Reconstructing the framing of resilience in the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy post‐2020 reform

Abstract

The concept of resilience has been increasingly adopted on the European Union's (EU) policy agenda as a principle for agro‐food policy‐making. However, resilience is an ambiguous concept, allowing for different understandings and uses in the context of agro‐food policy‐making. This study analyses whether and how resilience is framed and contributes to framing in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post‐2020 reform process by policymakers and stakeholders. Combining deductive and inductive coding, we analysed 123 policy documents of EU institutions and stakeholders related to the CAP post‐2020 reform debate and the associated Farm‐to‐Fork Strategy. Five distinct resilience frames were identified: (1) income resilience frame, (2) farmers’ supply chain position resilience frame, (3) climate change impact resilience frame, (4) disease resilience frame and (5) ecological resilience frame. Whereas the resilience concept has been deployed by various actors, they differ in their preferred policy actions towards greater resilience.

The importance of calibration in policy mixes: Environmental policy integration in the implementation of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy in Germany (2014–2022)

“…Contributing to the literature on policy change in the CAP, our study helps to understand how details in policy design reinforced the CAP's predominant function to provide income support for the agricultural sector. Its detailed focus on policy output complements studies that have focused on changes in the CAP's discourse (Buitenhuis et al, 2022;Erjavec & Erjavec, 2015) or ideational and institutional framework (Daugbjerg & Feindt, 2017;Greer, 2017).…”

Resilience in Agriculture Amidst and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comprehensive Review of Research Trends and Objectives

“…The objective of the study conducted by [45] is to evaluate the sustainability and resilience of different farming systems within the European Union. While [46] examine the concept of framing resilience in the context of agricultural policy in the EU. [47] explore the vulnerability of different farming systems to shocks and the significance of resilience within the social and institutional framework.…”

Farmers who tinker: Grounded alternatives to incrementalism and the growth imperative

“…One result is a proliferation of categories for sustainable practices, many of which are then adopted or shared by the nascent discussions of these same practices in North America and elsewhere. Concepts like regenerative agriculture, resilient agriculture, Agriculture 4.0, agro‐ecology and climate‐smart agriculture have received increasing cachet over the last 10 years (Buitenhuis et al., 2022; Charatsari et al., 2022; Giller et al., 2021; Gordon et al., 2022; Landers et al., 2021; Schulte et al., 2022). Of these, regenerative agriculture and Agriculture 4.0, which both refer to suites of technologies and practices, have particular relevance to this study.…”