Food governance transformation: aligning food security with sustainable farming practices in developing communities

Abstract

Conventional approaches used to improve farming practices and access to food in developing communities are underpinned by policy, technology, and the science of modernization. The focus has been on securing a sufficient quantity of food derived from extensive monocultures. This quantity focus is questioned in current food security debates, and alternative approaches are addressing the need to pay more attention to the quality of food as a commodity, the value chain of which should ensure the sustainability of farming practices and the well-being of small farmers and consumers. This article reviews agrodiversity and food sovereignty as the representative alternative approaches, which have led to innovative policy, technology, and science. In order to mainstream the alternative approaches and fully align food security with sustainable farming practices, more robust institutional innovations are necessary. The institutional innovations need to work to consolidate new values of food and develop the capacity of communities to engage in transformative change of food governance.