Abstract
Climate change threatens food security and intensifies risks, especially for the most vulnerable populations, causing instability and directly and indirectly impacting peasant agri-food systems. This paper proposes an ontological-methodological framework to understand how innovations happen in peasant agricultural communities, while they face climate change and ensure food security. The framework is focused in investigating and describing the territorialized socio-technical innovations as processes of agri-food production. First, we situate agri-food systems and climate change discussion within the innovation studies. Second, we present our theoretical outline and mobilize three key concepts: (a) centrality in social actors; (b) assemblages; and (c) sociotechnical innovation. Together, they form the structure of our proposal. Finally, we do some reflections on how to apply and construct this framework empirically and for what proposes. We defend that actor-oriented research, in peripheral regions, with extreme environmental and life conditions, can even give us clues on how we are going to experience situations in other regions of the planet.
Presenters
Maria Alice MendoncaProfessor, Rural Economics, Federal University of Vicosa (UFV), Minas Gerais, Brazil
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Technical, Political, and Social Responses
KEYWORDS
CLIMATE CHANGE, SOCIO-TECHNICAL INNOVATION, AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS, CLIMATE EXTREME
