Institut für Sozialwissenschaften des Agrarbereichs

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hohpublica.uni-hohenheim.de/handle/123456789/18

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A decade of change and future prospects of organic farming in Iran using the multi‐round Delphi method
(2025) Babajani, Arezou; Rahmati, Faezeh; Rafizadeh, Neda; Zikeli, Sabine; Wieck, Christine; Babajani, Arezou; Department of Agricultural & Food Policy, Institute of Agricultural Policy and Markets, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Rahmati, Faezeh; Center for Organic Farming, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Rafizadeh, Neda; Center for Organic Farming, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Zikeli, Sabine; Center for Organic Farming, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Wieck, Christine; Department of Agricultural & Food Policy, Institute of Agricultural Policy and Markets, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
In recent years, the concept of organic farming has gained increasing attention due to its reduced use of agrochemicals, ecological preservation, and contribution to sustainability. However, the analysis of data from 2013 to 2021 shows that organic agriculture in Iran remained almost unchanged until 2016, with approximately 18,871 hectares under cultivation. After 2016, a period of stagnation ensued, followed by a decline, suggesting a regression rather than a progression in the sector. The present study aims to identify and evaluate the primary indicators influencing the development of organic agriculture in Iran by leveraging the expertise of subject‐matter experts. To this end, a four‐round, two‐phase Delphi method was employed to identify, refine, and validate the indicators. This method entailed conducting interviews with Iranian organic farming experts representing diverse organizations and sectors within organic agriculture. The identified factors were then grouped using the 7S model (Strategy, Structure, System, Skills, Staff, Style, and Shared Values). A nonparametric test was used to determine changes in these indicators over the past decade. The study's findings suggest that structural enhancements, increased knowledge, and growing societal awareness of sustainability have exerted a favorable influence. Nevertheless, systemic and policy constraints have curtailed the comprehensive advancement of organic farming. This research offers significant insights to the dynamics of organic agriculture in Iran and provides concrete recommendations for promoting its development in the future.
Exploring the impact of digitalization on sustainability challenges in German fruit production from the perspectives of stakeholders
(2025) Gaber, Kirsten; Rösch, Christine; Bieling, Claudia
Unique challenges exist in the fruit cultivation sector and, if not considered in the development and application of technologies, this sector is at risk of being left behind in the ongoing digital transformation of agriculture. While understanding perspectives of stakeholders is critical for technology acceptance, their knowledge and views are underrepresented in analyses on the impact of digitalization on fruit production. This research works to fill this knowledge gap by qualitatively analyzing semi-structured interviews on the impact of digitalization on sustainability challenges in fruit production with 34 stakeholders along the fruit value chain in the case study region of Lake Constance, Germany. Societal acceptance and understanding of fruit cultivation practices, restricted plant protection product use, labour availability, and biodiversity support were the main reported environmental and socio-economic challenges. Nearly all stakeholders (94%) were hopeful that digital technologies could effectively address environmental challenges in fruit production, particularly through increased efficiency, while greater uncertainties were reported for the socio-economic challenges. Perceptions of digitalization’s chances and challenges varied among individuals, fruit production systems, and farm sizes. Authors provide recommendations, including targeted support for small-scale fruit farmers and suggestions for future research activities, and emphasize the importance of factual knowledge dissemination on digitalization in fruit farming to support informed adoption choices for intended users. The results of this study offer critical viewpoints on the current challenges in fruit production and the potential for digitalization to increase sustainability in this sector.
From farm to table: uncovering narratives of agency and responsibility for change among actors along agri-food value chains in Germany
(2025) Hector, Veronica; Friedrich, Jonathan; Schlaile, Michael P.; Panagiotou, Anna; Bieling, Claudia
Given the complex nature of agri-food value chains and related sustainability challenges, the question arises who has the agency and responsibility to address these challenges and facilitate systemic change. We address this question through a mixed method approach and examine experiences with agriculture among different actors along the agricultural value chains in Germany. Based on this, we explore how various actors make sense of current agri-food topics as well as of their perceived responsibility and agency to change practices. While our study shows weak signals for the favoring of collective and collaborative approaches to change, there is a dominant narrative of externalizing responsibility to other actors, mainly consumers, state actors, and to a lesser extent farmers; upstream market actors such as retailers are barely mentioned, indicating a lack of awareness of the power dynamics within agri-food systems. We discuss how these findings can inform appropriate governance mechanisms at different levels and future research to address the prospective responsibility of value chain actors and power dynamics within agri-food transitions.
Pathways for biodiversity enhancement in German agricultural landscapes
