation and collective action. The weight of other more European-specific drivers such as ‘consumer values and habits’ reveal that the future role of small farms will be very dependent on a societal change, with equity becoming a relevant component of consumers’ choice

Food system integration of olive-oil-producing small farms in Southern Europe

International audienceThis study aims to identify the various forms of integration of olive-oil-producing small farms (OSFs) into food systems in four Southern European regions, as well as to identify the most beneficial strategies of integration. Drawing on data from the SALSA Project, the study has found that besides self-provision, OSFs are engaged in multiple types of integration, including reciprocity relations as well as relations with informal and formal markets. Multiple strategies with synergistic effects co-exist at the farm/farm household level. However, specific territorial resources are partially mobilized by actors’ strategies; consequently, olive oil identities are valorized on the market to some extent, but less so through positive externalities. Therefore, the unrealized potential of localization of food systems in which OSFs operate is identified

The future of small farms and small food businesses as actors in regional food security: a participatory scenario analysis from Europe and Africa

International audienc