Barriers to and Motivations for Building More Sustainable Food Markets: The View and Role of Brazilian Organic Food Farmers

Abstract Building more sustainable markets requires a combination of resources and motivations to overcome the structural barriers that exist at the different social levels. Farmers are powerful agents who can overcome these barriers to promote more sustainable food systems. By adopting the theoretical perspective of markets as aggregate systems, this study aims to present the barriers faced by farmers and the motivations that stimulate them to act toward forming a more sustainable market system. Our empirical research comprises in-depth interviews with 21 organic food farmers in the southern region of Brazil. The results suggest a complex relationship between structure and agency at the different social levels, which can lead to particular motivations for a sustainable food production system. Finally, we theorize about producers’ roles and how they act to realign different social levels to build more sustainable food markets.