Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Policies
(Federal and state)
Agricultural
Environmental
Energy and
other
Markets
(Structure and prices)
Knowledge
institutions
(Public and private)
Farm inputs
Public
Scientific
research
and
extension
Farmer
behaviour
Farm
commodity
markets
Skills /goals / values
Private
Commodity mix
Assets/resources
land tenure
Value -trait
markets
Farmer networking
Consumers, stakeholders, social movements
Fig. 18.4.
Drivers and constraints that affect farmers' decisions. Farmers make choices based on market
structures, policy incentives and knowledge institutions - all affected by consumers, stakeholders and
social movements. Adapted from NRC (2010).
disproportionate incentives along supply
chains to produce large quantities of relatively
inexpensive commodities very efficiently.
Consumer insistence for direct accountabil-
ity of farmers for the environmental and social
consequences of their farming practices and
systems also has grown considerably in recent
decades; for example, acceptable animal welfare
and resource (water, land and air) conservation.
Therefore, various 'sustainability branded'
foods are appearing in grocery stores and res-
taurants as 'certified'. Markets, local, regional
and even global, are responsive and becoming
more responsive to these value-added products
as driven by evolution to more sustainable sys-
tems, at least partially meeting the sustainability
imperatives set forth by the committee (NRC,
2010). These include grass-finished beef, organ-
ically produced milk and recognition of 'locally
branded' products. While this movement has
been late to arrive in the USA, but more advanced
in the Europe, market forces that influence pur-
chasing decisions likely will be accelerated via
public-policy incentives that bolster demand for
products from sustainable agricultural farms
and (sub-) systems.
Markets
Chapter 12 of this topic provides extensive
description and details of current agricultural
marketing trends and global markets. The NRC
(2010) committee recognized that most farmers
especially in developed countries sell primarily
commodities to a highly consolidated global
market largely owned and managed by a rela-
tively few entities in the global agri-food system
that rewards large volume, low-cost food, feed
and fibre, most often dictated and constrained by
contract agreements from food processors and
retailers. At the same time in developed coun-
tries, current-day consumers' buying and con-
suming habits have largely bolstered mainstream
conventional farming (sub-) systems and food
markets, contributing to obesity and health
issues (NRC, 2010; Kratz
et al
., 2012). Doubtless,
a large part of the transformative process to
establish sustainable agriculture systems must
include education of consumers to change die-
tary habits and food preferences (USDA and
USDHHS, 2010).
Policy
The committee noted that current, poorly for-
mulated public policy (e.g. energy and farm
