Assessing Sustainable Food Systems Governance in EU’s Outermost Regions—The Case of the Azores in Portugal

Paola Andrea Hernández, Maria Helena Guimarães, Maria Rivera and Emiliana Silva
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Paola Andrea Hernández: Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas (ICAAM), University of Evora, 7000 Évora, Portugal
Maria Helena Guimarães: Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas (ICAAM), University of Evora, 7000 Évora, Portugal
Maria Rivera: Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas (ICAAM), University of Evora, 7000 Évora, Portugal
Emiliana Silva: Faculdade de Ciências Agrarias e do Ambiente, University of the Azores, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: The European Union’s (EU) remote rural areas undergo unique organizational challenges to counteract geopolitical, economic, and environmental constraints and engage in a competitive global food market. A one size fits all recipe to mend specific issues has also proven inefficient and led policy-makers to acknowledge the importance of implementing sustainable landscape governance to promote rural development. This paper inquires what are the challenges and opportunities food systems must adopt in a sustainable landscape governance approach, based on a qualitative research work carried out in the Azores Region (Portugal) in 2016. Data was gathered via eleven semi-structured interviews to key stakeholders and participatory observation in six events related to the management of the Azores’ food system. A grounded theory method structured qualitatively research participants’ perceptions about the Region’s food regime. This analysis is hereby furthered according to the four criteria proposed by the sustainable landscape governance assessment method. Our results indicate the lack of coordination among actors, institutions and policies in the Azores Region could be counteracted by promoting inclusive participation and integrated knowledge to attain cohesive, sustainable, and efficient outcomes at the landscape level. The methodology has proven to be adequate and instrumental in identifying sustainable landscape governance issues in other food systems.

Keywords: Azores; European Outermost Regions; food systems; holistic management; sustainable landscape governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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