Farm Resilience as a precondition for the sustainable growth of Organic Food Networks - Case study Austria
Abstract
Two major challenges are currently facing the European organic sector. One is to scale up organic production and consumption while retaining the authenticity of the values embedded in an organic production system. The other challenge is to enhance the ability of organic farms to adapt to change (e.g. in agricultural policy and on agricultural markets) and build up farm resilience. Within a framework of rapid and partly unforeseeable change, the capacity of farms to cope with change, to recognise new opportunities and to adapt their activities is crucial for the long-term survival of farms. Since the market strategy is intimately linked to production plans and methods, it influences the farmers´ capacity to cope with change. Scaling up organic production and consumption is likely to affect farms. Changes at the farm level may include reduction in crop diversity, increased farm size, higher capital input, lower labour use and stronger dependency on industrial, energy-intensive inputs. Such changes can possibly affect a farm’s ability to cope with change, i.e. resilience. The aim of this research is to explore market strategies for scaling up organic farming while ensuring farm resilience. The interdisciplinary and international project will be carried out in Sweden and Austria. In total, four to six organic food networks will be examined. The case study in Austria will investigate one or two networks. Cases will represent a broad range of networks that have experienced growth, e.g. box schemes, bioregions, farmer co-operations, etc. Data will be collected through personal semi-structured interviews, focus group workshops, and mapping of the organic food networks with members (farmers and other relevant actors) of the respective networks. For each case, the following steps will be undertaken: 1) deepening the concept of farm resilience by integrating the perception of the farmers and by developing indicators of farm resilience, 2) mapping farms in the food networks by surveying farm characteristics such as size, production, participation in other market initiatives, etc., 3) assessing the farm resilience in relation to market strategies by focusing on the farmers´ reasons for engaging in the particular food network, the benefits and shortcomings of the market strategy and its effect on farm organisation, and 4) investigating the potential of the food network for scaling up while building farm resilience. The outcomes of the project will contribute to the search for sustainable farming systems and farming-led rural development using resilience as a novel framework. The research will also feed into theory and policy development of organic farming. Research findings will be published in scientific journals, presented at relevant conferences and reported in popular science journals.
keywords Organic farming, organic food networks, resilience, sustainable rural development
Publikationen
Does growth hurt? Resilience of farms in growing local organic food networks
Autoren: Milestad, R; Kummer, S Jahr: 2012
Conference & Workshop proceedings, paper, abstract
How are farms influenced by the way they market their products? Analysing the resilience of farms participating in local organic food networks
Autoren: Kummer, S; Milestad, R Jahr: 2012
Conference & Workshop proceedings, paper, abstract
Social-ecological resilience of farms in growing local organic food networks
Autoren: Kummer, S; Milestad, R Jahr: 2012
Conference & Workshop proceedings, paper, abstract
How growth of a local organic box scheme influenced supplying farmers
Autoren: Kummer, S; Hirner, P; Milestad, R Jahr: 2015
Journal articles
Project staff
Christian R. Vogl
Ao.Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.nat.techn. Christian R. Vogl
christian.vogl@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-93312
Project Leader
11.07.2014 - 30.04.2015
BOKU partners
External partners
Department of Animal Nutrition and Management
none
coordinator