(2025) Sponagel, Christian; Thompson, Amibeth; Paetow, Hubertus; Mupepele, Anne‐Christine; Bieling, Claudia; Sommer, Martin; Klein, Alexandra‐Maria; Settele, Josef; Finger, Robert; Huber, Robert; Albert, Christian; Filser, Juliane; Jansen, Florian; Kleemann, Janina; Schreiner, Vera; Lakner, Sebastian
Conserving biodiversity, especially in agricultural landscapes, is a major societal challenge. Broad scientific evidence exists on the impacts of single drivers on biodiversity, such as the intensification of agriculture. However, halting biodiversity decline requires a systemic understanding of the interactions between multiple drivers, which has hardly been achieved so far. Selecting Germany as a case study, the goal of our analysis is (i) to understand how various socio‐economic drivers of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes interact at the national scale, (ii) to identify plausible pathways that most likely will lead to an improvement of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes and (iii) to discuss guiding principles for policy‐making based on the pathways. We applied the expert‐based Cross‐Impact‐Balance (CIB) methodology to the German agri‐food system (target year 2030). Seven descriptors that represent the most relevant socio‐economic drivers of biodiversity (here, we focus on species richness) in agricultural landscapes in Germany were defined. In three workshops with different groups of experts, we assessed all the interactions and impacts between these descriptors. From the workshops, seven overlapping scenarios were identified and aggregated into four main future pathways for enhancing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. These pathways are: (1) ‘Innovation and stricter legislation’, (2) ‘Major change in protein production and CAP shift’, (3) ‘Major change in protein production and national legislation’ and (4) ‘Major social changes compensate for a lack of innovation in food production’. Socio‐economic drivers interact to varying degrees. Societal values have a strong active influence on the system, e. g. agricultural policy, whereas the orientation and objectives of agriculture, e. g. focus on public goods, are rather passively determined. Conserving biodiversity thus depends upon the evolution of societal values, European and national nature conservation and agricultural policies, innovations in plant and protein production as well as on global commodity markets. A key message for policymakers is that there are generally different, complementary options for achieving the objective of improving biodiversity. This is important when specific drivers such as the CAP cannot be steered in a particular desired direction.
Reaping what we sow: centering values in food systems transformations research
(2025) Care, O.; Zaehringer, Julie G.; Bernstein, Michael J.; Chapman, Mollie; Friis, Cecilie; Graham, Sonia; Haider, L. Jamila; Hernández-Morcillo, Mónica; Hoffmann, Harry; Kernecker, Maria Lee; Pitt, Hannah; Seufert, Verena
In many transdisciplinary research settings, a lack of attention to the values underpinning project aims can inhibit stakeholder engagement and ultimately slow or undermine project outcomes. As a research collective (The Careoperative), we have developed a set of four shared values through a facilitated visioning process, as central to the way we work together: care, reflexivity, inclusivity, and collectivity. In this paper, we explore the implications of a values-centered approach to collaboration in food system transformation research. The paper presents two cases that illustrate how researchers might approach centering values in practice. Where much research on food system transformation focuses on values of food system stakeholders, we contribute insights into the values of researchers in such transdisciplinary endeavors. Specifically, we argue that researchers working on sustainability transformations need to be better prepared to engage in such reflections and aspire to embody values aligned with the transformations they seek to research.
Towards more nuanced narratives in bioeconomy strategies and policy documents to support knowledge-driven sustainability transitions
(2025) Stoye, Juliane; Schlaile, Michael P.; von Cossel, Moritz; Bertacchi, Stefano; Escórcio, Rita; Winkler, Bastian; Curran, Thomas P.; Ní Chléirigh, Laoise; Nic an Bhaird, Máire; Klakla, Jan Bazyli; Nachtergaele, Pieter; Ciantar, Hailey; Scheurich, Philipp; Lewandowski, Iris; Reinmuth, Evelyn; Hopmans, Jan
The bioeconomy has been discussed as a key strategy for addressing sustainability challenges, particularly regarding the transition from fossil-based to bio-based systems, in numerous national and supranational strategies and policy documents related to the bioeconomy. However, public understanding of and engagement with the bioeconomy remains limited. This is partly due to the bias of many bioeconomy strategies and policy documents towards technological solutions that tend to overlook the social, normative, and transformative dimensions of systemic change as well as the necessary knowledge. This opinion paper explores the potential of narratives as a means of communicating bioeconomy research in public policy, with the aim of addressing the communication gap between science, policy, and society. When applied in responsible and nuanced ways that acknowledge their embeddedness and context, bioeconomy (policy) narratives can support sensemaking for science communication, improve public understanding, facilitate stakeholder engagement and behavioural change. We argue that such narrative approaches can help to create narrative ‘boundary objects’ that can support more inclusive and participatory processes, enabling the co-creation of transformative knowledge for bioeconomy transitions with stakeholders as active participants. In summary, we highlight several opportunities, as well as limitations and implications, that could inform future work on bioeconomy narratives.

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