Grassroots social innovations and food localisation: An investigation of the Local Food programme in England

This paper seeks to orientate research on local food networks more firmly towards ideas of grassroots and social niche innovations. Drawing on recent conceptual ideas from strategic niche management, this paper provides an exploratory analysis of attempts to spread grassroots social innovations through the Big Lottery Local Food programme run by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts in England. This £ 59.8 million programme aims to distribute grants to a variety of food-related projects and to make locally grown food more accessible and affordable to local communities. Insights into 29 funded projects, of varying length and scale of operation, are provided through over 150 telephone and personal interviews. While the Local Food programme is undoubtedly about bringing small, often neglected pieces of land into production and increasing access to affordable food, results show that the programme is also very much seen as a vehicle for building community capacity through facilitating community cohesion, healthy eating, educational enhancement and integrating disadvantaged groups into mainstream society and economy. The paper concludes with some reflections on the extent to which the concept of grassroots social innovations, as a form of niche innovation, can help understand the ability of local food networks to develop the capacity of communities to respond to locally identified problems and to effect more widespread, sustainable change.     

Registering regional speciality food and drink products in the United Kingdom: the case of PDOs and PGls

Summary Regional food products are of contemporary interest as people are increasingly concerned to know where food comes from and how it is produced. Geographers have been slow to examine the link between product and place and this paper provides initial insights into the uptake of a European regulation designed to protect and promote high quality regional food and drink products in the United Kingdom. The early adopters of EU quality marks are shown to use them to protect their names from cheaper imitations rather than as a marketing device. Bureaucracy and costs of implementation, together with a lack of consumer knowledge, are likely to prevent rapid future adoption in the UK.     

Property matters: Agricultural restructuring and changing landlord-tenant relationships in England

Little research has been conducted on the restructuring activities of tenant farmers in response to changing tenancy legislation and recent CAP reforms. This paper examines the geography of farm tenancy agreements in England since 1995 and presents some findings from postal and telephone surveys on the possible future business trajectories of tenant farmers and the changing nature of landlord-tenant relationships. A clear north-south divide is identified in terms of farm tenancy agreements and a complex array of different tenancy agreements is demonstrated. The relationships between landlords and tenants are changing and the increasing variety of agreements provides evidence of a more fluid (post-feudal) system of agricultural leases. Nevertheless, high levels of uncertainty and negativity characterise tenant farmers’ views on the impacts of CAP reforms. Crucially, the very identity of a tenant farmer is changing, towards an owner-occupier who rents additional land, and there is an urgent need for more detailed research on the ‘consequential geographies’ of farm property rights and the changing nature of landlord-tenant relationships.     

Rural industrialization, 'quality' and service: some findings from South Warwickshire and North Devon

Studies of UK rural industrialization have traditionally sought to explain the success of rural SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) in terms of their capacity for innovative or enterprising behaviour. In turn, this has led researchers to focus their attention on the material aspects of competitive behaviour, particularly those connected to technology and technological exploitation, at the expense of more intangible aspects such as the advantages gained from novel working practices and marketing strategies. In particular, the notion of 'quality' as a determinant of competitive behaviour, an idea gaining increased emphasis within literature concerning rural SMEs in the food, farming and craft sectors, has been neglected in wider studies of rural industrialization. However, this paper contends that both 'formal' and 'informal' constructions of quality are significant factors in the success of manufacturers outside these specific sectors.     

A behavioural analysis of hop farming in Hereford and Worcestershire

Behavioural studies in agricultural geography are comparatively rare, and this paper demonstrates the importance of the satisficer concept of economic behaviour when examining patterns of hop production in the West Midlands. The main farm and farmer characteristics of the hop growers are outlined before attention is focused on the relative importance of physical, economic and socio-personal factors in the decision-making process. Whilst economic factors dominate the ranking, socio-personal factors have a significant effect on the hop growers' decision-behaviour. Opportunity cost and social inertia are forwarded as important concepts in accounting for patterns of hop farming and a multivariate analysis emphasized the complexity and individuality surrounding farmers' decision-making behaviour. Differences in attitudes and behaviour are shown to be related to variations in the hop farmers' personality and rationality and to differences in their age, education, experience and traditions.     

Harvey's principles reapplied: a case study of the declining West Midland hop industry

Patterns of hop production in the U.K. have received scant attention in the geographical literature and little attempt has been made to apply the theoretical principles developed by Harvey to a declining rather than expanding industry. Trends in the U.K. hop industry are outlined before attention is focused on spatial changes in hop production in the West Midlands. The role of distance as a locational factor is examined and shown to be of continuing importance as the industry becomes increasingly concentrated around the core parish of Castle Frome. Physical factors, vital in defining the initial core area, have reinserted their importance as the hop industry has declined spatially and temporally. It is demonstrated how Harvey's economic principles are of limited value when attempting to explain patterns of decline, and the paper concludes by emphasizing the complexity of the situation and the need to examine the decision-making processes of the hop growers themselves.