Geography matters; the relevance of territorial heterogeneity in shaping farmers’ conditions, strategies and performances in the context of globalization and sustainability

Abstract

Agriculture and food production are subjected to market and policy drivers and fluctuations that are gradually becoming global in scope. This trend turns decisions and preferences by stakeholders within local and regional farm-systems incrementally less influential. This problem directly undermines the subsidiarity principle that underpins the sustainability paradigm. We therefore argue that without gaining a better understanding of the territorial aspects of governance, it might become unfeasible to achieve the sustainability targets currently set for farming systems across Europe. Based on this argument, in this paper we will discuss how we adapted the C (Conditions)-S (Strategies)-P (Performances) conceptual model developed in the H2020 SUFISA project (www.sufisa.eu) to best reflect the territorial heterogeneity of farming systems and its potential to affect sustainability targets. To achieve this goal, we explored three key conceptual elements in geographical sciences; scale, place and landscape. Incorporating these elements allowed us to enrich and expand our theoretical model beyond its basic sociological and economic foundations. Currently, further theoretical arguments and empirical tests are undergoing in order for the model to be refined to an extent that it can meaningfully influence future agricultural policy and farmer´s practices across Europe.