Local Agri-food Systems in a Global World: Market, Social and Environmental Challenges

Maria Cecilia Mancini · Michele Donati

Jan 2012 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

About this ebook

Local Agri-food Systems in a Global World: Market, Social and Environmental Challenges is an important new collection of essays making a landmark contribution to the ongoing debate on local agri-food systems, local development in rural areas and new patterns of agri-food systems. There is a new awareness of the links between local and global strategies of food production and processing, and these have become an increasingly important topic of research worldwide.

Effective analysis of the spatial dynamics of agri-food systems requires an interdisciplinary approach involving economics, geography, sociology, demographics and agronomy. Chapters cover areas such as: current spatial dynamics in agri-food systems; the socio-environmental impact of agri-food systems on rural development; the role of local resources in agri-food systems; the governance and public policies of local agri-food systems; and, last but not least, new methodological approaches to spatial dynamics of agri-food systems. The book provides an essential tool for researchers and academics in rural economics, sociology, geography and social sciences as well as policy makers.

About the author

Filippo Arfini is Professor of Agricultural Economics as well as Rural Policies in the Department of Economics, University of Parma. His fields of research are the assessment of the effects of agricultural policies by quantitative analysis, agri-food chain management for GI products, quality economics and related policies, and rural development dynamics.

Maria Cecilia Mancini is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics, University of Parma. She teaches agri-food marketing and agri-food economics. Her scientific activity includes: the socio-economic effects of “quality labels” for agri-food products; the analysis of local agri-food systems in rural development dynamics; the analysis of vertical relationships along the food supply chain.

Michele Donati is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics, University of Parma. He teaches environmental economics, economic modelling and evaluation of environmental policies, and economics of rural development. His research activity mainly deals with the assessment of the effects of agricultural policies on farm behaviour and multifunctional models applied to rural development.