Elsevier

Global Food Security

Volume 26, September 2020, 100427
Global Food Security

How do small farms contribute to food and nutrition security? Linking European small farms, strategies and outcomes in territorial food systems

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100427Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Small farms actively integrate within local, regional and global food systems.

  • Cases illustrate small farm-households roles in food and nutrition security outcomes.

  • The regional level is the enabling context where farms can play their diversity.

  • Policies must shape regional food systems to support small farms functions.

Abstract

Despite a longstanding literature on small farm-households, there is limited consideration of small farms’ role in food and nutrition security (FNS) at territorial level. The purpose of this study is to provide insights about how small farms contribute to FNS at different territorial scales, by focusing on farmers' strategies and consequential FNS outcomes. Analysis is based on two years (2017–2019) of field work done with farmers and food system actors in SALSA reference regions culminating in a workshop done with research partners. We find that small farms deliver food and nutrition security and other socio-economic and environmental outcomes for the farm-household, at local, regional and global levels. The regional level is shown to be critical for small farms, as it provides the scale at which their diversity is realised. Understanding this diversity is a goal for both research and for effective support mechanisms for small farm integration, and the multiple public and private functions small farms can deliver should be higher on the policy agenda.

Keywords

Small farms
Strategies
Regional food systems
Food and nutrition security outcomes

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