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Resilience of the agricultural sector is an important aim of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Most often, resilience is focused on stimulating robustness, with policy and market instruments aimed at maintaining the stability of the farm business. However, a group of European scientists argues that this is too narrow a way of looking at resilience. They state that while robustness contributes to agricultural development, the current higher risk environment also requires other types of capacity in food and agribusiness: namely adaptability and transformability.
European farmers will increasingly have to deal with uncertainties such as more volatile producer prices and extreme weather events. Additionally, stresses and opportunities due to demographic change as well as changing societal concerns and consumer preferences, to name a few, play a role. To accommodate the multitude of resulting challenges, an EU-wide group of scientists, working together in the project SURE-Farm, indicates the need for policy and agribusiness to look beyond traditional strategies. Important contributions to resilience may come from bottom-up learning processes, farmers’ experimentation, and radical changes in the way goods and services are produced, financed and marketed, following a new logic or employing a new business model.
Resilience is more than robustness of farms and farm incomes
Such an understanding of resilience goes way beyond the assumption that policies addressing resilience of EU agriculture should mainly focus on the robustness of farms and farm incomes. The SURE-Farm group argues that from a public policy perspective not the farms but the functions of farms and farming should be at the centre stage, such as the provision of agricultural products, generation of incomes in rural areas as well as environmental stewardship.
Thus, the SURE-Farm group stresses that resilience in agriculture can only be reached if multiple processes are considered simultaneously, including EU policy making, risk management, farm demographical change, institutional change, and evolving modes of agricultural production.
Agricultural challenges differ within the EU
Challenges and processes differ across agricultural areas in the European Union. For instance, some regions are more vulnerable to climatic or disease risks, while others face a change in stakeholders’ attitudes towards agriculture. This will have implications for the pathways towards developing the three capacities of resilience across Europe: robustness, adaptability and transformability. SURE-Farm therefore assesses determinants and contributions to resilience in multiple regions and farming systems.
In each region, SURE-Farm will identify local challenges and functions of agriculture, study the resilience of farmers and policies, and assess context-specific pathways to enhance resilience of farming systems. Some systems may flourish with strategies of robustness. Others may be better able to maintain their essential functions if they adapt or transform. SURE-Farm involves multiple interactions with farmers and stakeholders — as knowledge to enhance resilience is for the most part not available in statistics and data bases.
Sweden: En gemensam jordbrukspolitik inriktad på att bygga upp motståndskraft (resiliens) måste behandla jordbrukets robusthet, anpassningsförmåga och förändringsbarhet. Jordbrukssektorns motståndskraft är ett viktigt mål för den gemensamma jordbrukspolitiken, CAP (Common Agricultural Policy). Arbetet med att öka motståndskraften har ofta fokus på att främja robusthet med politiska instrument och marknadsinstrument som syftar till att stabilisera marknaderna för jordbruksprodukter. Men en grupp europeiska forskare hävdar att det sättet att se på motståndskraft är alltför snävt. De anser att robusthet visserligen bidrar till jordbrukets utveckling men att dagens förhållanden med högre risker även kräver andra kapaciteter inom livsmedels- och jordbruksindustrin, nämligen anpassningsförmåga och förändringsbarhet.
Belgium: Veerkracht van de landbouwsector is een belangrijke doelstelling van het Gemeenschappelijk Landbouwbeleid (GLB). Bij veerkracht wordt doorgaans vooral ingezet op het versterken van de stabiliteit van landbouwbedrijven. Een groep Europese wetenschappers oordeelt echter dat dit een te beperkte opvatting van veerkracht is. Zij stellen dat stabiliteit weliswaar bijdraagt aan de ontwikkeling van de landbouw, maar dat de huidige context van de landbouw tevens vraagt om twee andere vormen van veerkracht: flexibiliteit en transitie.
Netherlands: Veerkracht van de agrarische sector is een belangrijke doelstelling van het Gemeenschappelijk Landbouwbeleid (GLB). Bij veerkracht wordt doorgaans vooral ingezet op het versterken van de stabiliteit van landbouwbedrijven. Een groep Europese wetenschappers oordeelt echter dat dit een te beperkte opvatting van veerkracht is. Zij stellen dat stabiliteit weliswaar bijdraagt aan de ontwikkeling van de landbouw, maar dat de huidige context van de landbouw tevens vraagt om twee andere vormen van veerkracht: flexibiliteit en transitie.
Germany:Eine resiliente Landwirtschaft ist ein wichtiges Ziel der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik (GAP) der EU. Häufig wird der Fokus der Diskussionen um Resilienz jedoch auf den Aspekt der Robustheit beschränkt und Politik- und Marktinstrumente in den Vordergrund gerückt, die auf die Erhaltung der Stabilität landwirtschaftlicher Betriebe abzielen. Allerdings, so argumentiert eine Gruppe von europäischen Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern, sei diese Sichtweise auf das Thema Resilienz zu eingeschränkt. Robustheit trage zwar zur landwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung bei, allerdings seien angesichts sich verändernder Rahmenbedingungen zusätzlich weitere Potentiale in der Lebensmittel- und Agrarindustrie durch Anpassungsfähigkeit und Transformierbarkeit zu erschließen.
