Conceptual insights derived from case studies on ‘emerging transitions’ in farming - Transition Pathways towards Sustainability in Agriculture: Case Studies from Europe - page 189

Chapter 13

Conceptual insights derived from case studies
on 'emerging transitions' in farming

I. Darnhofer 1 , L-A. Sutherland 2 , T. Pinto-Correia 3

1 University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna ([e-mail]);
2 James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen; 3 University of Évora

Introduction

The multi-level perspective (MLP) has been applied to agri-food studies in the past,
however, these studies have tended to focus either on large-scale (national) and often
historical transitions (e.g. Grin, 2010), or on very specific system innovations initiated by
technical innovations (e.g. Elzen et al. , 2012). The former focus on long-term processes
and, thus, allow an assessment of whether or not a broader transition has occurred, or at
least is well under way. The latter focus on processes that started recently, and whose future
development is still uncertain so that it may be too early to speak of a 'transition in the
making'. The ambition of the case studies presented in this topic was to provide novel
insights on the 'middle-ground': niches that have matured and that have started engaging
with the regime to initiate the take-off phase of a transition. The coverage of very diverse
cases, from different regions of Europe and relating to different combinations of regimes,
was designed to acquire a broad understanding of emerging transitions occurring in relation
to farming and rural areas in Europe.
In this chapter, we will briefly review the specificity of farming and associated
implications for understanding transitions. We will then review the lessons learned,
especially regarding the definitions of niche and regime in the context of transitions, and in
relation to niche-regime interactions. We will also briefly reflect on the role of research - as
part of the regime - in emerging transitions. We conclude by assessing the challenges of
studying transitions in farming, and the challenges posed by the need to take into account
the diversity within farming.

The specific features of farming

There are several features that distinguish the agricultural sector from the industrial or
service sectors which need to be taken into account when studying transitions. We will
briefly review a few of these features, which include diversity in farming, its spatial nature,
its multifunctionality and its public good character, all of which contribute to the high level
of policy involvement in the sector.