FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Easy access to produce that is grown locally makes good consumer sense. It is fresher, more nutritious and employs vastly reduced transportation costs — while benefiting both local farmers and retailers.

The Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas believes this concept merits interdisciplinary research and implementation through a program titled Agile Agriculture. The center has received a $549,976 grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation to create a sustainable food system that links small producers with large markets.

“The University of Arkansas is continuing to expand its environmental and sustainability efforts through interdisciplinary collaboration on campus and with other networks,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “We are very pleased that the Wal-Mart Foundation has made this grant to develop a sustainable food system that will be important to the economy and to consumers.”

“Wal-Mart is proud to support the University of Arkansas Applied Sustainability Center and their efforts to support local growers while continuing to be environmentally friendly,” said Ron McCormick, vice president of produce for Walmart. “We are committed to offering products that are sustainable to our customers and continually encourage the development of future sustainable projects.”

Jon Johnson, executive director of the Applied Sustainability Center, said, “The Applied Sustainability Center will implement Agile Agriculture to take the lead in removing greenhouse gas emissions and improving other aspects of environmental performance in food supply chains while creating business value for growers and marketers.”

The goal of Agile Agriculture is to facilitate the availability of a safe, consistent and reliable supply of relevant products for purchase in the marketplace by large-scale buyers. The focus is on enhancing profitability for both existing and potential sellers and buyers in ways that create more sustainable agricultural systems.

Michele Halsell, managing director of the center, said, “There is a large, mostly unmet, demand for local and regional food products across the United States. This demand is driven on the consumer side by a desire to support local economies, reduce food transportation miles, promote sustainable growing practices, and consume fresher products. Distributors and retailers are motivated by rapidly increasing transportation costs and a desire to reduce waste of expired produce and other perishable products.”

Mike Faupel, program manager for the center, will supervise the Agile Agriculture project. Faupel holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education and a master of agriculture degree in food science from the University of Arkansas. He also has 16 years of experience in the food and agriculture sector. Faupel will facilitate a coalition that has been formed to address this demand for local products, including key land-grant university partners and non-governmental organizations.

The current reality is that most of this market need is unmet because small- and medium-scale agricultural producers and processors do not have access to facilities to aggregate their products to provide scales needed by larger markets. In addition, most small producers don’t have necessary insurance, product traceability, documented food safety systems and other food distribution programs needed by larger distributors.

Numerous local and regional efforts exist to fill the gaps described above. Several large retailers have seen success purchasing local products, but there is a desire to greatly expand these efforts. 

Johnson added, “There are some existing commercial programs seeing success but none is operating at the scale needed to meet current and future market needs. None of these local/regional-sourcing programs address educational and aggregation needs of small/medium-scale producers and processors in a comprehensive manner. We believe the Agile Agriculture program will fill this gap.”

Founded on the belief that sustainability is one of the 21^st century’s biggest business challenges and opportunities, the University of Arkansas established the Applied Sustainability Center in 2007 with a $1.5 million gift from the Wal-Mart Foundation.

An interdisciplinary initiative of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, the Applied Sustainability Center works with a wide range of partners, including other University of Arkansas colleges, for the rapid development of sustainable business practices and to promote their application across the retail and consumer goods industries. Recent center initiatives include: a sustainability speaker series; training and executive education on the business benefits of sustainability; a sustainability business plan competition; a study of production and distribution of American produce; a forum to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the dairy industry; and a project to assess a product’s environmental impact by creating an open source life cycle inventory.

The Wal-Mart Foundation is committed to supporting organizations that provide opportunities for individuals and families to live better. The foundation supports initiatives that enhance opportunities in education, workforce development, sustainability and health. In 2007, Walmart, Sam's Club and the Wal-Mart Foundation gave $296 million to communities across the United States.