Project Number: WVA00395
CRIS Number: 0175981
Multi-State Project: NE-185
COMMODITIES, CONSUMERS, AND COMMUNITIES: LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS IN A GLOBALIZING ENVIRONMENT
Investigators: D'Souza, G. E., Smith, D. K.
Performing Department: Resource Management -- 8485
Start Date: 10/01/1997
Termination Date: 09/30/2002
Reporting period: 01/01/2001 to 12/31/2001
Progress Report:
This is a regional project, involving several disciplines across 20 US states. Part of our analysis has been on individual commodities and commodity groups, but at a systems level and within the context of a local food production system. This is important for a state such as West Virginia where small scale and part-time farming is predominant, and wherein specialized products or localized markets perhaps represent the best opportunity for sustainable development of the agricultural sector. With respect to specific production systems, a comprehensive economic analysis of aquaculture, for example, reveals the conditions under which it can be profitable and sustainable given local (WV) conditions, and, through an input-output or economic multiplier analysis, the broader economic impacts that growth of this sector can have statewide. Work in progress includes conducting a national household telephone survey to determine food consumption preferences and attitudes as they pertain to issues including emerging technologies (such as genetic modification) and geographic characteristics (such as origin or location of production). In addition, an analysis of the local food system in the Virgin Islands, undertaken over the past two years, has been completed. This analysis reveals some of the issues, problems and opportunities characterizing local agriculture, and quantifies some of the costs and benefits of alternative products and production technologies.
Publications:
D'Souza, G. and K. Jones. 2001. Trading Poultry Litter at the Watershed Level: A Goal Focusing Application. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review. 30(1): 56-65.
Godfrey, R.W. and G.E. D'Souza. 2001. Hair Sheep Production in the US Virgin Islands: Management Practices and Economic Analysis. Agricultural Experiment Station, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix.
Valencia, E., L. Sollenberger, and G. D'Souza. 2001. Managing Pasture Resources. Agricultural Experiment Station, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix.
Impact:
Impacts from economic studies are hard to measure because they tend to be abstract. Available evidence suggests that the results from these studies have been and are being used to improve resource allocation and inform decision-making at various levels including producer, industry, community and policy, in the process contributing to economic development and a more sustainable agricultural sector. In addition, the interactions across state and disciplinary boundaries infuse the project with innovative ideas and alternative methodological approaches, and leads to the identification of additional researchable problems and issues as they pertain to local food systems.