Short food supply chains as an answer to a lack of facilities

 



Cows, pastures, cows, crop fields, a farm, more cows… Cycling around in the Westhoek, it is clear that agriculture is a very important sector in the region. Ironically, this does not imply easy access to locally produced food for the locals. Globalization has had a significant impact, changing the way farms are operating by transforming small farms into big agribusinesses. This evolution implies a change of lifestyle; from self-sustaining communities based on local farmers offering a variety of products in small quantities, to communities dependent on international production and big agribusinesses focussing on one or a few crops destined for the international market. Combined with the processes of rural depopulation and facility decline, local residents living in small rural villages often have to travel long distances to do their necessary groceries, presenting a problem for the less mobile. Partly returning to short food supply chains could offer a solution for many, according to Henk Vandaele, one of the protagonists of citizen organisation Heuvelland Vrijstaat. This however presents some challenges that need to be overcome. Convincing the local farmers is one of these challenges, because of their contracts with the auctions and the uncertainty about the future clientele in relation to the effort they would have to do. Another important challenge is the lack of a formal structure for implementing a local market, both as a legal and as a financial concept. Despite these challenges small changes have already been made, for example in the form of the different “dorpspunten”; places where residents can buy locally produced products and meet each other.


Laura R.

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