Local agrifood systems (LAFS) can be conceptualised as non-industrialised, smaller scale food systems in which practitioners, products, markets, stakeholders, resources, and landscapes are related through participants’ sharing of some, if not all, ethics, experiences, values, and aspirations (i.e. non-exploitative, inclined towards solidarity and sustainability). LAFS have gained increased recognition in the last two decades, both in academia and practice, and during the Covid-19 pandemic they came into greater focus both for researchers and consumers.This thesis investigates competition, cooperation, and self-organisation in LAFS –three important interactions that happen both in the everyday, and during times of crisis. All three of these interactions became apparent during the Covid-19 pandemic, a highly disruptive time for LAFS, which required rapid decision-making and the formation of new relationships and working patterns by LAFS actors due to increased demand for smaller-scale and local food producers and distributors. Competition, cooperation, and self-organisation were being enacted across LAFS, from micro-producers to local governments. Practitioners were building new networks and relationships, aimed at ensuring residents had access to food and support. Self-organisation, or the process through which agents engage in collective action, problem solving, and consensus building, is prevalent in LAFS, which must often adapt rapidly to both internal and external pressures. And, although LAFS have often been idealised for the cooperation amongst the LAFS actors that distinguishes them from other collaborative alliances, this research shows cooperation and competition being enacted simultaneously across LAFS, described as coopetition. These interactions affect decisions and actions taken by LAFS actors, which impact the resilience of LAFS, an ongoing process of adaptation in response to external forces and internal changes which informs their continued functionality. Data for the research were collected in Oxford, UK and Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, with fieldwork carried out between 2019-2022. Both cities are medium sized, affluent, European university towns, with long-standing agricultural ties to the surrounding areas. Both have lively, mature LAFS within and surrounding the citiesand both experienced a spike in local interest in LAFS during the pandemic. The research uses a patchwork ethnography approach, which allows for contextual richness through the utilisation of diverse research instruments and a ‘patching’ together of data. Research methods included collecting data during long-term employment and volunteering in UK LAFS, short-term visits to Germany when possible, ethnographic field notes, participant observation, online and in-person semi-structured interviews, email correspondence, meeting and event notes, and annual and research reports from LAFS actors. This form of ethnographic research offered deep insight into everyday LAFS practices, and made it possible to continue research despite the logistical constraints of Covid-19.This thesis addresses four key gaps in knowledge. First, it presents a conceptualisation of LAFS, exploring how LAFS are understood and described within the existing literature, and suggesting an expanded definition. Second, it describes not just the importance of self-organisation to LAFS, but identifies three core principles that underpin it – agency, demand, and resource – arguing that these are all necessary for self-organisation to fully manifest and be effective both in everyday actions, and during times of crisis. Third, it unpicks competition and cooperation in a non-market economy, which is where many LAFS actors operate, but it is a sector rarely examined in the coopetition literature. Fourth, the research highlights the dynamic working practices of LAFS actors and the importance of iterative trust- and relationship-building. Finally, it brings together all three concepts – competition, cooperation, and self-organisation – to inspect how they intersect, and discusses the impact this has on the resilience of LAFS. These have previously only been discussed singly, or, on occasion, in pairs, but not as a trio.There are also applicable takeaways for LAFS practitioners. These include: ensuring that agency, demand, and resource are nurtured within organisations to ensure effective self-organisation; recognising the value of both competition and cooperation in appropriate measures, and their impact on downstream relationships; and managing resilience as a process rather than a finite end goal.
| Date of Award | Jul 2024 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | |
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| Supervisor | Moya Kneafsey (Supervisor) & Luke Owen (Supervisor) |
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