Spain: La resiliencia del sector agrario es una de las prioridades de la Política Agrícola Común (PAC). Y para fortalecerla hay que avanzar primero en la definición de su marco conceptual. Frecuentemente las acciones orientadas a fomentar la resiliencia se han centrado en estimular la robustez de las explotaciones agrarias con políticas e instrumentos de mercado. Sin embargo, esta perspectiva debe ser ensanchada. Si bien la robustez contribuye a la resiliencia del sector también es necesario definir acciones que fortalezcan la capacidad de adaptación y de transformación de las explotaciones agrarias
Romania: Reziliența sectorului agricol este un obiectiv important al Politicii Agricole Comune (PAC). Cel mai adesea, reziliența este axată pe stimularea robusteții, cu instrumente de politică și de piață care vizează menținerea stabilității sectorului de agri-business. Cu toate acestea, un grup de oameni de știință europeni susține că acest lucru este un mod prea îngust de a privi reziliența. Ei afirmă că, deși robustețea contribuie la dezvoltarea agriculturii, mediul de risc ridicat actual necesită, de asemenea, abordarea și altor dimensiuni ale sectorului de business agricol și alimentar: adaptabilitatea și transformabilitatea.
Poland: Odporność sektora rolnego na kryzysy jest ważnym celem Wspólnej Polityki Rolnej (WPR). Najczęściej polityka rolna w tym zakresie jest skoncentrowana na stymulowaniu stabilnościi stosowaniu instrumentów rynkowych pozwalających na podtrzymanie trwałości funkcjonowania gospodarstw rolnych. Jednakże grupa europejskich naukowców stoi na stanowisku, że jest to zbyt wąski sposób postrzegania odporności. Twierdzą oni, że podczas gdy stabilność przyczynia się do rozwoju rolnictwa, obecne środowisko o podwyższonym ryzyku wymaga również innych rodzajów zdolności w przemyśle spożywczym i agrobiznesie, a mianowicie zdolności do adaptacji i transformacji.
Italy: La resilienza del settore agricolo è un obiettivo rilevante della politica agricola comune (PAC). Spesso, la resilienza viene interpretata come robustezza e perseguita con strumenti politici e di mercato volti a sostenere la stabilità dell’attività agricola e delle imprese che la svolgono. Un gruppo di ricercatori europei sostiene tuttavia che questa è una interpretazione riduttiva del concetto di resilienza. Se da un lato la robustezza del settore può indubbiamente contribuire al suo sviluppo, i rischi ambientali e la volatilità dei mercati agroalimentari richiedono un’elevata capacità di adattamento e di cambiamento.
Bulgaria: Устойчивостта и гъвкавостта на селскостопанския сектор е важна цел на Общата селскостопанска политика (ОСП). Най-често гъвкавостта е насочена към стимулиране на процесите на устойчивост, чрез мерки на политиките и пазарни инструменти за поддържане стабилността на селскостопанския бизнес. Въпреки това група изследователи от Европа обсъжда и изразява позиция, че този подход е твърде ограничен начин за разглеждането й. Те твърдят, че както гъвкавостта спомага за развитие на селското стопанство, така и съществуващите днес рискове от заобикалящата ни среда също изискват различни и допълнителни способности и компетенции в селскостопанския бизнес и бизнеса с храни, а именно адаптивност и способност за трансформиране.
United Kingdom: Amidst the uncertainty of what the future holds for UK farming post-Brexit and what the new British agricultural policy will look like, achieving resilience of the agricultural sector will be an important goal. Researchers from the University of Gloucestershire’s Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) are working with a team of European scientists to develop a novel resilience-enabling framework that can support policy makers and the farming sector to enhance the sustainability and resilience of farms and farming systems.
France: La résilience de l’agriculture est un objectif fort de la politique agricole commune (PAC). Le plus souvent, la résilience est centrée sur la robustesse des exploitations, avec des instruments politiques et des mécanismes de marché se donnant pour seul objectif la stabilisation de l’entreprise agricole. Un groupe de chercheurs européens explique que c’est une vision trop restrictive de la résilience. Si en effet la robustesse contribue au développement de l’agriculture, le contexte actuel de risques plus élevés nécessite de s’intéresser à d’autres dimensions de l’agriculture : son adaptabilité et sa capacité à se transformer.
Norway: Motstandskraft av landbrukssektoren er et viktig mål for den europeiske landbrukspolitikken (CAP). Motstandskraft er oftest fokusert på å støtte robusthet, med politikk og markedstiltak som er rettet mot å opprettholde stabiliteten i gården. En gruppe europeiske forskere i Horizon2020 prosjekt SURE Farm hevder imidlertid at dette er for smal en måte å se på motstandskraft. De sier at mens robusthet bidrar til landbruksutvikling, krever det nåværende høyere risikomiljø også andre typer kapasitet i mat og agribusiness: nemlig tilpasnings- og transformasjonsevne.
The SURE-Farm project
The Dutch case study covers intensive arable farming in the Veenkoloniën and Oldambt regions, which face considerable challenges related to fluctuating incomes, climate change, demographic change, and plant health.
SURE-Farm is a research and innovation project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme and involves 16 universities and research institutes from 11 European countries, coordinated by the Wageningen University & Research. Its full title is “Towards SUstainable and REsilient EU FARMing systems”.
SURE-Farm video
