A diagnostic framework for food system governance arrangements: The case of South Africa

Abstract

Although policymakers and scientists are increasingly embracing the food system perspective, it has been poorly reflected in institutional terms. We aim to fill this gap by addressing the question as to what forms of governance are most appropriate to govern food systems in a more holistic way. The article presents a diagnostic framework consisting of five principles: 1) system-based problem framing to deal with interlinked issues, drivers and feedback loops; 2) connectivity across boundaries to span siloed governance structures and include non-state actors; 3) adaptability to flexibly respond to inherent uncertainties and volatility; 4) inclusiveness to facilitate support and legitimacy; and 5) transformative capacity to overcome path dependencies and create adequate conditions to foster structural change. This framework is used to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of three food governance arrangements in South Africa, each of which deliberately aimed to embrace a holistic perspective. Although promising on paper, the outcomes are disappointing because of a reversion to a technical onedimensional problem framing during the implementation, the dominance of single departments, the limited attention to monitoring and flexible responses and the exclusion of those most affected by food insecurity. We conclude that the tensions between the ambitious objectives of the arrangements and the institutional constraints of implementing them can persist because of inadequate resources to facilitate transformative change. Finally, we propose an agenda to further elaborate the framework and improve its practical usefulness.

Human Ecology and Food Systems: Insights from the Philippines

“…The application of the framework to the Philippines-and, in fact, any other national case study-offers insights into broader discussions into the complexity of governing food systems across different scales (Candel, 2014;Leventon & Laudan, 2017). The systems foundation of human ecology, as presented here, is shared with both the food systems framework and emerging tools for analyzing the social and political aspects of food governance (Leventon & Laudan, 2017;Termeer et al, 2018). Scholars' contributions toward food governance research (Candel, 2014;Hospes & Brons, 2016;Termeer et al, 2018) present opportunities for human ecologists to use systems-based analysis to identify the influence of dominant discourses in different food systems.…”

“…The lack of coherent focus on feedback between environmental change and food insecurity led to a redeveloped food systems concept (Ericksen, 2008;Ingram, 2011), which enables interdisciplinary study design and conduct. Recent social sciences studies have examined the social drivers of change in food systems, and there has been growing interest in food systems governance and institutional studies (Hospes & Brons, 2016;Candel, 2014;Termeer et al, 2018), how the political economy affects equity issues associated with trade systems (Clapp, 2015(Clapp, , 2017, and how environmental and political issues interact to influence food system feedbacks (Galt, 2013).…”

“…The feedback processes create a maladaptive system that is unable to break from dominant patterns. This can have long-term implications for sustainability; for example, it is common for food decision-making institutions to be trapped in maladaptive cycles that prohibit new ways of framing problems and prevent solutions from emerging (Termeer et al, 2018), despite efforts to change such behaviors. This link is positive but weak.…”

“…The systems foundation of human ecology, as presented here, is shared with both the food systems framework and emerging tools for analyzing the social and political aspects of food governance (Leventon & Laudan, 2017;Termeer et al, 2018). Scholars' contributions toward food governance research (Candel, 2014;Hospes & Brons, 2016;Termeer et al, 2018) present opportunities for human ecologists to use systems-based analysis to identify the influence of dominant discourses in different food systems.…”

Food Systems Sustainability: An Examination of Different Viewpoints on Food System Change

“…(In this case, academics are seen as civil society actors as they represent society but sit outside the state) In a predominantly urban world, cities are argued to be entry points to challenge wider food system related issues and concerns. The state of the current food system has been discussed in detail by others, covering ecological consequences [28], stubborn food insecurity [16], the increasing dominance of "big food" [29,30] and wider governance failures [31,32]. While dated, Donald's et al 2010 [33] categorisation of food system debates reflecting the divergent perspectives on food system needs, remains relevant.…”