Agri-food and Rural Development

Professor Terry Marsden explores the political economy of the agrifood industry and its implications for rural development.

The agri-food and rural development world has experienced significant changes in recent years. The evolution towards globalized and highly complex food supply systems has been accompanied by growing competition, reduced state subsidies as well as concerns about quality, output and the environment. At the beginning of the 21st century, the agri-food industry is urgently searching for new solutions.

Exploring these recent developments, Agri-Food and Rural Development highlights the latest research on understanding and promoting sustainable food systems. Featuring a range of international case studies, it investigates different models of rural development for food production, examines the implications for a sustainable future, analyzes future challenges, and suggests new strategies for future agri-food development in a world fast exceeding its resources.

An ambitious new study written by a leading authority in the field, this book offers a vital new perspective on this important debate and is destined to become a landmark text for students, scholars and policy-makers in food studies, agriculture, rural sociology, and geography.

Commenting on the publication Alan Warde, Professor of Sociology, Manchester University said “This book offers useful stimulus to tired debates about neo-liberalism, a summary of debates and political developments, a review of existing literature, some case studies deriving from original research, and an innovative theoretical framework.”

Terry Marsden is Professor of Environmental Policy and Planning, and Director of the Sustainable Places Research Institute at Cardiff University. He has published over 150 journal articles and 20 books on rural development and agri-food over the past twenty years.

The book can be ordered from Bloomsbury Publishing