Building public policies for the agroecological transition of food systems: lessons from the South

Abstract

This article presents the results of the first stage of the TAFS project (Agroecological transitions for sustainable food systems: a case for public policies) coordinated by the Centre for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD) and carried out by various partners in ten countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The main objective of the TAFS project was to provide decision-makers with convincing arguments for the formulation and construction of public policies to support the Agro-Ecological Transition (AET) of food systems at the territorial scale. The project also drew on this knowledge to stimulate collective reflection on public action instruments and to co-construct, with decision-makers and territorial food system actors, a strategic vision of the transition to sustainable food systems based on agroecological practices. The results are based on scientific evidence, field data and practical experiences. They highlight three main conclusions: i) the diversity of definitions and visions of the Agro-Ecological Transition with a series of conceptions hybridizing three categories: Agroecology, organic production and sustainable agriculture; ii) the variety of actors involved in the formulation of agro-ecological transition policies, but the key role of the actor translating the implemented concept: social movements or international cooperation agencies; iii) the AET institutionalization processes are marked by dialogues between these two categories of actors and public authorities and shaped by the political regime and/or the international cooperation system.