Challenges and issues of coordination in local food systems (SYAM): An analysis based on the Actor-Network Theory

Alternative food systems are a field of research of interest. For example, new innovative and hybrid forms of food systems are emerging such as the agriculture of the middle or “Food system of the middle” (FSOM). Research about mechanisms of coordination within these systems needs to be further developed: how FSOM emerge and stabilization in time? To answer this question, we analyze step by step the networking between actors participating in a collective action using Actor-Network Theory. The results of this research suggest that FSOM networks are never really stabilized. They develop by alternating between expansion and tightening phases. FSOM reconfigure through tensions due to coordination and hybridization challenges. The article shows how SYAM succeed to address these challenges.
JEL Codes: D74