A Systematic Review of EU-Funded Innovative Agri-Food Projects: Potential for Transfer between Territories

Álvaro Ibáñez-Jiménez, Yolanda Jiménez-Olivencia, Ángela Mesa-Pedrazas, Laura Porcel-Rodríguez and Karl Zimmerer
Additional contact information
Álvaro Ibáñez-Jiménez: Institute of Regional Development, Centro de Documentación Científica, Rector López Argüeta s/n., University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Yolanda Jiménez-Olivencia: Institute of Regional Development, Centro de Documentación Científica, Rector López Argüeta s/n., University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Ángela Mesa-Pedrazas: Institute of Regional Development, Centro de Documentación Científica, Rector López Argüeta s/n., University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Laura Porcel-Rodríguez: Institute of Regional Development, Centro de Documentación Científica, Rector López Argüeta s/n., University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Karl Zimmerer: GeoSyntheSES Lab., Department of Geography, Programs in Rural Sociology and Ecology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16802, USA

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-26

Abstract: This article presents a systematic review of innovative projects funded by EU Rural Development Programs that were designed and implemented in rural areas of the European Union to facilitate the territorialized production of foodstuffs and their sale through alternative networks. On the basis of the results obtained in this review, we designed a model for the transfer of knowledge to the local community in the Alpujarra Granadina (Granada, Spain) within the framework of the LifeWatch project. This study uses two consecutive methodological approaches. We began by developing a protocol for the systematic search and analysis of successful rural development projects carried out in the European Union between 2007 and 2020. After that, we created a model for the transfer of results using a participative methodological approach. The results of our analysis of the group of projects selected for review show that the main innovations were made in different aspects of the product, process, sales and distribution. These innovative ideas were implemented by rural communities with a high degree of collective initiative and intelligence and could potentially be replicated in other areas. The sample analyzed contains a wide array of novel, alternative formulas, which are transversal to the projects, so provide significant contents that could be used to activate a space for participation and debate, which could itself become fertile ground for the creation of new projects. In conclusion, this study provides the stakeholders in rural areas, in particular farmers, with a wide, systematically organized knowledge base that proposes solutions to shared challenges.

Keywords: agricultural networks food; short supply chain; agrobiodiversity; transfer of knowledge; systematic review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/4/519/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/4/519/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:4:p:519-:d:786533

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().