What enhances dairy system resilience? Empirical cases in Finland and Russia

Dairy systems, which are the main pillars of rural livelihoods in north-eastern Europe encounter ecological, economic, and political changes in their operating environments which threaten their capacity to provide dairy supply. As uncertainty increases, there is a need to increase understanding and identify concrete tools to help food system actors manage resilience. We defined ‘dairy systems’ as a social-ecological system in which milk supply is the primary function, and humans and ecosystems endogenous factors. We conducted a qualitative empirical study to develop, enrich, and validate a theoretical framework, acknowledging social, economic, and ecological perspectives affecting the resilience. This paper identifies critical changes affecting the systems and key determinants of dairy system resilience, especially means actors can manage, in two socially and ecologically contrasting regions, Finland and Russia. The data consist of 26 qualitative in-depth interviews conducted in Finland and the surroundings of St Petersburg in the Leningrad Oblast. The critical changes confronting dairy system actors in both regions were especially related to prices and economics, policies, and epidemics. In Finland, possible cuts to agricultural subsidies, as well as an increasing workload, were perceived as a significant threat, whereas risks related to investors and resource adequacy were highlighted in Leningrad Oblast. Despite the socioeconomic distinctions between the countries, the determinants were similar and included ecological, economic, and social issues. However, the form of farm ownership proved decisive: for family farms in Finland, social well-being determinants were more important than economic ones; for investor-owned businesses in Leningrad Oblast, the opposite was the case. The results can be used by dairy systems actors, as well as administrators and policymakers, as a tool for understanding, assessing, and managing resilience.