Towards a new policy narrative for agriculture: capturing social sustainability issues

Abstract

Awareness about issues related to inequality and well-being in agriculture is increasing, with some evidence of inequalities affecting e.g. women, youth, and migrant farmworkers, that hinder their access to income, land, health, education, and training. Despite the increasing policy interest around social sustainability, tackling social issues in agriculture is complex due to lack of consensus in definition, contextual specificities, data gaps and needs to apply non-sectoral policies. Two decades ago, environmental sustainability faced similar challenges but is now mainstreamed in agricultural policy making. Climate change measurement and analysis played a pivotal role in creating a new agri-environmental policy narrative. Expanding agricultural sustainability from the green transition towards a just transition will require a game changer that is measurable and highly correlated with main social issues. Could an investment in measuring income inequalities play this role and facilitate a new social sustainability perspective in agricultural policies?