from the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
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The cover image represents the University of Kentucky's innovative employee-benefit community supported agriculture (CSA) program, which provides a voucher to offset the cost for employees and retirees. |
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JAFSCD peer-reviewed article by Agus Wahyu Triatmo (University of Islam Negeri Raden Mas Said Surakarta), Joko Suryono (University of Veteran Bangun Nusantara), Ade Yuliar (University of Islam Negeri Raden Mas Said Surakarta), and Usfandi Haryaka (University of Mulawarman Samarinda Indonesia)
A new study spotlights the Sanggar Rojolele farming community in Delanggu Village, Central Java, revealing how smallholder farmers are adapting to the mounting pressures of industrialization and market change. By elevating local rice varieties and reclaiming agency through collective action, these farmers offer a powerful model of resilience and grassroots innovation in the face of agricultural disruption. The full article is entitled “From struggle to strategy”: The role of Indonesia’s farming community in fostering agricultural sustainability. Corresponding author Joko Suryono can be contacted at jokowignyo@gmail.com.
KEY FINDINGS
Promoting local identity: The community rebranded ‘Rojolele’ rice as a regional cultural icon, boosting local pride and market appeal.
Embracing sustainability: Organic farming and direct-to-consumer sales are helping farmers break dependency on volatile market chains.
Collective power: Strengthening farmer cooperatives and pushing for structural reform have empowered landless and aging farmers to regain voice and agency.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH
Support local branding initiatives to increase the value and visibility of traditional agricultural products. Invest in organic farming education and infrastructure to promote sustainable, low-input agriculture. Strengthen farmer-led organizations through policy and funding to enhance bargaining power and resilience.
Develop inclusive agricultural policies that address landlessness, generational gaps, and rural poverty. Conduct further research on replicable community-driven models of agricultural resilience across rural Southeast Asia.
SHARE ON YOUR SOCIALS
Can small farmers take on industrial agriculture—and win? Meet the Sanggar Rojolele community in Central Java, Indonesia, where local farmers are turning tradition, teamwork, and tenacity into a blueprint for sustainable agriculture. #Rojolele #Indonesia #Java #ArtisanalRice #FarmerLedOrganizations Read the full @JAFSCD article for free: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2025.143.034
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Photo above: Rojolele Rice thrives. Photo provided by author Joko Suryono. |
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| Books Available for Review
Need some summer reading and like to review one and share your thoughts with JAFSCD’s readers? Fill out the quick review query form linked on our home page (right margin, Engage with JAFSCD > Propose a Book Review). You can also use the form to suggest other films, books, or reports for review. The selected reviewer will receive free access to the film or the book (hard copy or e-book).
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How to Create a Sustainable Food Industry, by Melissa Barrett, Massimo Marino, Francesca Brkic, and Carlo Alberto Pratesi
From the publisher:
"This book presents a practical guide to help businesses navigate the complex topics of sustainability in the food industry. The book takes you on a journey along the food value chain, from farm to fork, exploring key opportunities to increase positive impacts and circularity at each step of the journey. Written by a team of authors with decades of experience in the food industry and academia, it provides guidance on how to analyze sustainability across the value chain and life cycle of a food product and how to design, implement and communicate strategies to customers. Furthermore, the book shows that there are not always straightforward solutions, but rather choices and trade-offs that require an understanding of what is best suited to the product, customers and business in question."
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Junk Food Politics: How Beverage and Fast Food Industries Are Reshaping Emerging Economies, by Eduardo J. Gómez
From the publisher:
"Why do sugary beverage and fast food industries thrive in the emerging world? ... Despite government commitment to eradicating noncommunicable diseases and innovative prevention programs aimed at reducing obesity and type 2 diabetes, sugary beverage and fast food industries are thriving. But political leaders in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, India, China, and Indonesia are reluctant to introduce policies regulating the marketing and sale of their products, particularly among vulnerable groups like children and the poor. Why?"
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The Quinoa Bust: The Making and Unmaking of an Andean Miracle Crop, by Emma McDonell
From the publisher:
"Quinoa rose to global stardom pitched as an unparalleled sustainable development opportunity that heralded a bright future for rural communities devastated by decades of rural-urban migration, civil war, and state neglect. The Quinoa Bust is based in a longitudinal ethnography centered around . . the main quinoa production area in the world’s chief quinoa exporting country. This book traces the social, ecological, technological, and political work that went into transforming a humble Andean grain into a development miracle crop and also highlights that project’s unintended consequences. . . . At a time when so-called forgotten foods are increasingly positioned as sustainable development tools, The Quinoa Bust offers a cautionary tale of fleeting benefits and ambivalent results."
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Be part of a sustainable solution!
Our food system is not sustainable and must be transformed. Climate change, corporate control, resource depletion, and food insecurity threaten communities worldwide. Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Sustainable Food Systems & Security (SFSS) graduate certificate equips you with the knowledge and perspectives to make an impact as a sustainable food system leader.
This six-course online program critically examines contemporary food systems through a sustainability lens, systems thinking, and real-world change. Explore food systems reform, grassroots movements, and community engagement, culminating in an applied community capstone course to help shape a more sustainable future where you live.
Explore KPU’s SFSS program | |
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Iowa State University Local Food Festival
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 9:30 am–1:30 pm | Central Campus, Ames, Iowa
Celebrate local food and healthy living at the ISU Local Food Festival. This FREE annual event centers around incorporating local foods into your daily meals, empowering healthy lifestyles, and sustainability-focused activities to engage students, faculty and staff to make connections with Ames and nearby communities.
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