Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
4.3 Collaboration, consumer demand and local development
Sustainability in agriculture from an economic perspective requires high quality food at
reasonable price to the consumer (Ministry of Agriculture, 2000; SOU, 2004). What defines
“reasonable price” is of course a value issue. In Järna higher prices for local organic food is
accompanied with high demand. The higher food expense in the consumer survey is
somewhat misleading from a societal perspective. The increased cost reflects lower
environmental effects compared to conventional food production and consumption where
environmental effects to a large degree are externalized. According to Pretty et al. (2005)
substantial reductions in external costs could actually be made by a large scale conversion
towards local and organic production, similar to the ERA production studied here.
Ecological food is generally more expensive and on a larger scale, higher food prices might
hinder a change of consumption. It could be difficult to convince consumers to increase food
expenditure for the sake of the environment only and the consumption pattern found in the
survey is not expected at most places. A large scale transformation of Swedish agriculture
would probably require the government to intervene. This is similar to what is suggested by
Edman (SOU, 2004). To increase local, organic, Swedish food production and consumption
Edman suggests that the government should strengthen domestic science subjects at school
and provide earmarked funding for buying organic food. Out of all food provided by public
institutions 25% ought to be organically certified, according to Edman. In Södertälje
municipality 14% of the public procurement of food is organic or biodynamic, which places
Södertälje among the top five of all Sweden's 290 municipalities (Södertälje municipality,
2006). This share is meant to increase to 50% in 2020. The policy on public procurement from
local organic producers is one example of vertical collaboration which facilitates the high
concentration of organic farms in the region. It is a good example of a ”policy to help
nurture green niches and put incumbent regimes under sustainability pressure” (Smith,
2007, p. 447). The collaboration in local, environmentally friendly food systems is not only
vertically anchored. Järna community belongs to Södertälje municipality. The families in the
household survey are not an isolated group but part of a well developed network of
horizontal collaboration. It corresponds well with the local supermarkets having among the
highest proportion of sold organic food in Sweden (Larsson, 2007).
The existence of several actors, at various organisational levels, enhances the diversity of
governance options (Hahn et al., 2006). In the case of the local ecological food system in
Järna different sectors at several levels are involved which could explain why it is so well
developed. Quoting Low and Gleeson (1998, p. 189) on environmental governance: “Think
and act, globally and locally”. Both households and municipalities use their buying power
to stimulate local production and development as well as environmental gains through
increased demand of local organic food. The consumers' attitudes revealed in the high share
of local and organic food and the tolerance towards higher prices could be described as an
informal institution based on trust (Svenfelt and Carlsson-Kanyama, 2010) and common
norms (Larsson, 2007). The high level of public procurement and the fact that organic farms
can lease municipal land at non-market conditions (Larsson et al., 2007) are results of
municipal regulations, i.e. formal institutions. These institutions facilitate in a sustainable
governance of the community and the local agriculture.
5. Conclusions
We conclude that a sustainable governance of the food system needs to address
consumption profiles as well as production methods, since both cause environmental
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