|
Criteria |
Mesoamerican coffee systems |
Organics in CA Central Valley |
European Peri-Urban Ag Parks |
|
Social sustainability assessment |
Democracy
++/- Human health ++/-Equity and Justice + Diversity ++/- Resiliency + |
Democracy
- Human health ++/- Equity and justice –/+ |
Democracy
++ Human health + Diversity + Resiliency + |
|
Level of DFS
adoption Common DFS and conventional farming practices |
Medium to
high DFS: Agroforestry, multicropping, organic composting, live fences, landscape level forest conservation. Conventional low input: corn and beans production often uses some fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. |
Relatively low
DFS: organic production, nutrient management, crop rotations, elimination of most agrochemicals Conventional high input: Many mixed organic/conventional producers in Central Valley are employing monocropping across both sectors and using chemically intensive practices on their conventional land. |
Medium, but highly heterogeneous
DFS: Heritage crops, landscape forest fragments, and other natural habitats. Conventional: high input industrial monocultures common in some places. |
|
Key governance institutions |
Contested multistakeholder groups set and change
certification standards |
National government ministries and contested
multistakeholder negotiation |
Government led multistakeholder
negotiations. |
|
Institutions pushing the system away from DFS
practices and sustainability |
Out
migration Superficial farmer training Green Revolution Revisions to Fair Trade standards that the decrease smallholder benefits Limited national government investment in rural health, agricultural worker rights |
Access to subsidized
water National and state wide labor-immigration policy Organic certification standards that allow input substitution |
Highly dependent on government funding.
Recent historical legacies of conventional monocultures. |
|
Institutions moving the systems toward DFS and
sustainability |
Local plant
knowledge Cooperatives Farmer learning networks Alternative trade networks Civic advocacy |
Few identified in California’s Central
Valley. Organic certification requires elimination of pesticide and chemical
fertilizer use but does not require improved soil fertility management or more
crop rotations |
Civic participation in
governance. Multifunctional agriculture policy. Clearly defined land tenure and geographic bounties. Large local market for diverse “heritage” foods and landscapes. |
|
The case of ++ indicates a very strong link with
DFS and social sustainability, + a weaker link, and +/- indicates the presence of
institutions that are contested with some forces advancing these criteria and
others weakening the presence. DFS = diversified farming systems. Ag Parks = agricultural, or agrarian, parks | |||