Creating a value chain system for local and regional farm products

South Carolina and other southern states are experiencing unprecedented rates in growth of acreage converted from farmland into developed land status. From 1992 to 1997, 30.2% of South Carolina farm and forestland was converted for development (London and Hill 2000). This ranks South Carolina 6th in the nation among states in this category, and the rate of development and loss of farmland is expected to continue. Concurrent with development has been an increase in land values and property tax rates making it more difficult for farmers to maintain profitable enterprises. Reductions in markets and profits for conventional row crops have contributed to this dramatic loss of farmland as growers decide to sell their farms. Farmers on small acreage farms typical of North and South Carolina can no longer survive economically solely by growing and marketing conventional, low-value row crops. Thus, farmers are interested in alternative niche market crops where the per-acre profit potential is high. SARE PDP-supported projects are underway in North and South Carolina to enhance the proficiency of extension agents, NRCS and DNR staff, and other agricultural educators and professionals through training in areas related to production of organic and other value-added commodities. These projects have or will provide educational opportunities for farmers to develop or increase skills in the areas of production. However, farmers cannot risk expansion into new production areas without readily available markets. In many cases farmers are not able to find adequate local market outlets for their products, and although most farmers lack marketing expertise, the ability to find or develop markets is essential to maintain farm profits.
Surveys have indicated that farmers are often not sure how to contact or locate potential markets such as farmers’ markets or other local wholesale or retail markets. Thus farmers often plan their production schemes hoping to find markets, rather than identifying lucrative markets in advance. Farmers need an easily accessible information source to help them establish buyer contacts and to identify “hot” markets. This would enable them to better plan their production schemes to maximize their profits. Conversely, networks that link consumers in the community with local farmers could further increase market opportunities. Private and public establishments in the community (e.g., hospitals, schools, universities, restaurants, city markets) often have a demand for locally-grown food products but have no means to establish contacts with local farmers.
We also believe that completely new markets for locally-grown products can be developed based on increasing public awareness of the importance of locally-grown, fresh farm products for proper nutrition (particularly for children), concerns over pesticide residues on food commodities, and a loss of the connection with our agricultural heritage. A recent survey indicated that consumers are highly supportive of locally grown foods, and that they purchase locally grown for superior taste, quality, nutrition, and because they want to support local family farms (Anonymous 2001). The survey results indicated that lucrative market opportunities exist for local producers who can meet consumer needs related to the above attributes. Another recent survey in South Carolina indicated that a majority of consumers are concerned about the health effects of pesticide residues on produce, and that if given a choice, they would prefer to purchase produce grown using organic farming practices compared with conventionally grown produce (Zehnder et al. 2002). The results further showed that consumers would be willing to pay more (5-25%) for organic produce than for conventionally grown produce, even if the organic produce had slight cosmetic blemishes. Consumer interest in and demand for these products would increase if community outreach programs were developed to further promote the benefits of organic and other locally grown food products.
Consumers on the one hand may wish to support local farms but may have to limit the quantity of products purchased because they lack information and expertise on food preservation (e.g., canning, freezing, drying, pickling, jam and jelly making, etc.). Consumer education programs in food preservation and food safety would create greater demand for local farm products (e.g., consumers would purchase bushel basket quantities of produce and could preserve what was not immediately consumed).
The NC and SC Departments of Agriculture conduct marketing programs to promote farm products grown in their states, but because of their scale they do not have special programs with a focus on small, family farms or other programs that establish linkages between farmers and the community. These efforts are being made in some areas by public (e.g., Chatham County [NC] Extension; http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/SustAg/index.html) and private (e.g., the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project; http://www.asapconnections.org) organizations, but efforts are not coordinated among the various groups.