Agro-food systems

Abstract

The agro-food system comprises all those activities related to the production, processing, distribution, sale, preparation and consumption of food. The prefix ‘agro-‘ (or ‘agri-‘) to the term ‘food systems’, however, invites us to place somewhat greater importance upon the farm sector and the production of primary foods than to subsequent stages where these materials are refined, manufactured into final foods for ultimate consumption. Moreover, as Robinson (2004) reminds us, agriculture is distinct from many other economic activities as it deals with living organisms, that is the plants and animals that possess particular biological characteristics. The degree to which these are adapted to the prevailing environmental conditions will largely determine their productivity. Consequently, agro-food systems encourage us to pay attention to their particular geographical context. Yet while climate, moisture, soils and other ecological services provide the key physical parameters of production potential, farmers influence this environment through limiting biological (and genetic) diversity and managing inputs to create a farmed agroecosystem. The nature and extent of farmer intervention is itself a consequence of the social and economic circumstances in which they find themselves, such that agricultural systems can range from extensive, low-input cultivation to highly intensive and industrialised operations. An understanding of agro-food systems must consequently appreciate the array of environmental and socio-economic factors that influence the ways in which these systems develop.