Towards a political economy of land: reciprocal rights and duties in private property

The paper explores some fundamental aspects of a Political Economy of Land such as the definition of rights and duties in legal and ethical terms. The increasing demands of sustainability introduces the need of a critical analysis of this institution with the purpose to explain and improve the present discussion that pursue alternative forms of appropriation and use of natural resources such as land. The responsibility involved in property rights and, thus, its conception in reciprocal terms, is present in some of the most important works of economic thought, namely Classical Political Economy and Old Institutionalism. These theories present important insights to the conception of land and its exploitation. The analysis of the legal rules that define property rights in the Portuguese case stresses the rights and duties involved in property. Besides Law, a Political Economy of Land should consider Ethics, namely Land Ethics. Therefore, the paper presents an essay for the analysis of property rights trough economic, legal and ethical concerns envisaging the design of a Political Economy of Land.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Land and law: reciprocal rights and duties in private property

The paper aims to explore the property concept as one which includes the definition of rights and duties. It is important to discuss this concept in an attempt to improve the present discussion about the appropriation and exploitation of natural resources such as land in general and farm land in particular. The responsibility associated with rights and, thus, its conception in reciprocal terms, is present in some of the main works of economic thought. In developed societies legal rules play an important role in the definition of rights and reciprocal duties. This importance justifies the contact with and the analysis of the legal rules that define property rights in a specific case – that of Portugal. The previous considerations reveal the approach adopted in property rights study and can be summed up in three words: memory, plurality and (legal) reality. These options offer an essay for the analysis of rights in its human dimension, including, as a final note, some ethical considerations that involve man-nature relations

Feeding the future: The critical role of seeds in food systems and cultural heritage

Genetic resources constitute a critical resource to deal with the current climatic and geostrategic challenges. The XXI century reintroduced the problem of food security in political and scientific agendas of developed countries. At the roots of this re-emergence are multidimensional reasons: economic (cereals crisis in 2008), public health (covid pandemic), and war (Russia vs Ukraine). Within this context, the reflection on basic issues concerning the food system, namely food production and the resources involved in, such as seeds, is of utmost importance. The paper presents an exploratory approach to genetic conservation through banks in Portugal. The sections of the paper include a problematization, namely the international and national framework on the subject, the design of an analytical model, and the presentation of the results of a case study of a Portuguese genetic bank.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Interfaces in entrepreneurship development: between tradition and innovation

The linkage between tradition and innovation involves specificities and different degrees of complexity, depending on the entrepreneurial activity and economic sector. The paper adopts an institutionalist approach to study the relation between tradition and innovation through the discussion of a specific case: the introduction of innovations in cork production and transformation in a Portuguese territory: Coruche.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

RurAction - Social entrepreneurship in structurally weak rural regions: Analysing innovative troubleshooters in actios

Ruraction Maria de Fátima Ferreiro e Cristina de Sousa Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa; Dinâmia’CET-IUL O projecto Ruraction – Social Innovation in Structurally Weak Rural Regions: analysing innovative trouble shooters in action – foi financiado pelo programa H2020 e envolveu a participação de 7 Países Europeus: Alemanha (coordenação), Áustria, Dinamarca, Grécia, Irlanda, Polónia e Portugal. A investigação desenvolveu-se a no âmbito de 10 projectos de doutoramento e contou com a participação de empresas sociais de diferentes regiões que acolheram estágios dos doutorandos. Em Portugal a região escolhida foi o Baixo Alentejo e empresa social a ADCMoura. A parceria com empresas sociais traduziu-se em conhecimento transdisciplinar sobre inovação social e empreendedorismo social em territórios rurais. O projecto identificou casos de inovação social nos diferentes Países e tentou perceber a forma da sua emergência e desenvolvimento. Entre alguns dos resultados do projecto, saliente-se: • A diversidade dos territórios rurais nos diferentes Países do consórcio; • O papel central das políticas públicas, nomeadamente do Leader, para a dinâmica de desenvolvimento destes territórios; • A importância do desenvolvimento de redes de cooperação entre as empresas sociais em contexto nacional e internacional; • A importância do alívio da carga burocrática de alguns programas de desenvolvimento rural (p.e. PAC); • O papel crucial da digitalização neste processo; • A urgência da visibilidade dos territórios rurais.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Combining new and old: Emergent business models in the food system transition

