Improving analytical capacity and understanding of social drivers in agriculture to better assess social sustainability in the sector

Expected Outcome

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• the research community benefits from increased data availability, interoperability and use, and improved analytical capacity on social dimensions of agriculture, meaning appropriate data, better indicators, methods and tools to assess social sustainability in the sector;
• policymakers are better equipped with reliable and harmonised analytical research methodologies, and consequently with new and improved knowledge and better understanding of social drivers in agriculture to design evidence-based policies, inter alia to ensure a just transition in the agriculture sector;
• improved social sustainability of the agri-food sector thanks to better knowledge and better policies.

Scope

Knowledge gaps exist between agricultural policy priorities and data infrastructure to evaluate social sustainability issues, particularly regarding farmers. Often social issues are addressed by various policy instruments from different policy areas, but there are inconsistencies, for example in the way that target groups are identified and measured in the statistics collected at European level. A framing of the social dimension of agriculture is necessary to complement the existing environmental and economic aspects of sustainability of assessment tools, strategies and policies for agriculture in the EU. Social issues may remain hidden if there is no consistent data able to capture them. Social aspects seem to be excluded from most of the analytical tools available. Greater understanding of social issues and the best policy approaches to address them requires appropriate data to develop better indicators and measurement that can be integrated into analytical tools. Successful proposals should therefore directly and/ or indirectly contribute to the enhancement of the sustainability performance of the sector, including social sustainability, and competitiveness in agriculture.

Proposals should:

• identify the social impacts of agriculture on farmers (e.g., employment, demography, migration, distributional aspects, procedural justice, inclusiveness, health and well-being, social integration, gender equality, etc.), by considering various type of agricultural activities and farming methods (including organic farming) at various geographical scales, from local, national, EU to global levels;
• map, assess and address gaps in data, indicators, and modelling approaches currently lacking social perspective by considering various type of agricultural activities and farming methods (including organic farming) to improve the assessment of social performance including determinants, synergies, trade-offs and benefits;
• advance access, harmonize and improve interoperability of evidence/data available from observational, qualitative or case-study approaches to complement quantitative research methods. Examine networking structures to reach all relevant actors, interactions and relations, both work- and life-related;
• test, demonstrate and pilot promising new/improved indicators, models, tools and approaches to assess social performance;
• identify and address challenges for the EU, Member States and regions to deploy social sustainability principles in the agricultural sector and provide policy recommendations to overcome them.
• provide recommendations on how to improve the social sustainability of the agricultural sector and ensure a just transition;
• widely disseminate and share knowledge and solutions to policymakers, farmers, businesses and other relevant end-users in order to facilitate their uptake.

Proposals under this topic should support EU ambitions related to the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production[1], and contribute to the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food for 2040 aiming at an agri-food system that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable, and thus attractive, competitive, future-proof and fair for current and future generations. Furthermore, in line with the objectives of the CAP to promote fair jobs and social inclusion for farmers, the successful proposal should support the development of innovative governance models by providing strong evidence-based knowledge and analytical capacity to support its implementation. Proposals should as well support the development and implementation of the future CAP post 2027.

New interdisciplinary knowledge combining economic and social sciences offer a new perspective on agricultural sciences in which social elements could be the starting point for sustainability evaluations of agricultural systems. To this purpose, proposals should involve the effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines, such as sociology, psychology, demography, behavioural science and education.

Proposals are expected to take into consideration the results of other related Horizon 2020/ Europe projects as well as of other relevant EU-funded projects and initiatives.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding. The participation could involve contributing to scenario assessment with the iMAP modelling platform, sharing of information, and contribution to dissemination of results.

[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0141R%2801%29