Policy-led sustainability transitions in agriculture

The agricultural transition towards environmental and climate sustainability is challenged by numerous political and economic obstacles. Farmers all over Europe are taking to the streets to protest increasing regulatory burdens, many farms are pressured financially, agricultural environmental policies often produce limited results (Hasler et al. 2022), and innovative solutions are held back by high cost and uncertainty regarding e.g., technological development and consumer demand.

In this postdoc project, we will investigate the potential for and hindrances to positive political-economic feedback cycles in the agricultural sustainability transition. These feedback effects materialise when initial policies spur change in investment patterns among farmers and in the wider agri-food industry that remove the barriers to further policy action. We know from other sectors that policies can, under the right circumstances, affect firms’ expectations and behaviour in ways that change their material interests and policy preferences (Kelsey 2021; Kupzok and Nahm 2024). The core question is whether these dynamics can help achieve a faster agricultural sustainability transition that also boosts agricultural competitiveness and profitability.

We will apply quantitative and qualitative social science methods to investigate each of the steps in this theorised causal chain in a Danish and European context. What factors shape agricultural sector opposition to and support for various policies? When do policies generate transformative or more marginal change in agricultural sector investments and business strategies? How do agri-food firms’ assets and investment decisions shape their policy preferences? Our answers to these questions will provide valuable new insights for policymakers and other stakeholders in the agricultural sustainability transition.