The research has been developed within a research project on Spatial Planning for Change (SPLACH) through an interdisciplinary approach. The analysis addresses food system’s transition in a specific territory, the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA). The transition of food systems towards a sustainable model has been under analysis and debate. This transition is related with structural changes, namely the emphasis on local production, short supply chains, and the preference for organic products. The shift of the agri-food system is taking place through the creation of entirely new businesses and the shift of individual farms towards organic production. In both cases, the new enterprises resort to a combination of old agricultural knowledge and techniques, new scientific knowledge regarding productive methods and new technological platforms for advertising and commercialization. These mixed sources permit the creation of interesting forms of new business models, combining old and new knowledge and practices. In addition to the agriculture domain, they exemplify how traditional industries can absorb/generate innovation, at technological and organizational levels, and become in line with the new knowledge-based era. The study has three main objectives: to identify and analyze the emerging agri-food businesses in LMA; to characterize business models (BM) changes within the transition dynamics towards sustainability; to reflect on the challenges presented by the food system characteristics, in terms of sustainable BM; and to demonstrate that BM specificity – combining new and old knowledge and practices - is closely related to the characteristics of the food system. The paper presents results of the research on the emergence of a new business models, focusing on the case of an organic food production innovative initiative in the LMA, Quinta do Oeste.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Local development initiatives as promoters of social innovation: evidence from two European rural regions

Social innovation entered the academic discourse several decades ago and has since been seen as a way of tackling existing problems in various contexts. Although an extensive body of research has been conducted into the role of social innovation in urban context, there is still a gap when it comes to studying the role of social innovation in the development of rural areas. In this paper, an attempt is made to look at the role of Local Action Groups (LAGs) and Local Development Associations (LDAs) as promoters of social innovation in rural areas in Austria and Portugal, aiming to understand the role of such organisations and the challenges faced by the latter in promoting social innovation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Innovation and business models towards a sustainable food system

Business models (BMs) and their link with cleaner, green production have been the subject of growing attention in the recent research on sustainability. Businesses are increasingly dealing with the challenges and opportunities associated with transition towards sustainability due to the adoption of new strategies to innovate and implement more suitable solutions for the new context. Many studies on a broad array of sectors and countries, notably farming activities and the food system in general (Smith, 2006; Spaargaren, Oosterveer and Loeber, 2012), have already documented this shift. This paper addresses the emergence and development of new business models (BM) envisaging the transition to sustainability. As little attention has been given to the food sector in this regard, the research presented reflects on BM innovation both generally and in the specific case of the food sector by presenting the case study of an innovative farm in Lisbon Metropolitan Area (Quinta do Oeste). The study is part of a Project on Spatial Planning for Change (SPLACH). The case study allows the identification of several aspects to make the food business more sustainable in certain parts of the value chain, specifically production and commercialization (short chain supply). The study was carried out with primary data collected through extensive interviews with key actors, namely the farm's representative, and visit/detailed observation of the farm. The research shows how sustainable food production and commercialization have given rise to new offerings and demand. In terms of originality, this research aims to contribute to and stimulate the discussions on the need to create novel and more sustainable business models in the food sector. The research identifies different elements that contribute to the innovation of BM for more sustainable farms, more specifically the importance of entrepreneurs' values as a driver of sustainable pathways and the centrality of producers' networks in the implementation of innovative BM. The study also highlights the need to address research gaps in the theoretical and methodological dimensions of the food system transition.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Small, smart and sustainable: Networking to develop the medicinal and aromatic plants value-chain in Portugal

The paper aims to study the use of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP) farmers’ networking activities to overcome challenges in the development of their business. MAPs are mostly cultivated in small farms located in rural territories. This presents many challenges in different dimensions of business development through the value-chain, namely in commercialization. That is why networking and collaboration with other actors may have an important role, by providing the scale and critical resources towards business success and value-chain sustainable development. The paper draws on a purposefully collected set of data on a network of Portuguese producers of MAP, organized under the EPAM project. The data was collected through a questionnaire and quantitatively analyzed in order to understand: i) how MAP farmers perceive the importance of networks for the development of their businesses? ii) How are networks enabling farmers with different profiles to develop their businesses? The results confirm the importance of networks for the development of these businesses, namely with other firms. However, it is possible to identify some diversity in the assessment of the role of those networks, both by taking into consideration the location of the farms and their positioning in the value-chain. The study contributes to a better understanding of how networking contributes to overcome barriers in the sustainable development of an agri-food value-chain, by stressing a variety of networking proposes and partners and the existence of differences across types of firms.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio