How relevant is the notion of resilience for agri-food systems? (click here to open)

Claire Lamine (INRAE), Daniele Magda (INRAE), Ika Darnhofer (BOKU).

Discussants: Jocelyn Parot (URGENCI), Géorges Félix (Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience)

Date of event: Wednesday 13th April 2022

The notion of resilience has been applied to food systems for several years now, and "food resilience" has become an even more pronounced buzzword in scientific communities, international institutions, public policies and social movements in France. In this context, we suggest some elements of clarification of the notion and of its transformations. First, by tracing a genealogy and a cartography of these uses which have diversified greatly through multiple forms of appropriation. Secondly, based on this first mapping, we will analyze the inevitable contradictions, confusions and ambiguities linked to certain variations of the notion of resilience in these various uses, as well as the processes of invisibilization that they entail, more specifically in regard to the ecologisation of agri-food systems and the issue of power relationships at different scales. Finally, we conclude with some suggestions for discussing how the notion of resilience can shed light on the challenges of the agri-food transition.