Transforming the Welsh food system: Visions, policies, and the role of agroecology

Against the backdrop of intensifying climate emergency and the disruption of global food supply chains, demand for a more resilient, socially just and ecologically sustainable food system is rapidly increasing. In the UK, growing attention is paid to the concept of agroecology, which integrates ecological food production and grassroots participation to develop local community-based food provision systems. This is prominently embodied by the practice of community-supported agriculture (CSA), in which producers and consumers share the cost and outputs of farming, whose distribution across the UK has rapidly increased in recent years. The devolved nation of Wales represents an especially intriguing case in this regard. Far from being self-sufficient, the small nation is lacking in land fit for horticultural production and has thus specialised on red meat production and trade. At the same time, agroecological organisations, such as the ‘CSA Network’, ‘Landworkers Alliance’ and ‘Social Farms and Gardens’ are building local food partnerships across Wales, supporting small sustainable producers and CSA, and advocating for changes in Welsh food policy. The Welsh Government, in turn, has recently introduced plans for new agrifood legislation around a ‘Community Food Strategy’ and ‘Sustainable Land Management’ scheme to facilitate a shift towards a more domestic, community-based and ecologically sustainable food system. This paper investigates the dynamics and tensions arising from this development to reveal the unique opportunities and challenges a small, trade-dependent country such as Wales faces on its way to building a more sustainable food system. This is done by examining the Welsh agroecology movement’s policy claims and advocacy activities, as well as assessing to what extent the government’s reforms incorporate those claims, ultimately resulting in a critical discussion of the overall trajectory of Welsh agrifood governance. Conceptually, the paper draws on the ‘Foundational Economy’ and ‘Multilevel perspective’ literature to view agroecology as a socio-economic and ecological innovation that can potentially inform larger-scale sustainability transformations within the agrifood system. Empirical data is drawn from qualitative document analyses of Welsh policy documents and semi-structured interviews with Welsh agroecological organisations. The paper ultimately finds that the agroecology movement provides the Welsh Government with key arguments, empirical data, and innovative best practices, but struggles to see its policy claims implemented against the dominant interests of large agrifood businesses. Thus, while the government’s new policies may offer improvements for environmental recovery and horticultural production, they largely remain symbolic and limited in scope, making them unlikely to facilitate an agroecological transformation of the Welsh food system. Yet, the government still has some opportunities to enhance the sustainability of its reforms, especially by introducing stricter short- and medium-term transition targets. The paper concludes by discussing general implications for agrifood system change and the strategic challenges of an agroecological transformation.