Sustainable food system transitions in Vietnam

A PhD Research by ?

Research introduction

Food systems in Vietnam are experiencing rapid transitions under the impacts of globalisation, urbanisation, and modernisation. These processes lead to growing geographical and cognitive distances between production and consumption practices, thus creating obstacles for the local implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SGD2) and other SDGs. Bridging these gaps are hereby essential for promoting transformations of food systems towards sustainability.

Research challenges

The PhD research will apply the concept “Missing Middle” to address the production-consumption gaps in the context of food system transitions. Building on the multi-level perspective (MLP) of transition theory, the Missing Middle is conceptualised as being shaped by multiple forms of interactions between actors at the regime, niche and landscape levels. The research will examine the case studies of pork and vegetables production and consumption systems to characterise their transition dynamics and cross-level interactions. A systematic analysis using literature review will be conducted to scrutinise the drivers and patterns of historical and current transitions of Vietnamese food systems. Further papers will be dedicated to studying: the mismatches and conflicts in practices and values between consumption, retailing and production actors; the activities of intermediary organisations in connecting niche-regime and the lock-ins that they encounter; the effects of institutional landscapes and potential coordination mechanisms to support sustainability transition pathways. The research will use in-depth interviews as the major data collection method, while stakeholder consultation workshops will be held to review the findings and support dialogues between policy-makers and practitioners of food systems.