Download Kahiluoto_et_al._Session_abstract Session proposed

Session proposal
Session title:
How to enhance agrifood resilience? - Operationalising resilience approaches
Key words: Resilience, adaptive capacity, social-ecological systems, agrifood systems, management, thresholds,
integration, response diversity, learning, interdisciplinary, participation
Session chair: Professor Reijo Miettinen, University of Helsinki, Center for Research on Activity, Development and
Learning (CRADLE), Finland
Issues to be addressed:
The rapid climate change and more and more frequent occurrence of extreme weather events as well as the mitigation
efforts have induced great uncertainty to agrifood systems. The challenge is further exacerbated by the recently
multiplied price volatility on the global food and financial market. Therefore, building resilience in agrifood systems
attracts increasing societal attention. Even if climate change adaptation science in relation to agriculture has quickly
been mainstreamed, efforts to operationalize resilience in research and management of agrifood systems are only
emerging. Despite calls been posed for long to manage for resilience (Chapin et al., 1997; Folke et al., 2004; Scheffer et
al., 2001), no break-through of empirical applications has occurred to date.
In the proposed session, we build upon the insights of resilience approaches. In each presentation we adopt a specific
theoretical framework for generating the hypotheses on determinants of resilience and means to assess and manage it.
Such specific frameworks are planetary boundaries, integration in the perspectives of social and ecological network
analyses, response diversity and activity theory. The generated hypotheses are then tested in various cases of agrifood
systems, starting with the global food system through a regional dairy system to farms, fields and finally tools for
communication on resilient sets of barley cultivars among breeders, farmers and fodder industry. All presentations
include an introduction to the theoretical framework and its application in the case in concern, as well as discussion on
the empirical results.
The overarching question posed by the session is: How to enhance resilience in various parts of agrifood systems?
Format of the session:
The session type is proposed to be a hybrid between a traditional session and dialog. The session is composed of short
presentations (10 minutes each) with invited commentaries (5 minutes each, full papers/extended abstracts provided
beforehand to commentators) and 15 minutes’ open discussion after each presentation, facilitated by the session chair.
One or more speakers other than proposed below are allocated in the session by the scientific committee, depending on
the acceptance of the presentations planned for the session (see below). The commentators are suggested by the
scientific committee among the participants of the conference.
Suggested speakers and titles:
For taking planetary nutrient boundaries seriously: Introducing the social boundary of right to food
Helena Kahiluotoa, Miia Kuismaa, Anna Kuokkanenb, Mirja Mikkiläb and Lassi Linnanenb
a
MTT Agrifood Research Finland; bLappeenranta University of Technology, Finland
Determinants of resilience in dairy systems
Karoliina Rimhanena, Miia Kuismaa, Hanna Mäkinena, Helena Kahiluotoa
MTT Agrifood Research Finland
Building robust nutrient and energy economy
Miia Kuisma a, Karoliina Rimhanen a, Mikhail Ponomarevb, Vladimir Surovtsevb, Helena Kahiluotoa
a
MTT Agrifood Research Finland; bNorth-West Research Institute of Agricultural Economics and Organization,
Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Russia
An empirical assessment method for resilience through diversification – An application in forage plants
Hanna Mäkinena, Janne Kasevaa, Perttu Virkajärvia, Mirek Trnkabc, Helena Kahiluotoa
a
MTT Agrifood Research Finland; bInstitute of Agrosystems and Bioclimatology, Mendel University in Brno, Czech
Republic; cCzechGlobe – Global Change Research Centre AV CR v.v.i., Czech Republic
Making sense of resilience in barley breeding: Towards usability of the concept of response diversity
Sami Paavolaa, Sari Himanenb, Helena Kahiluotob, Reijo Miettinena
a
University of Helsinki, Center for Research on Activity, Development and Learning (CRADLE), Finland
b
MTT Agrifood Research Finland
Other speakers and commentators: Allocated by the scientific committee
References
Chapin, F.S. et al. (1997) Biotic control over the functioning of ecosystems. Science 277, 500-504.
Folke, C., Carpenter, S., Walker, B., Scheffer, M., Elmqvist, T., Gunderson, L. and Holling, C.S. (2004) Regime shifts,
resilience, and biodiversity in ecosystem management. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. S. 35, 557-581.
Scheffer, M., Carpenter, S.R., Foley, J. A., Folke, C. and Walker, B. (2001) Catastrophic shifts in ecosystems. Nature
413, 591-596.