Lessons learned while studying ‘emerging transitions’ in farming.

Abstract

This chapter briefly reviews the specificity of farming and associated implications for understanding transitions. It then reviews the lessons learned from case studies on sustainability transitions in European agriculture, especially regarding the definitions of niche and regime in the context of transitions, and in relation to niche-regime interactions. The chapter also briefly reflects on the role of research (as part of the regime) in emerging transitions. It concludes by assessing the challenges of studying transitions in farming, and the challenges posed by the need to take into account the diversity within farming.