Evolution of alternative food networks in an old industrial region of Czechia

Abstract

The main aim of the article is to present a regional analysis of alternative food networks (AFNs) in the old industrial Moravia-Silesian Region in Czechia accompanied by an assessment of their extent, the basic characteristics of their constituents and evolution during the period between 2014-2018. Although a number of studies on AFNs have been published so far, a detailed geographical analysis of AFNs from the regions of Central and Eastern Europe is missing. This paper aims to fill this research gap by providing an in-depth regional analysis of AFNs' spatial distribution while covering both the production (farms integrated in AFNs) and consumption side of ‘local’ food (selected forms of its distribution). Based on selected publicly available databases, we revealed that the proportion of farms integrated in AFNs out of the total number of farms in the region was only 1.4% (or 5% of the total number of organic farms) in 2018. However, significant growth in the number of farms producing food for AFNs and on site farm sales was registered within the monitored period. Only one third of AFN farms can be considered as small farms (up to 10 ha). AFN farms dominantly focused on animal production and were concentrated mostly in the proximity of urban areas favourable for agriculture. The low number of identified farms might be explained, inter alia, by the higher intensity of food self-provisioning in the region.