Classifying New Hybrid Cooperation Models for Short Food-Supply Chains—Providing a Concept for Assessing Sustainability Transformation in the Urban-Rural Nexus

Abstract

In response to the negative effects caused by structures of the dominant agricultural system and new market opportunities, increasing food supply structures have re-emerged in the urban-rural context of industrialized countries in recent years. These food supply structures often accompany new forms of hybrid cooperation models, including actors and institutions that have not shared resources previously. They form new alliances for sustainable transformation in the agri-food sector. Simultaneously, discourse has arisen in science and practice about the sustainability potential of such hybrid cooperation, referring to a lack of critical systematization and the necessity for creating an assessment concept. From the latter, one could draw conclusions about the transformative potential of such cooperation models and their potential to serve as blueprints for other regions. In this conceptual paper, a classification approach derived from social enterprise literature is elaborated, extended, and evaluated, to design a classification of new hybrid cooperation models that allow comparisons between regions and are sensitive to their dynamics. We show in an application how the classification approach, considering the dimensions “actors”, “resources”, and “actions”, serves to discover patterns in the development of short food-supply chain practices, identifying individual transition paths and, thus, making statements about their sustainability and challenges.

Fifty years of Teikei: the evolution of the movement’s ten principles and its impact on alternative food initiatives in Japan

“…The boundary between cooptation of alternative models by the industrialized food system and adaptation to people's emerging needs-while still pursuing radical food system changeappears blurred and is continuously shifting. From this perspective, the concept of hybridity and hybrid food systems offers insights into the challenges of cooperating with mainstream actors while avoiding cooptation (Martens et al, 2022;Zollet, 2023). A connected and newly emerging aspect, especially post-COVID, is digitalization and the use of technology, especially in its role to facilitate consumer-producer exchanges (Lichten and Kondo, 2020).…”

Sustainability in Rural Agri-Food Systems Based on the Understanding of Their Structural and Functional Characteristics: A Systematic Review

“…For Bui et al, (2009), it is important to promote the social learning of a wide group of sustainability and experimentation values with lifestyle changes for ensuring sustainable food consumption and production practices (Table 1). Dedeurwaerdere et al, 2017;Bui et al, 2009;Jagustović et al, 2019;Campbell et al, 2012;Godoy et al, 2017;Oñederra et al, 2018;Argüellesa et al, 2018;Vastola et al, 2017;Pambo et al, 2018;Heckelman, 2019;Bos and Owen, 2016;Miralles et al, 2017;Viccaro et al, 2018;Zirham and Palomba, 2016;Barzola, 2019;Hubeau et al, 2019;Rosin et al, 2017;Larroa, 2012;Vetter et al, 2019;Shilomboleni et al, 2019;Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, 2019;Gil et al, 2022;Anastasiadis et al, 2022, Martens et al, 2022(Zscheischler et al, 2022)…”

“…(Table 3). Vallejo et al, 2016, Iles andMontenegro, 2015;Dedeurwaerdere et al, 2017;Bui et al, 2009;Zimmerer and Rojas, 2016;Oñederra et al, 2018;Tolentino and Del Valle, 2018;Argüellesa et al, 2018;Ochieng et al, 2017;Tedesco et al, 2017;Pambo et al, 2018;Heckelman, 2019;Bos and Owen, 2016;Miralles et al, 2017;Enríquez et al, 2017;Wegerif and Hebinck, 2016;Viccaro et al, 2018;Zirham and Palomba, 2016;Barzola, 2019;Hubeau et al, 2019;Vetter et al, 2019;Kilelu et al, 2017;Shilomboleni et al, 2019;Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, 2019;Anastasiadis et al, 2022;Martens et al, 2022.…”

“…In recent years, short food supply chains have reemerged, accompanied by hybrid models of cooperation involving actors and institutions in the urban-rural context of industrialized countries. These initiatives have led to a sustainable agri-food system transformation in response to the negative effects of the dominant agricultural system (Martens et al, 2022). Zirham and Palomba (2016) state that short food supply chains may offer an opportunity to commercialize food products, since it is possible to reduce food costs and create a direct relationship between food producers and consumers.…”