To what extent are small farms contributing to the food and nutrition security availability dimension? evidence from 30 regions in Europe and Africa

Abstract

Small-scale farming is crucial for producing food and for sustaining the livelihoods of millions of people around the world, particularly in developing countries. But small farms are also very common across Europe, where they are neither anomalous nor irrelevant. Across regions from the Scottish Highlands to the Greek Islands, small farms are a dynamic part of the food system, providing employment, opportunities and food for thousands of people, and in fact, they are holding together the fabric of rural landscapes. SALSA (small farms, small food businesses and sustainable food and nutrition security (FNS) was a H2020 project that finished in July 2019. SALSA managed to provide a better understanding of the current and potential contribution of small farms to sustainable Food and Nutrition Security, by adopting a territorially based food systems perspective, focusing on availability, access, and control, and identifying weaknesses, strengths and risks in the food system and in particular in the role of small farms. SALSA also revealed the enormous diversity of small farms and food systems in Europe, and identified factors affecting their vulnerability and resilience, examining the relevant governance systems related to the organisation of small farmers in the food system. The project provided evidence and knowledge to support better informed and targeted public policies, as well as validated tools to guide decision-makers in enhancing the contribution of small farms. However, SALSA relied on complex methodological structures and tools: it studied 25 regions in Europe and 5 in Africa; and it combined the most recent remote sensing data and technologies with social sciences enquiry, participatory foresight analysis and transdisciplinary approaches. And although the project did achieve its main goals and set objectives, we believe that a transparent and critical reflection on some of the methodological gaps faced during the process can provide very interesting discussions and learnings to take forward when participating in similar projects.

We have identified a set of key methodological challenges that we would like to bring forward for discussion regarding for example: the transdisciplinary nature of projects, the science/policy gap, the application of the territorial approach, project’s legacy and project’s expectations vs reality. This session aims to discuss some of the above-mentioned gaps together with leaders and participants of other large European projects, with the aim of enriching the knowledge on these gaps and openly discussing possible solutions to overcome them. The discussion will be organised as a dynamic round table, where all session attendees will be more than welcome to participate.