Insights from small-scale producers – a path towards sustainable local food systems

Food systems are under increasing pressure from climate change, market volatility, and food insecurity, prompting the search for more resilient alternatives. Alternative food systems offer promising pathways toward sustainability by reconnecting people with food. This paper examines how small-scale producers in Germany and Hungary navigate innovation within local food systems. Based on 38 interviews, findings reveal that producers view tradition and innovation as mutually reinforcing components yet face significant bureaucratic and market-related barriers in innovation. The study highlights the need for context-sensitive support to enhance innovation capacity and resilience, contributing to more sustainable, inclusive, and community-based food systems.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  International Journal on Food System Dynamics

• Publication date

  2025-06-13

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1163/18696945-bja00007
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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