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Sustainable Agri-Food Systems: Environment, Economy, Society, and Policy

Author

Listed:
  • Hamid El Bilali

    (International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM-Bari), Valenzano, 70010 Bari, Italy)

  • Carola Strassner

    (Department of Food, Nutrition & Facilities, FH Münster—University of Applied Sciences, 48149 Munich, Germany)

  • Tarek Ben Hassen

    (Department of International Affairs, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar)

Abstract

Agri-food systems (AFS) have been central in the debate on sustainable development. Despite this growing interest in AFS, comprehensive analyses of the scholarly literature are hard to find. Therefore, the present systematic review delineated the contours of this growing research strand and analyzed how it relates to sustainability. A search performed on the Web of Science in January 2020 yielded 1389 documents, and 1289 were selected and underwent bibliometric and topical analyses. The topical analysis was informed by the SAFA (Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems) approach of FAO and structured along four dimensions viz. environment, economy, society and culture, and policy and governance. The review shows an increasing interest in AFS with an exponential increase in publications number. However, the study field is north-biased and dominated by researchers and organizations from developed countries. Moreover, the analysis suggests that while environmental aspects are sufficiently addressed, social, economic, and political ones are generally overlooked. The paper ends by providing directions for future research and listing some topics to be integrated into a comprehensive, multidisciplinary agenda addressing the multifaceted (un)sustainability of AFS. It makes the case for adopting a holistic, 4-P (planet, people, profit, policy) approach in agri-food system studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Hamid El Bilali & Carola Strassner & Tarek Ben Hassen, 2021. "Sustainable Agri-Food Systems: Environment, Economy, Society, and Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-67, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:11:p:6260-:d:567215
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Xinyu Yang & Weidong Liu, 2022. "Agricultural Production Networks and Upgrading from a Global–Local Perspective: A Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, October.
    2. Nimrod Luz, 2023. "The Treacherous Road to Sustainable Agriculture: Lessons from Israeli Farmers and the Need to Upscale the Debate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-14, August.
    3. Katja Pietrzyck & Sebastian Jarzębowski & Brigitte Petersen, 2021. "Exploring Sustainable Aspects Regarding the Food Supply Chain, Agri-Food Quality Standards, and Global Trade: An Empirical Study among Experts from the European Union and the United States," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-21, September.
    4. Yi Zhang & Yao Xu & Hao Kong & Gang Zhou, 2022. "Spatial-Temporal Evolution of Coupling Coordination between Green Transformation and the Quality of Economic Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-15, December.
    5. Sana Abusin & Brian W. Mandikiana & Noor Al Emadi & Fahad Al-Boinin, 2022. "Socioeconomic Drivers of Fish Consumption in Qatar," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-12, September.
    6. Moheb Qasemi & Mohammad Sadegh Allahyari & Tarek Ben Hassen & Mohammad Iman Askari & Hamid El Bilali, 2023. "Cultivating Change: Perceptions and Attitudes of Agricultural Experts towards the Sustainable Development Goals," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-14, August.
    7. Hamid El Bilali & Lawali Dambo & Jacques Nanema & Sheirita Reine Fanta Tietiambou & Iro Dan Guimbo & Romaric Kiswendsida Nanema, 2023. "Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Agri-Food Systems in West Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-23, July.
    8. Tarek Ben Hassen & Hamid El Bilali & Mohammad S. Allahyari & Sinisa Berjan & Darjan Karabašević & Adriana Radosavac & Goran Dašić & Ružica Đervida, 2021. "Preparing for the Worst? Household Food Stockpiling during the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Serbia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    9. Merisa S. Thompson, 2023. "Alternative visions of “ethical” dairying: changing entanglements with calves, cows and care," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(2), pages 693-707, June.
    10. Liu, Suxia & Deichmann, Majken & Moro, Mariú A. & Andersen, Lars S. & Li, Fulin & Dalgaard, Tommy & McKnight, Ursula S., 2022. "Targeting sustainable greenhouse agriculture policies in China and Denmark: A comparative study," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).

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