EuroChoices最新文献

The reverberations of the Ukraine–Russia conflict have been keenly felt in 2022 as the impacts of Russia's invasion of Ukraine quickly cascaded across the globe, significantly exacerbating existing pressures on global systems. The vulnerabilities of the global food system have been particularly laid bare with significant disruptions to food and fertiliser supply chains instigating profound shocks on global food supply – disproportionately affecting poorer and vulnerable populations of the Global South. The immediate concerns and potential solutions to the global impacts of the Ukraine–Russia conflict were recently discussed by a panel of industry, academic and civil society experts convened by the European branch of the International Life Sciences Institute, all of whom are authors of this manuscript. The key concerns: the reduced affordability of food – focussing on those most vulnerable to its effects; the socio-political implications of reduced food security; food safety; and nutrition security are all discussed in this Point de Vue. The authors voice the need for improved resilience to future shocks and stress on the food system.

Food systems require reorientation to take greater account of interactions with the environment, economy, health and society. Transitions to agroecological farming practices and systems can connect policy areas and realise environmental, economic and social aims. These transitions provide a lens for reviewing policy, practice and behaviours of actors in farming systems and value chains, identification of barriers to uptake, and policy areas to which they contribute or where there are gaps. Developing social and human capital, and governance structures that enable transitions to agroecology are key to their prospects of success. Education and life-long learning are key to developing the knowledge and skills of younger generations of land managers and other actors in value chains, throughout their careers. The outcome sought is for a shared understanding of the benefits of agroecological practices and systems, creating opportunities to rebalance policies towards delivering climate neutrality, reversing biodiversity loss, and enhancing rights of citizens. To realise those opportunities policies and strategies should be coherent across territorial and systems levels, and tailored to place, system, people, and stages of transitions. Overall, they should be designed to ensure all citizens are beneficiaries of transitions to agroecological farming systems, over the long term, and that no-one or place is disadvantaged by the processes of change or the outcome intended.

Successful transitions to agroecology require shared understanding of the sustainability implications of transitions for food systems. To gain such understanding, a transdisciplinary approach is increasingly called for by funders, end users of research and scientists. Transdisciplinary processes were used in the UNISECO project to develop strategic pathways that enable transitions to agroecology in case studies across Europe. These strategic pathways were combined with scenarios of EU food systems in 2050, in which combinations of agroecological farming and food consumption practices were assessed. These were then reviewed considering selected UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a reference for discussing the sustainability implications of transitions to agroecology. Sustainability implications were identified for several SDGs including Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Quality Education (SDG 4), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), Climate Action (SDG 13) and Life on Land (SDG 15). Key factors contributing to the sustainability of transitions to agroecology are: i) mature social capital and improved farmer knowledge of the benefits of agroecological practices; ii) strengthened collaborative actions and collective institutions to increase negotiating power within the value-chain; and, iii) changes in consumer behaviour and diets. These factors highlight the need for a food system perspective in transitions to agroecology and supporting policies. This in turn highlights the meaningful role of transdisciplinary research in strengthening the sustainability of European food systems.

The European Commission recently embraced the concept of agroecology as a pathway to reduce negative impacts from agri-food systems on the environment. So far, it remains unclear whether agroecology can deliver on these high hopes if implemented on a large scale. We here assess socio-economic and environmental implications of multiple agroecological futures in the European Union in 2050, based on a novel diagnostic scenario approach, i.e. the biomass balancing model BioBaM-GHG 2.0. We find that agroecological measures from the plot to the food systems level can indeed reduce environmental pressures while maintaining domestic food availability within the EU. Such measures are, for example, more hedgerows on croplands or reduced biomass harvest on high natural value – HNV grasslands. However, a key prerequisite is an overall reduction of the food system's size (based on the reduction of animal production, food wastes, and export production) and an optimised crop-livestock integration. Only then does the transformation towards an agroecological agri-food system in the EU not risk overstretching domestic land availability or produce insufficient agricultural commodities. Mitigating the accompanied trade-off of reduced farm income is a central mandate for policy development aimed at re-designing agriculture in Europe to align with the Green Deal goals.

The concept of a ‘just transition’ is gaining traction in international policy discourses. It has particular significance in relation to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions and the need for ensuring rights and responsibilities of all actors in transitions to agroecological farming systems. Research plays an important role in accompanying this transformation. It explores pathways for more sustainable and fair food systems, barriers to them being achieved, and where and what risks arise for communities of interest and of place. Researchers and practitioners across levels and sectors were brought together in H2020 projects LIFT and UNISECO using processes of stakeholder engagement. Both projects analysed the perceptions of actors towards agroecological farming, and their active involvement in the transitions required. This article summarises lessons learnt regarding multi-actor engagement in different participatory settings in both projects, including a Multi-Actor Platform approach, Q method, DELPHI and Hybrid forum workshops. The interactions involved several hundred actors from 18 countries across Europe. The article reflects on implications of the Covid-19 pandemic on the processes and effectiveness of multi-actor engagement, and assessments of the impacts on the empowerment of the actors. The findings are contextualised by contemporary European Union and national policy objectives of tackling climate change, the loss of biodiversity, and inequalities.

Agroecological transitions have the potential to deliver multiple environmental and social benefits. However socio-economic barriers have prevented those transitions in many European contexts. This article aims to inform policymakers about policy instruments that can foster agroecological transitions in Europe, especially by removing key socio-economic barriers. A multi-step methodology was carried out over a two-year period in 15 case studies across Europe. The case studies represent farming systems that are in the process of initiating or enhancing the transition. Data collection relied on a participatory process, involving a variety of transdisciplinary actors. Study findings identify three major themes of barriers to agroecological transitions, namely actor capacity, value chain and policy. To address these barriers, policy instruments should consider the farming system’s stage in the transition pathway to take account of the different priorities of local actors. At the stage of initiating the transition, removing the barriers requires improvements in knowledge delivery mechanisms by strengthening advisory services and reducing decision-makers’ uncertainty. At the stage of enhancing the transition, a focus on social capital is needed, for example by strengthening networking and cooperation measures. Generally, more attention towards state interventions which support the transitions to agroecology is needed, such as developing new voluntary agroecology certification schemes and public procurement initiatives.