Sustainable Governance in Agri-Food Systems

Sustainable governance in agri-food systems encompasses the policies, institutions and stakeholder arrangements that shape the production, distribution and consumption of food in ways that balance environmental integrity, economic viability and social equity. Central to this governance are multi-level frameworks that coordinate actions from local farm networks to international trade bodies, striving to manage agricultural inputs, resource use and risk while ensuring fair returns for producers and access to healthy diets for consumers. Ethical considerations increasingly inform regulatory design, emphasising transparency, accountability and the precautionary principle. Technological advances—from digital traceability platforms to precision agriculture—offer new monitoring and enforcement tools, but their effectiveness depends on inclusive decision-making and capacity building among marginalised actors. As climate change, biodiversity loss and social inequities intensify, resilient governance arrangements that integrate circular economy principles, foster adaptive learning and reconcile competing objectives are critical for the long-term stability and justice of global food systems.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Sustainable Governance in Agri-Food Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in sustainable governance in agri-food systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Multi-level governance: A framework coordinating policymaking and implementation across local, regional and national jurisdictions.

Global value chain governance: The institutional and power relations that determine how benefits and responsibilities are distributed along international food supply chains.

Circular economy: An economic model emphasising resource recovery, waste reduction and the continual reuse of materials.

Socio-ecological resilience: The capacity of coupled human–environment systems to absorb disturbances and reorganise while retaining core functions and structures.

References

1. The material politics of slurry: Mobilisations and transformations along the waste–fertiliser continuum. Political Geography (2023).
2. Environmental Regulation of Agriculture in Federal Systems of Government: The Case of Australia. Agronomy (2021).
3. ‘The right thing to do’: ethical motives in the interpretation of social sustainability in the UK’s conventional food supply. Agriculture and Human Values (2019).