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Supermarket-Led Development and the Neglect of Traditional Food Value Chains: Reflections on Indonesia’s Agri-Food System Transformation

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  • Thomas Vetter

    (Anthropology Institute, University of Neuchâtel, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland)

  • Marianne Nylandsted Larsen

    (Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Section for Geography, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark)

  • Thilde Bech Bruun

    (Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Section for Geography, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark)

Abstract

The rapid expansion of modern food retail encapsulated in the so-called ‘supermarket revolution’ is often portrayed as a pivotal driving force in the modernization of agri-food systems in the Global South. Based on fieldwork conducted on horticulture value chains in West Java and South Sulawesi, this paper explores this phenomenon and the concerted efforts that government and corporate actors undertake with regard to agri-food value chain interventions and market modernization in Indonesia. The paper argues that after more than 15 years of ‘supermarket revolution’ in Indonesia, traditional food retail appears not to be in complete demise, but rather adaptive and resilient to its modern competitors. The analysis of local manifestations of supermarket-led agricultural development suggests that traditional markets can offer certain advantages for farmers over supermarket-driven value chains. The paper further identifies and discusses two areas that have so far been neglected by research and policymaking and which warrant further investigation: (i) the simultaneous transformations in traditional food value chains and their relation to modern markets, and (ii) the social and environmental performances of modern vis-à-vis traditional food value chains.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Vetter & Marianne Nylandsted Larsen & Thilde Bech Bruun, 2019. "Supermarket-Led Development and the Neglect of Traditional Food Value Chains: Reflections on Indonesia’s Agri-Food System Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:498-:d:198911
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    Cited by:

    1. Makaiko G. Khonje & Matin Qaim, 2019. "Modernization of African Food Retailing and (Un)healthy Food Consumption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-18, August.
    2. Shinya Ikeda & Ronnie S. Natawidjaja, 2022. "The Sustainability of Contract Farming with Specialized Suppliers to Modern Retailers: Insights from Vegetable Marketing in Indonesia," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-11, March.
    3. Sinne Borby Ørtenblad & Marianne Nylandsted Larsen & Thilde Bech Bruun & Daniel Ortiz-Gonzalo, 2023. "Smallholder Participation in Modernising Agri-Food Value Chains in Thailand: The Role of Traditional Markets," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(6), pages 1419-1439, December.

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