Suchergebnisse

This paper addresses the phenomenon of the on‐farm butcher shops that have become increasingly important in the Central Italian region of Umbria over the last decade. Theoretically, farm butcheries are analyzed as multi‐product farms that vertically integrate the primary production, processing and retailing of (mainly)beef and that considerably reduce the cost of each unit produced by jointly producing two or more interrelated goods or services. The practical value of farm butcheries lies in the preservation and valorization of the localChianina cattle breed and of local resources in general, including social capital and landscape. Farm butcheries contribute to an endogenous type of rural development with major macro‐economic returns and the case exemplifies the central position of the multifunctional farm in the renewal of the European countryside. The economic success of farm butcheries is explained in terms of the reduction of economic transaction costs and the achievement of economies of scope. The main conclusion of the paper is that the specificity of assets results in substantial competitive advantages for the organizational form of the multi‐product farm in processes of rural development.

This book critically discusses these new practices and the actors engaged in them. In doing so, it deals with several countries in three different continents (Asia, South America and Europe). It proposes new concepts and approaches for a better understanding of the re-emergence of peasants as indispensable part of modern societies

This volume seeks to answer modern questions and concerns regarding peasants, their production techniques, and their links to wider society. In the past, peasants and their seemingly simple production models have been criticized for being unable to fully meet the needs of modern society, especially when it comes to world hunger, food quality, and sustainability. However, often neglected is the myriad of new initiatives that alter the way food is produced and marketed. New ©Ø℗peasant markets©Ø are created everywhere and new products and services abound. This volume argues that these initiatives represent ©Ø℗seeds of transition©Ø; they are the ©Ø℗sprouts©Ø out of which new socio-technical modes for organizing production and marketing emerge ©Ø ©Ø℗sprouts©Ø that, taken together, can be summarized as ©Ø℗₋rural development©Ø. This book critically discusses these new practices and the actors engaged in them. In doing so, it deals with several countries in three different continents (Asia, South America and Europe). It proposes new concepts and approaches for a better understanding of the re-emergence of peasants as indispensable part of modern societies.

AbstractTheoretical approaches to multifunctional agriculture often posit a dichotomy between 'productivist' and multifunctional agriculture. However, this theoretical dichotomy runs counter to the tendency among many 'productivist' farms to now rely, to varying extents, on newly‐developed multifunctional activities. In this article we identify four of the main controversies within the complex theoretical and political debates about multifunctional agriculture. These concern whether or not multifunctionality is: (1) a survival strategy mostly followed by small and marginal farms, (2) at the expense of food production, (3) primarily driven by governmental programmes, and (4) only relevant at the farm‐level.We use the results of a representative survey among 795 larger farmers across Italy in order to empirically evaluate these arguments. The research results show that larger farmers are also investing in new, multifunctional activities, alongside investments in food production; in fact, these farmers are keeping pace with, or moving ahead of, farmers who only invest in food production. They consider investments in new activities to be a 'life‐jacket' that strengthens their agricultural activities. The results also show that government programmes are not decisive factors for farms engaging in or further developing multifunctional activities. The main drivers are family centred, with some farmers also having 'broader' motivations and seeing the wider benefits of multifunctional agriculture.