scholarly journals Conceptualizing Processes of Agroecological Transformations: From Scaling to Transition to Transformation

2020 ◽  
pp. 29-46
Author(s):  
Colin Ray Anderson ◽  
Janneke Bruil ◽  
M. Jahi Chappell ◽  
Csilla Kiss ◽  
Michel Patrick Pimbert
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Technical Analysis ◽  
Sustainability Transitions ◽  
Food Regime ◽  
Farm Level ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Systems Transformation ◽  
Analytical Frameworks

AbstractIn this chapter, we survey the recent literature that speaks directly to the issue of bringing agroecology to scale. We discuss the shift towards analytical frameworks that consider not only the farm level but rather whole food system transformations. We then introduce the multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions which we adopt for the purpose of this book. Moving beyond the technical analysis often found in research on sustainability ‘transitions’, our approach thus adopts agency-centric approach to food systems ‘transformation’. To do this, we introduce the notion of domains of transformation, which represent discrete areas where the conflict between agroecology and the dominant food regime manifests and where the potential for collective and transformation is transformation is most potent.

scholarly journals The Multi-Level Perspective in Research on Sustainability Transitions in Agriculture and Food Systems: A Systematic Review

Agriculture ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid El Bilali
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Alternative Food Networks ◽  
Sustainability Transitions ◽  
Food Sector ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
International Trends ◽  
Multi Level

The multi-level perspective (MLP) is a prominent transition framework. The MLP posits that transitions come about through interaction processes within and among three analytical levels: niches, socio-technical regimes and a socio-technical landscape. This systematic review provides an overview on the use of the MLP in research on agro-food sustainability transitions. In particular, it analyses the understanding, conceptualisation and operationalisation of niches, regimes and landscapes. Niches considered in the selected papers include agro-ecology, organic agriculture, permaculture, conservation agriculture, integrated farming, and alternative food networks. Regime refers to industrial, conventional agriculture. The researched regime is often not clearly described and its operationalisation is a matter of deliberation. Landscape level is generally overlooked; when it is considered it refers to international trends and developments. Many scholars highlight the inadequacy of transition pathways in the MLP for the agro-food sector. Moreover, transition impacts are rarely addressed and the research field generally overlooks the analysis of the sustainability of niches and, consequently, of transitions. Research on transitions in the agro-food sector borrows from the MLP its generalizability and poor empirical operationalisation of niche, regime and landscape concepts. Therefore, integrative conceptualisation and operationalisation of the MLP elements is required to accommodate the complexity of sustainability transition processes and the peculiarities of the agro-food system.

scholarly journals Dismantling and rebuilding the food system after COVID-19: Ten principles for redistribution and regeneration

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana James ◽  
Evan Bowness ◽  
Tabitha Robin ◽  
Angela McIntyre ◽  
Colin Dring ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Sovereignty ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Food Regime ◽  
Negative Externalities ◽  
Redistributive Policies ◽  
Strategic Policy ◽  
Systems Transformation ◽  
State Responses

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and cost economies trillions of dollars. Yet state responses have done little to address the negative externalities of the corporate food regime, which has contributed to, and exacerbated, the impacts of the pandemic. In this paper, we build on calls from the grassroots for states to undertake a strategic dismantling of the corporate food regime through redistributive policies and actions across scales, financed through reparations by key actors in the corporate food regime. We present a strategic policy framework drawn from the food sovereignty movement, outlined here as the “5Ds of Redistribution”: Decolonization, Decarbonization, Diversification, Democratization, and Decommodification. We then consider what would need to occur post-redistribution to ensure that the corporate food regime does not re-emerge, and pose five guiding principles grounded in Indigenous food sover¬eignty to rebuild regenerative food systems, out¬lined here as the “5Rs of Regeneration”: Relation¬ality, Respect, Reciprocity, Responsibility, and Rights. Together these ten principles for redistri¬bution and regeneration provide a framework for food systems transformation after COVID-19.

scholarly journals How a Strategic Scoping Canvas Can Facilitate Collaboration between Partners in Sustainability Transitions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seerp Wigboldus ◽  
Jan Brouwers ◽  
Herman Snel
Keyword(s):  
Food System ◽  
Strategic Orientation ◽  
Sustainability Transitions ◽  
Short Contribution ◽  
Initial Application ◽  
Planning And Design ◽  
Common Planning ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Theories Of Change

