Socio-spatial differences in the relocalisation of food production in Hungary

Abstract

Short food supply chains have been expanding very fast worldwide in the last few years. The political intention of food production relocalisation shows similarly positive tendencies. Data from transitional countries are scarce. This paper aims to bridge the gap by studying patterns and processes of local food systems development in Hungary. Spatial patterns and development potential of local food systems are analysed in the 19 Hungarian counties and the capital, Budapest, in this paper. In order to help policy-making, a quantitative focus is applied, which is a rare approach in analysing food system relocalisation.

This study is based on the Index of Food Production Relocalisation (“élelmiszerrelokalizációs termelői index”, ÉRTI), which is a suitable tool to map the characteristics of local food production and to evaluate the current level of small-scale farming as well as future development potential. The following indicators are considered: the number and ratio of organic farmers, the number and ratio of local food producers advertising in the local food directory, the number and ratio of small-scale producers, the number of certification schemes and the number and ratio of farms producing food for the market. With regard to the optimal allocation of support (funding), the limits of biophysical factors have been taken into account as a measuring stick to define agricultural areas for the purpose of this paper.

Our results show uneven distribution patterns in the counties, and also various indicators of local food production scores which are remarkably different in some cases: The development potential is the highest in the eastern part of Hungary, where the current production level is low. At the moment, production in Budapest is not significant; however, local small-scale farmers are participating in short food supply chains much more than the country average – which allows them to realise higher profits. In general, the “buy-local-food movement” is only in its beginnings in Hungary.

Our method can be used to provide socio-economic baselines for evolving policies that aim at local food systems development as it quantitatively reveals underdeveloped areas or hidden aspects that need further support. Thus, realistic policy goals can be set and results can be monitored and objectively evaluated.

Data availability is the main limiting factor. Future research will include the analysis of background indicators (such as socio-economic characteristics of urban and rural populations, features of tourism, etc.) to understand the current distribution of the local food production potential. In the future we also aim to consider marketing possibilities and the spatial pattern of consumer demand to fully understand the potential of the local food sector development in Hungary.