One influential yet often overlooked aspect of food/farming/livelihood systems is that of systemic cultural and governmental corruption. This can be the key mechanism which either impedes or permits various projects to take place or emerge successful. Implementation of sustainable agriculture and food systems is overwhelmingly dependent on political officials and cultural norms, which have varying levels of oversight, depending on country/district. While corruption is often thought of as taking place only in emerging economies, it is influential in developed economies as well (see indictments of Flint water crisis in the U.S. as a relevant example of corruption in developed economies). I suggest that this report would not be complete without reckoning of these real and influential obstacles to successful implementation of agroecology programs.
Heather Davidson