The commonly used words ‘transformation’ and ‘transition’ tend to lose their edge when used for any significant change process as is rather often the case. Partners and wider stakeholders in initiatives related to ‘sustainability transitions’ therefore often entertain different perspectives on what the strategic orientation of an initiative is or is meant to be. Common planning and design processes such as situation analysis and theories of change, however, often do not sufficiently cater to this dynamic. As a result, different actors may be pulling the initiative in different directions, undermining the overall partnership efforts. In this short contribution a strategic scoping canvas and an associated facilitation process are presented as a way of addressing such situations. Illustrations are provided of initial application in three cases related to food system transitions in Peru, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh, exploring the connectivity with approaches commonly used in the context of system transformations, including the Multi-Level Perspective on sustainability transitions, the Leverage Points approach, Capability Approach, and the theory of Large System Change. We conclude that the canvas and associated facilitation approach has proved useful in different contexts, offering opportunities for complementing existing methodologies, and potentially enhancing their efficacy in facilitated multi-stakeholder processes.

scholarly journals Transitioning to the safe and just space inside ‘the doughnut’ by means of agroecological niche food systems: insights from Chile and Uruguay

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-311
Author(s):  
Walter A.H. Rossing ◽  
Annemarie Groot Kormelinck ◽  
Florencia Alliaume ◽  
Santiago Dogliotti ◽  
Jessica Duncan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Sustainability Transitions ◽  
Farm Families ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
Vegetable Food ◽  
Farm Scale ◽  
Scientific Project ◽  
Treasure Chest

To operate within the safe and just operating space captured by the doughnut metaphor, sustainability transitions are needed in the food system. Niche food systems with highly distinct practices and organization constitute a treasure chest of alternatives from which society can build new futures. Policy has little awareness of niche food systems and their potential contributions to sustainability transitions. Importantly, this limits society’s ability to adapt. Here, we review findings from an ongoing scientific project into different components of the vegetable food systems in Chile and Uruguay. The aim of the project is to investigate options for transitioning to low- or no-pesticide vegetable food systems. The results show: 1. the presence of promising alternative vegetable food systems in Chile, which are, however, highly marginalized and disempowered; 2. a diversity of vertical and horizontal producer arrangements in Uruguay and the need for value-driven as well as market-driven engagement; and 3. major possibilities for improving production systems to arrive within the doughnut by taking a systems perspective at the farm scale that includes the farm families and their networks. Consequences of these findings for alternative vegetable food systems are discussed.

scholarly journals Transforming Research and Innovation for Sustainable Food Systems—A Coupled-Systems Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 7176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristiaan P. W. Kok ◽  
Alanya C. L. den Boer ◽  
Tomris Cesuroglu ◽  
Marjoleine G. van der Meij ◽  
Renée de Wildt-Liesveld ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Coupled Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Policy Environments ◽  
Systems Transformation

Current research and innovation (R&I) systems are not equipped to fully serve as catalysts for the urgently needed transformation of food systems. Though research on food systems transformation (first order: ‘what?’) and transformative research (second order: ‘how to’) are rapidly gaining traction in academic and policy environments, current efforts fail to explicitly recognize the systemic nature of the challenges associated with performing transformative second-order research. To recognize these manifold and interlinked challenges embedded in R&I systems, there is a need for a coupled-systems perspective. Transformations are needed in food systems as well as R&I systems (‘how to do the “how to”’). We set out to conceptualize an approach that aims to trigger double transformations by nurturing innovations at the boundaries of R&I systems and food systems that act upon systemic leverage points, so that their multisystem interactions can better support food system transformations. We exemplify this coupled-systems approach by introducing the FIT4FOOD2030 project with its 25 living labs as a promising multilevel boundary innovation at the cross-section of R&I and food systems. We illustrate how this approach paves the way for double systems transformations, and therefore for an R&I system that is fit for future-proofing food systems.

From Urban Agriculture to Urban Food

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-134
Author(s):  
Heidrun Moschitz ◽  
Jan Landert ◽  
Christian Schader ◽  
Rebekka Frick
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Boundary Object ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Urban Food System ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Systems Transformation

Urban agriculture is embedded in an urban food system, and its full potential can only be understood by looking into the dynamics of the system. Involving a variety of actors from civil society, policy, and the market, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the food system of the city of Basel, Switzerland, including policy and actor analysis, analysis of perceptions on urban agriculture, food flow analysis, and a sustainability assessment. The article presents the results of these analyses and discusses how research can contribute to the societal debate on food systems transformation. We particularly reflect on how the research project became a boundary object in a dynamic process to develop new ideas and activities, as well as to create a space for future debates in the city’s food system.

scholarly journals How a Strategic Scoping Canvas Can Facilitate Collaboration between Partners in Sustainability Transitions

