Local food system resilience in the context of shocks and crises: vulnerabilities and responses of agroecology-based farmers in Peru, Germany, and the United States

Abstract

ABSTRACT Multiple crises have disrupted food systems around the world. The shocks induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with increased energy prices and shortages of fertilizers and agricultural inputs, have affected farmers everywhere. By applying inductive, qualitative, and comparative research approaches, we investigate the impact of shocks and crises on diverse food systems. Using mixed qualitative methods, we integrate the voices of (n = 25) farmers belonging to agroecology-based local food systems in Peru, Germany, and the United States with the aims of: (i) understanding the different crisis scenarios; (ii) determining the vulnerabilities induced in farmers; and (iii) identifying the responses and coping mechanisms that farmers deploy in response to shocks. The results illustrate how farmers are affected by the combined effects of labor shortages, rising input costs, high energy prices, and climate change. Farmers’ responses to stressors are then analyzed and compared using attributes of food system resilience. Based on our results, we argue that resilience-building is determined not only by the environment in which agroecology is embedded, but also by the responsive capacities of farmers. We emphasize the need for more proactive policies aimed at promoting agroecological and localized production to enhance the resilience of food systems against recurrent shocks and crises.