77 research outputs found
Transitioning towards a Sustainable Wellbeing Economyâ Implications for RuralâUrban Relations
This article focuses on the question of how a shift from a narrow economic perspective to a wider sustainable wellbeing focus in regional development strategies and actions might change ruralâurban relations. A brief review of relevant research and discourses about economic develop-ment models provides the foundation for the analysis. The review leads to the development of an analytical framework that puts the notion of sustainable wellbeing at its center. The criteria included in the analytical framework are then used to assess the current situation, challenges and perceived ways forward based on data and analyses from 11 European regions. The focus of the analysis is on different expressions of a sustainable wellbeing economy, and aspects of territorial development that are consistent with the basic features of a wellbeing economy are identified. Development dy-namics and tensions between different development goals and resource uses, strategies and actions that are in favor of sustainable wellbeing goals, and conditions for a more mutually beneficial ruralâurban relationship are discussed. The article concludes with the implications for local government, and governance and policy frameworks. Reference is made to current high-level strategic policy frameworks and the European Green Deal
Supporting Innovation in Organic Agriculture: A European Perspective Using Experience from the SOLID Project
Organic farming is recognized as one source for innovation helping agriculture to develop sustainably. However, the understanding of innovation in agriculture is characterized by technical optimism, relying mainly on new inputs and technologies originating from research. The paper uses the alternative framework of innovation systems describing innovation as the outcome of stakeholder interaction and examples from the SOLID
(Sustainable Organic Low-Input Dairying) project to discuss the role of farmers, researchers and knowledge exchange for innovation. We used a farmer-led participatory approach to identify problems of organic and low-input dairy farming in Europe and develop and evaluate innovative practices. Experience so far shows that improvements of sustainability can be made through better exploitation of knowledge. For example, it is recognized that optimal utilization of good quality forage is vitally important, but farmers showed a lack of
confidence in the reliability of forage production both in quantity and quality. We conclude that the systems framework improves the understanding of innovation processes in organic agriculture. Farmer-led research is an effective way to bring together the scientific approach with the farmersâ practical and context knowledge in finding solutions to problems experienced by farmers and to develop sustainability
Assessing the role of small farms in sustainable Food and Nutrition Security: What to consider t what scale?,
The AgroMed International Conference 2016 aims to discuss the current land use changes, with a particular interest on farm and land system dynamics, also considering the possible competition with other uses (urban and/or natural land uses). It is focused on âFarm and land system dynamics in the Mediterranean basin: integrating spatial scales, from the local to the global oneâ. Teresa Pinto Correia presented H2020 project SALSA âSmall farms, small food businesses and sustainable food security
A Quantitative Approach to Innovation in Agricultural Value Chains: Evidence from Kenyan Horticulture
In less developed countries such as Kenya, trade is increasingly occurring through, and employment is found within, global and local value chains. Yet, although innovation is widely recognised as crucial for development, the endogenous relationship between small-scale innovations and participation in global value chains (GVCs) has yet to be explored sufficiently. This endogeneity is highlighted using the 3Lâs of labels, linkages and learnings as key overlapping factors that affect both the processes of innovation as well as GVC participation. Drawing on a survey of 320 fresh fruit farmers and 55 interviews in Kenya, we develop a novel method to quantify small-scale agricultural innovations, which are categorised into two overarching types. The first, formal, emanate from meeting standard requirements; the second, informal, evolve from local contexts and are less codified. We find that GVC farmers perform more formal innovations, while local farmers perform similar levels of informal innovation to GVC farmers
Food Systems Resilience : Towards an Interdisciplinary Research Agenda
In this article, we offer a contribution to the ongoing study of food by advancing a conceptual framework and interdisciplinary research agenda â what we term âfood system resilienceâ. In recent years, the concept of resilience has been extensively used in a variety of fields, but not always consistently or holistically. Here we aim to theorise systematically resilience as an analytical concept as it applies to food systems research. To do this, we engage with and seek to extend current understandings of resilience across different disciplines. Accordingly, we begin by exploring the different ways in which the concept of resilience is understood and used in current academic and practitioner literatures - both as a general concept and as applied specifically to food systems research. We show that the social-ecological perspective, rooted in an appreciation of the complexity of systems, carries significant analytical potential. We first underline what we mean by the food system and relate our understanding of this term to those commonly found in the extant food studies literature. We then apply our conception to the specific case of the UK. Here we distinguish between four subsystems at which our âresilient food systemsâ can be applied. These are, namely, the agro-food system; the value chain; the retail-consumption nexus; and the governance and regulatory framework. On the basis of this conceptualisation we provide an interdisciplinary research agenda, using the case of the UK to illustrate the sorts of research questions and innovative methodologies that our food systems resilience approach is designed to promote
Strengthening the role of academic institutions and innovation brokers in agri-food innovation: Towards hybridisation in cross-border cooperation
Existing research suggests that regions can develop their long-term competitive advantage through well-functioning interregional innovation cooperation. In this article, we use the example of innovation in small and medium-sized agri-food enterprises (SMEs) to scrutinise and compare regional innovation approaches on each side of the Dutch-German border and explore how they can converge into a cross-border innovation space. Particular attention is paid to the role of academic institutions and innovation brokers in creating a common innovation space. We explore how differences between two cross-border regions can be harnessed to enhance the impact of innovation, and how this may lead to what we describe as hybridisation effects. In the empirical analysis, we apply the concept of hybridisation to a cross-border innovation space, something that, as far as we are aware, has not been done before. We empirically ground the concepts of a cross-border innovation space and hybridisation and illustrate how relative regional strengths can lead to hybridisation effects. We conclude that differences in economic structures, institutional set-ups, visions and identities inherent in cross-border spaces are not only hindrances, but also opportunities, and we highlight the importance of these complementary strengths and the potential for their strategic use by regional innovation actors. Our findings are highly relevant for the further development of the Interreg Europe programme and the implementation of the EUâs Territorial Agenda 2030
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