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seerp Wigboldus ◽  
Jan Brouwers ◽  
Herman Snel
Keyword(s):  
Capability Approach ◽  
Food System ◽  
System Change ◽  
Large System ◽  
Shared Understanding ◽  
Sustainability Transitions ◽  
Leverage Points ◽  
Initial Application ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

The loosely applied concepts of transformations and transitions often result in unarticulated different visions and expectations among stakeholders regarding the orientation and ambition of a particular initiative related to system transitions/transformations. In this paper, a strategic scoping canvas and an associated facilitation process are presented as a way of enhancing shared understanding among stakeholders. Illustrations are provided of initial application in three cases related to food system transitions in Peru, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh, exploring the connectivity with approaches commonly used in the context of system transformations, including the Multi-Level Perspective on sustainability transitions, the Leverage Points approach, Capability Approach, and the theory of Large System Change. We conclude that the canvas and associated facilitation approach has proved useful in different contexts, offering opportunities for complementing existing methodologies, and potentially enhancing their efficacy in facilitated multi-stakeholder processes.

scholarly journals One CGIAR and the Integrated Agri-food Systems Initiative: From short-termism to transformation of the world’s food systems

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252832
Author(s):  
Bram Govaerts ◽  
Christine Negra ◽  
Tania Carolina Camacho Villa ◽  
Xiomara Chavez Suarez ◽  
Anabell Diaz Espinosa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
National Level ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Time Dynamics ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Systems Transformation ◽  
Short Termism

Agri-food systems are besieged by malnutrition, yield gaps, and climate vulnerability, but integrated, research-based responses in public policy, agricultural, value chains, and finance are constrained by short-termism and zero sum thinking. As they respond to current and emerging agri-food system challenges, decision makers need new tools that steer toward multi-sector, evidence-based collaboration. To support national agri-food system policy processes, the Integrated Agri-food System Initiative (IASI) methodology was developed and validated through case studies in Mexico and Colombia. This holistic, multi-sector methodology builds on diverse existing data resources and leverages situation analysis, modeled predictions, and scenarios to synchronize public and private action at the national level toward sustainable, equitable, and inclusive agri-food systems. Culminating in collectively agreed strategies and multi-partner tactical plans, the IASI methodology enabled a multi-level systems approach by mobilizing design thinking to foster mindset shifts and stakeholder consensus on sustainable and scalable innovations that respond to real-time dynamics in complex agri-food systems. To build capacity for these types of integrated, context-specific approaches, greater investment is needed in supportive international institutions that function as trusted in-region ‘innovation brokers.’ This paper calls for a structured global network to advance adaptation and evolution of essential tools like the IASI methodology in support of the One CGIAR mandate and in service of positive agri-food systems transformation.

scholarly journals The Future of Food Security, Nutrition and Health for Agri-food Systems Transformation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chin Yee Chan ◽  
Steven Prager ◽  
Jean Balie ◽  
Marta Kozicka ◽  
Guy Hareau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Nutrition And Health ◽  
Adverse Health Outcomes ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Multiple Risks ◽  
Food Security And Nutrition ◽  
Systems Transformation ◽  
Inform Decision Making

Global progress towards food security and nutrition has been slow in many places and even reversing in others. Against the background of changes in population, income, technology, climate, and other drivers, the pressures on food systems are daunting. When designing and rolling out future interventions towards these goals it is of vital importance to utilize foresight knowledge to anticipate, shape, and prepare for alternative possible futures. Overcoming current and emerging challenges but also seizing opportunities as they present themselves requires continued efforts to provide robust analysis to inform decision making. Here we collated the latest insights from foresight studies around three central aspects within the food system. First, consumer demand and the changes this is undergoing is a key aspect shaping the food system itself as well as nutritional and environmental outcomes. Second, distributional inequalities and trade-offs within the food system have further been identified as key challenges to tackling adverse health outcomes of the current food system. And third, amplified by the COVID crisis, enhancing the resilience of the food system that is increasingly under threat from multiple risks has risen to the top of the agenda.

scholarly journals Understanding Ethics in Sustainability Transitions: Towards Social Learning for Sustainable Food Systems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
Ethical Decision ◽  
Food System ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Sustainability Transitions ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Ethical Complexity

This thesis explores the importance of an appropriate understanding of ethics in sustainability transitions. Through a conceptual analysis, it finds that the dominant understanding of modernist ethics is unsuitable to the contexts of contingency in sustainability transitions, and that the participatory understanding of ethics as a complex system presents a far more adequate approach to the ethical complexity of socioecological systems. In particular, the strategy of „practising provisionality‟ is suggested, which understands the process of ethical decision-making as a process of social learning. This argument is further supported by a critical reflection on the food system context.

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