Holistic approaches to assess the sustainability of food systems in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review
Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Food systems and their sustainability have been extensively studied in high-income countries (HICs), yet less so in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), despite their importance for global food security. In this study, we conducted a systematic scoping review to describe the extent, range, and nature of peer-reviewed literature assessing the sustainability performance of food systems in LMICs. The review revealed a recent and heterogeneous literature. From this diversity, 3 archetypes of epistemological approaches emerged, classified by their purpose: observational , modeling , and transformative . All 3 approaches apply existing or tailored methods to specifically study food systems, and their objectives are to observe, model, or transform different parts of the food systems towards sustainability. Gaps in the literature include inconsistent definitions of food systems and frameworks and understudied drivers of food systems sustainability. Therefore, the development of a comprehensive and systematic inventory of frameworks and their sustainability is crucial to determine the most suitable interdisciplinary methodologies for specific contexts and generate actionable knowledge for food systems transformation.
Institutions: Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Université de Montpellier, Institut Agro Montpellier, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier, Montpellier Interdisciplinary center on Sustainable Agri-food systems: social and nutritional sciences, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Ecologie fonctionnelle & biogéochimie des sols & des agro-systèmes, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, Savoirs, Environnement, Sociétés, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Ifremer, Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation, Institut polytechnique de Grenoble, Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Soutenabilité et Résilence, AgroParisTech, Laboratoire d'étude des Interactions Sol - Agrosystème - Hydrosystème, UMR Développement et Sociétés, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, University of Carthage, Université Tunis Carthage, National Research Institute of Rural Engineering, Water and Forests
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,000
OpenAlex ID: W4400976200