Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
graffiting' (Stepin, 2005) we will consider relations between regimes and niches: when one
paradigm can 'overwrite' the other and shift the paradigm if this is socially and culturally
backed and reflected through philosophy. In order to construct new governance structures
in niches in the agri-food regime, either reflection of existing governance structures in a
tourist regime, or environmental protection regimes were used in order to help with 'regime
graffiting'. Some elements of the other governance structures were taken into the niche
developed in the agri-food regime and later 're-wrote' the original governance structures,
orienting them towards the importance of pioneering organizational innovation. This
process was particularly evident in Greece, where the case influenced regional governance
structures and in the Czech Republic, where there is now a boom in regional labelling, and
national bodies are working to coordinate the initiatives under one umbrella.
Networking, in all three cases, reflects late modern discourses about the fluidity of
contemporary society (Bauman, 2000). New ideas, brought by those who are often not
embedded in the agri-food regime, are backed by broader landscape changes. The agri-food
regime is typified by hierarchical forms of governance, whereas the niches studied have
developed horizontal networks to establish their own governance structures. At the
beginning of the initiatives these networks were fluid, later (5 to 10 years) they were
protected by local schemes. Networks and forms of governance were seen as the tool to
activate people, to make the agri-food regime more efficient, more quality oriented, or to
raise public awareness towards the environment. 'Regime graffiting' enables opening the
regime to actors with alternative viewpoints, due to the capacity of the networks; for
example, consumers (in all three cases) and environmentalists (in the Czech case) became
important actors in the agri-food regime when governance structures in the niches were
changed to provide flexible networking and were protected by certification schemes.
However, such developments are not always beneficial for the initiative in its later
stages, where they may slow down its drive. In the Czech case, there were disagreements
between farmers concerned with profits, and environmentalists for whom the value of
environmental protection and the traditional cultural landscape was more important. Such
contradictory objectives in the network had negative impacts on the perception of the niche
by both members and non-members. A similar situation was found in the Bulgarian case
where the profit-seeking of hotel owners weakened the links in the network which were
needed to achieve integrated tourism products to benefit the whole community. In Greece,
the niche restricted its activities primarily to the members of the core network and, as a
result, the initiative did not facilitate a reflexive process or the engagement of new
stakeholders in joint learning and action. Despite these issues, network members indicated
that incorporating more actors into niches through networks did give the niches increased
backing in society; the niche was not seen as the arena inhabited solely by farmers. The
inclusion of non-farming actors results in broader impacts on society and appears to be
more sustainable because diverse actors indicate a more socially accepted initiative.
An important element in the new governance structures was the use of some sort of
local certification and quality scheme, which countered the governance structures of the
regime. These schemes are inherently local and, therefore, spatially specific. These findings
are consistent with Marsden's (2013) ideas about the importance of two distinctive features
of transition in agri-food regime: spatial embeddedness; and high levels of state
intervention. These schemes, as well as the governance structures, were linked with
networks. These networks and their local quality and certification schemes were seen by
niche actors to be the tool to activate local engagement and to deal with the problems faced
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