Socio-technical transitions in farming: key concepts - Transition Pathways towards Sustainability in Agriculture: Case Studies from Europe - page 21

Fig. 2.1 Three analytic dimensions to understand regimes and identify potential 'anchors' to
link niches and regimes and thus induce transitions (Source: adapted from Geels, 2004:903,
reprinted with permission).
Studies of transitions in agriculture
Research on processes at niche-level: novelties
There is a vast literature on rural development in Europe, closely linked to multifunctiona-
lity and thus to social and economic sustainability of farming. Most of this literature
focuses on processes at the level of novelties, such as on-farm processing and direct
marketing. Such farm level processes were extensively studied in the framework of
(endogenous) rural development (e.g. van der Ploeg and Marsden, 2008). In this context,
the term 'transition' has been used to indicate a reconfiguration of activities at the farm
level (Wilson, 2007; Lamine and Bellon, 2009; Milone, 2009) but does not indicate
changes in dominant practices at regional or national levels.
This work on (endogenous) rural development generally does not build on the
conceptual framework of transition studies. However, many rural development initiatives
are the site where novelties are developed (Roep and Wiskerke, 2004; Schmid et al. , 2004;
Oostindie and van Broekhuizen, 2008) and if the novelty stabilizes it may lead to the
establishment of a niche, as conceptualized in the framework of transition studies. Most of
these niches, even if they are a form of resistance or contestation of the dominant regime,
have not (yet) significantly changed it, much less induced a transition. Thus, while such
niches play a crucial role in developing alternatives and demonstrating that they propose a
viable system, it is not clear under which conditions they 'break through' and induce a
transition (assuming they aim to do so). This, however, is the core issue in research on
transitions towards sustainability: the dynamics that fundamentally alter dominant
practices, replacing the incumbent regime by realigning technical processes, social actors
and mental frameworks.