Rural development from the ground up: agro-food initiatives in Tasmania

Concerns about the decline of rural agricultural communities have recently refocused on new economic opportunities available in regional food production. This article analyses three on-the- ground case studies of rural development projects in Tasmania, Australia that aimed to develop new regional food opportunities. It analyses these projects to identify how local food producers can create viable economic alternatives in rural settings. The projects illustrate that the existence of regional food assets alone is not enough to guarantee economic development success: rural producers need connections into relevant knowledge networks if they are to identify and respond to new agro-food market opportunities.