Strengthened Rural-Urban Linkages to Support Rural Economic

Strengthened Rural-Urban Linkages to Support Rural Economic
Development: the Case of Relocalized Food Systems
Becca B.R. Jablonski1, Todd M. Schmit2, David Kay2, and Jennifer Minner2
1Colorado State University, USA
2Cornell University, USA
Research Need:
Approach:
Since 2009 the U.S. Department of Agriculture has
supported over 2,600 local food initiatives. These
initiatives are primarily concentrated in urban areas
where there is a sizeable, growing market for local
foods. Though there are a handful of studies that point
to small positive short-term economic impacts (e.g.,
Gunter and Thilmany 2012; Henneberry, et al. 2009;
Hughes et al. 2008 Schmit et al. 2013a, 2013b;), there
have been few, if any, studies that holistically and
empirically assess the distribution of impacts in urban
and rural communities. We propose the use of
qualitative, economic, and spatial analysis to
investigate three promising areas of research on
farmers’ markets and regional economic development:
(1) strengthened rural-urban linkages, (2) economic
and community impacts of the shift to local foods
(relocalization), and (3) measuring wealth creation in
seven areas – Intellectual, Individual, Social, Financial,
Political, Built, and Natural.
Case Study: GrowNYC’s Greenmarket Farmers’ Markets
(Greenmarket) was founded in 1976 in New York City,
NY, USA. Today Greenmarket is the largest and most
diverse outdoor urban farmers’ market network in the
U.S., with 54 markets, and over 230 family farms and
fishermen farming over 30,000 acres.
Research Question:
What are the rural community economic impacts
of urban-based local food system initiatives?
Objectives:
1. Use multi-regional economic impact model to assess
the impacts of local food system efforts;
2. Expand beyond traditional economic impact
measures to holistic wealth creation indices;
3. Assess farm profitability resulting from participation
in local food system efforts;
4. Gather evidence of the economic, wealth creation,
and farm-level impacts of local food system
initiatives as a strategy for regional development;
5. Introduce methods and results to research,
extension, practitioner, and policymaker audiences to
inform future programming and strategies for rural
development.
A Conceptual Framework for Wealth Creation
GrowNYC’s
Union Square
Greenmarket
Farmers’
Market, the
largest of its
54 markets
Economic Impact Assessment: Through interviews with
Greenmarket’s farmers, we will customize a multiregional Social Accounting Matrix model and quantify
both the total regional economic impact of local food
system efforts, as well as the distribution of economic
impact in urban and rural locales.
Rural Wealth Creation Impacts: A wealth creation
framework conceptualizes wealth as a community’s
assets (net of liabilities) that contribute to the wellbeing
of an individual or group. Data will be collected from a
wide-range of stakeholders in both urban and rural
locales, and GIS mapping will be used to illustrate ruralurban linkages and assets and liabilities within each of
the rural wealth creation domains.
Net Farm Profitability Impacts: Many Greenmarket
farmers will participate in a market channel assessment
(MCAT), wherein they track the labor and other major
expenses involved in moving product to market.
Researchers will track net profitability impacts and make
recommendations to improve profitability.
Figure from: Pender and Ratner 2014, 21.
Cited Literature:
Pender, J.L., and S. Ratner. 2014. “Wealth Concepts” In J.L. Pender, B.A. Weber,
T.G. Johnson, and J.M. Fannin, eds. Rural Wealth Creation. New York:
Routledge, 16-29.
Gunter, A., and D. Thilmany. 2012. Economic Implications of Farm to School for
a Rural Colorado Community. Rural Connections. 6(2):13-16.
Henneberry, S.R., B. Whitacre, and H.N. Agustini. 2009. An Evaluation of the
Economic Impacts ok Oklaholma Farmers’ Marktets. Journal of Food
Distribution Research. 40(3):64-78.
Hughes, D.W., C. Brown, S. Miller, and T. McConnell. 2008. Evaluating the
Economic Impact of Farmers’ Markets Using an Opportunity Cost Framework.
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics. 40(1):253-265.
Schmit, T.M., B.B.R. Jablonski, and D. Kay. 2013a. “Assessing the Economic
Impacts of Regional Food Hubs: the Case of Regional Access.” Cornell
University. September. <http://dx.doi.org/10.9752/MS145.09-2013>
Schmit, T.M., B.B.R. Jablonski, and Y. Mansury. 2013b. Impacts of Local Food
System Activities by Small Direct-to-Consumer Producers in a Regional
Economy: A Case Study from Upstate NY. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.
The authors gratefully acknowledge
funding from:
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture