The Multifunctionality and Territoriality of Peri-Urban Agri-Food Systems: The Metropolitan Region of Madrid, Spain

Nieves López-Estébanez, Carolina Yacamán-Ochoa and Rafael Mata-Olmo
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Nieves López-Estébanez: Department of Geography, University Autónoma of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Carolina Yacamán-Ochoa: Department of Geography, University Autónoma of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Rafael Mata-Olmo: Department of Geography, University Autónoma of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-23

Abstract: This paper addresses the Multifunctional and Territorialised Agri-Food Systems (MTLAFS) in areas of direct urban influence, focusing on the metropolitan region of Madrid. MTLAFS are contextualised as alternatives to the hegemonic global model of mass production and consumption. They are created by combining two conceptual and theoretical bodies of knowledge that share many elements: the study of Local Agri-Food Systems (LAFS), a critical approach to agri-food economies and the re-territorialisation of agri-food systems. The paper analyses the factors that negatively affect the resilience of LAFS and it describes re-territorialisation strategies that enable MTLAFS to be built. By using a multi-criteria methodology to identify agri-environmental and food governance indicators, the research identifies and describes the characteristics that allow the case studies selected in the region of Madrid to be classified as MTLAFS. This has been carried out by gathering the main discussion points on the fractures and relocation strategies that accentuate the vulnerability or, on the contrary, enhance the resilience of the cases analysed. The paper concludes with some recommendations for strengthening the socio-ecological resilience of MTLAFS by using the systemic basis provided by the agro-urban project. This agro-urban project brings together different public policies, governance tools, territorial and food planning, as well as agrarian practices anchored to each specific territory. All these agrarian practices contribute to the configuration of an alternative territorial agri-food model that ensures food security and a shift towards the sustainable development of our planet.

Keywords: local agri-food systems; agri-food economies; peri-urban agriculture; agrarian heritage; food democracy; food security (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:4:p:588-:d:796457

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