Agroecological localisation: a
core practice for ecological food
provision?
Jyotsna Ram
Department of Planning
j.ram@riseup.net
Outline
Theory - Alternative Food Networks (AFNs)
Agroecological localisation – the concept
Agroecological localisation in practice
(case studies)
Implications of agroecological localisation
Unresolved issues
Theory- Alternative Food Networks
 What are AFNs?

“any set of production-consumption
relations which connects people through
food”. Such relations are encompassed in
single or a cluster of projects (Cox et al
2008,
 Involve small-scale “local” farms;
reduce distance between producer
and consumers
 Commitment to ethical values such as
ecological sustainability, social justice,
and community participating within
and ownership of the food system
 Retail landscape very different from
the industrial food system – farmers
markets,.
Theory- Alternative Food Networks
Defining characteristic: Local/ locally rooted.
But what is ‘local’?
 No fixed definition (Pearson et al 2011)
 Not a fixed distance but “a process, or
aspiration, in terms of a direction to be
heading in, and hence encourage
continuous steps towards shortening the
food supply chain (Pearson et al 2011)
 This means the form and shape of a local
food system will differ from locality to
locality
Theory- Alternative Food Networks
 BUT BEWARE OF THE LOCAL TRAP!!! (Born and Purcell 2006; Dupuis and
Goodman 2005)
 How to avoid the local trap but still reap the benefits of local food???
 Practice localisation within an “ethics of care” (Holloway and Kneafsey
2004)
Agroecological localisation – the
concept
 Localisation of a food system within an
“ethics of care”.
 The ethics is ecological production,
trade, and consumption
 Commitment to the production of
ecological food and the localisation
of the food system
 Set of practices to realise this
commitment
Agroecological localisation in
practice
 Examine PRODUCTION practices. Are these ecological?
 Examine LOCALISATION practices ( for example
transportation, trade, others?)
 Localisation practices
 reduce food miles
 foster a sense of community between producers,
consumers and relevant intermediaries
 Facilitate fair exchange between producers and
consumers.
 Ecological localisation practices, in addition to
agroecological production practices, include those that
improve the energy efficiencies of the distribution processes
Case studies
Production practices
 Growing Communities and the Start Up Communities
 Define sustainable food as food that is either certified
organic or biodynamic, sustainably foraged, or home
grown without the use of artificial fertilisers.
 Do not source air freighted or ‘hothouse’ produce
 Only support practices that involve organic soil and
wildlife management
 Invest in local growing sites to increase local
ecological food production
 Abundance
 Foraging project – harvest wild food; use pruning and
grafting for pest management; plant new trees
Localisation practices
 Growing Communities and
the Start Up Communities
 Local trade and direct
sourcing; nurture local
businesses
 Encourage a community Farmers Market
 Transportation efficiencies
 Box scheme are collection
only
 Electric vehicles to drop off
boxes (London)
 Producers collaborate on
deliveries
Localisation practices
 Abundance
 Does not
provide fruit all
year around
 Creates
community
around harvest
celebrations
Implications of agroecological
localisation (AL)
 Directs investment in previously ignored local assets
 Local growing sites, local foraging opportunities, support
for local ecological producers
 Leads to fairer terms of exchange and increases
sustainable trade
 Furthers the debate on the relationship between non
local foods and local foods in an ecological food
system.
Unresolved issues?
 Scalability of agroecological localisation practices?
 Is it paradoxical to scale ‘local’ systems when local implies place
specific?
 Scaling up vs. replication (Start up communities replicate rather
than scale up the Growing Communities model)
 Balance of local and non-local foods?
 Significant gap in knowledge
 Agribusiness an obstacle to local ecological systems?
 What is the relevance of agroecological localisation when local
climatic related disasters – e.g. recent flooding emergency –
impacts local harvest?
Thank you!
Comments and questions?