Journal of Economic Geography Advance Access originally published online on February 24, 2005
Journal of Economic Geography 2005 5(4):475-498; doi:10.1093/jnlecg/lbh064
The New Associationalism in agriculture: agro-food diversification and multifunctional production logics
* Birkbeck College, University of London, 26 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DQ, UK. email
j.clark{at}bbk.ac.uk
The negative externalities of the agro-industrial production model are well documented. In the European Union, agro-food diversification is currently hailed as the means of delivering a new production logic, multifunctional agriculture, that advocates utilisation of territorially embedded assets to create public goods and quality foodstuffs. However, while an extensive economic geography literature exists on agro-food diversification, little work has examined how actors within businesses construct networks of relations to initiate this process and, hence, whether diversifying businesses can realistically deliver multifunctional outcomes. Building on the relational turn in economic geography, I address this issue using fieldwork derived from agricultural businesses in the English east Midlands.
Keywords: new associationalism, networks, power, multifunctionality, agricultural businesses,
JEL classifications: L14, L21, Q12, Q31, R11
Date submitted: 10 May 2004
Date accepted: 13 October 2004