Independent Dialogue
Geographical focus:
No borders
Main findings
Participants concluded that in order to drive best practices in the agricultural transition there needs to be recognition of the diversity of regions and the need to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach in defining what is needed. To drive this change, greater collaboration and links are needed all along the supply chain, particularly between consumers and producers, to share existing knowledge and support a full system change, and to incentivise and reward producers for taking action. It is also most important that the phasing out of least favourable activities is done in a way that reflects a
... Read more"just transition", incorporating all existing stakeholders. Participants felt that the role of innovation needs to be encouraged and facilitated to drive forward the agricultural transition. Two types of innovation in particular were highlighted - incremental innovation that works alongside existing practices; and transformational innovation that brings new technologies to innovate new ways of doing agriculture. Significant conclusions were that it is key efforts are made for innovation to be inclusive and work with stakeholders rather than leave them behind. Government will need to play a role in supporting these producers in the transition, and also needs to move faster to keep up with innovation to ensure the appropriate regulation is in place to support innovation and provide consumer trust. The need for more diverse coalition forming was agreed as key by participants. In particular the need for unconventional partnerships, and bringing in actors outside of the supply chain to ensure that all viewpoints and needs are reflected in the transition was highlighted. It was suggested the supply chain needs to be reconceptualised as a web to broaden the idea of who counts as a stakeholder. Coalitions were agreed to be key as a way to give farmers, particularly smaller farmers, a voice, and there needs to be more work to make livestock farmers part of the agricultural transition rather than vilified. In addressing the issue of resilience, participants agreed that although supply chains are a major point of weakness to be addressed there needs to be recognition of the benefits and drawbacks of more localised supply chains. The approach to improving resilience must be a holistic one that considers how global dynamics play out a local scale. Read less
Action Track(s): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Keywords: Environment and Climate, Governance, Innovation, Policy, Trade-offs