Six key alternative food movement (AFM) strategies — urban agriculture, sustainable agriculture, community supported agriculture, farmers markets, and food hubs — have been deployed in the 21st century to advance its goals. All of them are still struggling to gain traction. Missing in this work are sustained farmer training investments and concerted efforts to catalyze necessary social capital. A new approach to urban agriculture, called the microfarm system, may begin to address these omissions.
In a new JAFSCD article, First you need the farmers: The microfarm system as a critical intervention in the alternative food movement, Kent Curtis and Grace Hand explore the research findings related to the AFM and describe the processes and outcomes by which they are advancing microfarm system development in North Central Ohio.
KEY FINDINGS
AFM strategies are often working in silos or at cross-purposes with successful farming.
Insufficient attention is given to cultivating social networks.
Community supported agriculture and farmers markets place undue burdens on farmers.
Urban agriculture has few long-term success stories.
The AFM will not succeed without successful farmers.
A pilot systems approach appears to be addressing farmer needs.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH
The microfarm system approach now includes a curriculum and community engagement frameworks useful for communities, Extension educators, and funding institutions interested in advancing urban agriculture and small-scale farming.
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Alternative food movements, urban agriculture, and microfarmers. Can these three approaches reorient our current food paradigm? Read authors Kent Curtis and Grace Hand's analysis in a new JAFSCD peer-reviewed article — always free and open access. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2024.132.017
