A diverse economies perspective on appraising economic viability in Dutch food forests

This study unpacks the concept of economic viability in relation to food forestry through a discussion of four food forests in the Netherlands. Based on participant observation and interviews with food forest farmers, we discuss how the economic functioning of the food forests relates to their founders’ ontologies and different forms of knowledge, and how it links to their relations with the state and broader infrastructures (Vincent and Feola, 2020). First, we show that farmers see themselves as temporary stewards of the plot of land on which they planted their food forests. This ontological position is reflected in food forest design and management. Second, farmers view their food forest as more than just a job: it is a way of life, and for this reason, the compensation they seek is not only monetary. Prices are not predetermined by markets and farmers often follow a dual-pricing method in trust-based negotiation with buyers. Non-monetary transactions also take place in food forests, such as public services, barter, working with volunteers, and negotiations with more-than-human constituents of the food forest. Third, we found that farmers cope with unsupportive infrastructure by gradually transitioning from other occupations towards earning an income from food forests, as well as combining farming with residential living. Our study shows that food forests constitute ecological livelihoods where farmers make a living in broader than just financial terms, overcoming the current dichotomy between the economic and environmental jurisdiction, and demonstrating that economic viability entails more than financial profitability. At the same time, we highlight that structural economic pressures pose a threat to sustainable food production.