working at european and local levels: an overview of case

Working at European and local levels:

an overview of case studies

Francesca Galli

Researcher, University of Pisa, Italy

Setting the scene…4 premises

• Food is produced and consumed in systems

– Structures, actors, processes

• Food systems deliver food and nutrition security

– FNS is multi dimensional and multi scale

• Food systems are vulnerable

– system’s inability to respond to disturbances without generating

undesirable outcomes

• Food systems are diverse

– Context specificity

How can we reduce EU food systems’

vulnerabilities and enhance resilience?

1. “Un-packing” EU food systems’ vulnerabilities:

– Vulnerability of what? Boundaries of the system

– Vulnerability to what? Relevant disturbances

– Vulnerability of whom? Vulnerable groups

2. Exploring local responses to vulnerabilities:

– How are global drivers shaped in local contexts?

– What are the specific responses in place?

– Which pathways for possibile future scenarios?

� European and local case studies: different methods, parallel

approaches

1. Understanding food systems’

vulnerabilities

European case studies: “Hotspot” analysis

1. Un-packing vulnerabilities at EU level

• EU case studies: selected Hotspots

– “pertinent areas of concern where several factors interact

together and converge into outcomes of particular intensity”

– hotspots represent specific areas for public intervention and

regulation

• Characterising how different types of vulnerabilities

emerge, are expressed and interrelated, and may affect FNS

outcomes.

– Identification of “vulnerability pathways”

EU Food System Vulnerabilities 8

Hotspots and key issues

�Conflict in the land uses: bio-energy and food

�Preservation of natural and human resources:

conventional and organic agriculture

�Diffusion of new technologies, risks and opportunities:

Genetically Modified food and feed

�Food systems’ governance: the role of (sustainable)

public food procurement

�Social cohesion and security,

entitlements and assistance: food poverty


Vulnerability pathways

Relevance for Food and Nutrition Security

Hotspots Food and Nutrition Security

availability access utilization stability and

control

Biofuels +++ + + ++

Organic +++ + + ++

Food Poverty + +++ + ++

Public Food

Procurement

+ +++ ++ +

Genetically

Modified Feed

and Food

+++ + ++

Steps in EU case studies:

• Understanding what the internal and external challenges are

• Understand what FNS outcomes are affected

• Map the internal structure of the system

• Identify entry points for external drivers of change

• Identify vulnerability pathways

• Scenario analysis

• Policy solutions to address vulnerabilities: sensitivity, exposure,

adaptive capacity of the system

Identification of hotspot boundaries and outcomes

Mapping causal relations: example from organic case

Brzezina N, Kopainsky B., Mathijs E. (2016) Can Organic Farming Reduce Vulnerabilities and Enhance the Resilience of the European Food System? A Critical Assessment Using System Dynamics Structural Thinking Tools, Sustainability, 8(10), 971; doi:10.3390/su8100971

Focus on vulnerability pathways:

A set of vulnerabilities of EU agriculture:

– Degrading natural resources

– Trading tacit with standardized knowledge

– Dependence on external inputs and governmental subsidies

– Latent volatility of agri-food markets

– Efficiency vs. resilience

Degrading natural resources

Causal loop diagram representing the relationship between food production and natural resources condition (B1, B2, R2);


Hotspot 2: Biofuels’ vulnerability pathways

– Maintaining agricultural production and food availability;

– Dependence from subsidy and rental seeking behaviours;

– Stability of food price;

– Diversification of local and rural areas;

– Sustainability of biofuels.


Hotspot 3: Public food procurement

“vulnerability pathways”

• Vulnerability pathways

– Absence of political will and

leadership

– Low availability of healthy food

– Inadequate infrastructure and

budget constrains

– Lack of organizational culture,

knowledge and skills around

and about sustainable food

chains


Hotspot 4 – Food poverty, vulnerability pathways

• Social fragmentation tendencies

• Welfare reforms, sanctions and cuts to healthy food;

• Food pricing discrimination mechanisms

• Lack of policy awareness of wider systemic causes of food poverty

Hotspot 5 – Genetically modified food and feed

• Regulation of the authorization of new events

• Flexibility of coexistence rules

• Regulation of global food trade

• European Citizens’ reluctance to GM food

• Environmental conditions

• Power concentration along the food value chain

What’s the merit in “un-packing” vulnerabilities?

• “We don’t need better solutions, we need better thinking about

problems” (Russel Ackoff)

• Reorganization of existing knowledge and insights from variables (already

established in the literature)

• Understanding different sources of vulnerability

– Vulnerability arising from external drivers

– Can be amplified or buffered through internal processes in the

system

• A tool for decision makers?

– Assessing the viability of different strategies to fix food system

vulnerabilities

– Communicating the vulnerabilities and the strategies accordingly

Exploring local responses to FNS challenges

2. Exploring Local responses

• The food system is fragmented

– various co-existing and interacting sets of “practices”

• Explore the diversity of local situations within regions

• 16 case addressing FNS concerns were developed

Clusters of cases and FNS outcomes

Clusters of cases Food and Nutrition Security

4 cases in each.. availability access utilization stability and

control

Food assistance ++ +++ + +

(Peri-) Urban

Land-access

movements

+ +++ ++ +

Consumer-Citizen

Commitment

+ ++ +++ ++

Public

Procurement &

Preparedness

+ +++ ++ +

Steps in local case studies

�Understanding local context and relations

�Looking at multiple futures..

– Stimulating new ideas through back-casting and visioning

– Assess strategic responses through scenario testing

Example: Food assistance in Tuscany (IT)

• What are the main practices? In response to what

challenges?

• By whom are they developed?

• Focus on materials; skills, and competencies; claims, values and meanings

• How is food assistance re-thinking its role in a changing

environment?

• What transitions pathways can be identified in the current process of

change of the food assistance system?

A map of actors, processes, flows of resources

Example: Food assistance in Tuscany (IT)

A vision for an “Alliance for food” in Tuscany

“Take home” messages

• Diversity is inspiring (across diversities…)!

• We experimented the value of engaging with

heterogeneous actors

– Supporting systemic thinking and the development of projects

– Challenging actors’ sphere of influence and the given scenario

context

• How to “embrace” innovation at local level and inspire

change at system level?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

www.transmango.eu

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