Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Communities can provide alternatives to the products of the global food system only if
they develop the necessary infrastructure, maintain an adequate farmland base, and provide
sufficient technical expertise so that farmers and processors can successfully compete in the
local marketplace against the highly industrialized, internationally organized corporate food
system. There is accumulating evidence that civic agriculture is emerging in those U.S. re-
gions that have been hit hard by global competition. Many communities have already begun
relocalizing parts of their food and agriculture systems. 8
There is considerable room for local and state-level policy makers to operate and reinvent
an alternative and more community-oriented food and agriculture system virtually every-
where. Already we are seeing the emergence and growth of social movements around local
agriculture and food systems. Communities committed to civic agriculture are (1) encour-
aging local economic development efforts to support community-based food-processing
activities; (2) fostering land use policies that protect active farm areas from random resid-
ential development; (3) enacting and enforcing zoning codes that allocate land into areas of
nonfarm development, areas of natural preservation, and areas for agricultural production;
(4) instituting institutional food acquisition practices that integrate local food production dir-
ectly into the community: and (5) developing educational programs to increase agricultur-
al literacy among both children and adults including school and community gardens, sum-
mer internship programs, and community-farm days. 9 An effective agricultural development
strategy for civic communities should be geared toward fostering problem solving. Policies
to promote and strengthen regional trade associations, local agricultural districts, producer
cooperatives, and other forms of locally based economic activity should be part and parcel of
a comprehensive community-based agricultural development strategy. Communities would
do well not to cede control of their agricultural sector to large, export-oriented, commodity
farms and not to rely solely on big-box supermarkets for their food.
Civic Agriculture: Moving from the Marketplace to the Community
Over the past ten years, an accumulating body of research has begun to assess the benefits of
smaller-scale enterprises on the level of civic and community welfare in the United States and
elsewhere. 10 Research results suggest that there may be many positive benefits to communit-
ies that embrace a community capitalism model of economic development. 11 Communities
that nurture local systems of agricultural production and food marketing, as one part of a
broader plan of diversified economic development, can gain greater control over their eco-
nomic destinies. They can also enhance the level of civic engagement among their residents,
contribute to rising levels of civic welfare and socioeconomic well-being, revitalize rural
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