In this report, we will focus on “regional resources” related to “food”, and consider how their excavation and utilization have been done from the perspective of geography, based on their history. Specifically, we will analyze the process by which cooking literacy related to “Local Taste” is changing and spreading to the region, with a view to the relationship between the living world and local resources in Kamiina-gun, Nagano Prefecture. The main points are summarized in the following three points. The first point is the structural change surrounding the changes in rural areas and families and the “Local Taste” since the 1980s. Since the 1980s, it has been rediscovered, and cooking literacy for passing on to the next generation has been discovered, reorganized, and disseminated as “local knowledge.” The second point is the process by which local knowledge develops into open commons. Cooking literacy was formed by collecting, publishing, and sharing recipes, and skills and local resources that were shared in a limited range became widely disseminated and utilized as open commons. The third point is that when considering the efforts related to “Local Taste” from the viewpoint of geography, “Place” consisting of daily experience is always in conflict with “Placelessness” that loses its uniqueness and identity.

Japanese folklore is said to be a young discipline constructed by agricultural politician Kunio Yanagita. However, its content is a new national studies (新国学), a history of the common people, and an agricultural policy for the well-being of people. Each has a variety of origins. The research methodology of Japanese folklore is really simple, as it is expressed as “walking, seeing, listening”, but it is the accumulation of the experience of folklore scholars so far. It is very useful in discovering the hidden value of rural areas. In this report, we discuss the usefulness of folk research based on the case of regional resource survey in rural Indonesia.

Agroecology and systems analysis have always been associated as at the core of agroecology is the search for synergies through the interactions of different components to support sustainable, resilient and equitable agricultural systems. Several agroecosystems analysis methods and tools have been developed. Systems approaches provide the theoretical basis and practical guidelines to capture the complexity of agroecosystems and design better, more sustainable, systems. These methodologies have been developed by and for different actors along the agricultural research and development continuum, from highly elaborated mathematical models to truly hands-on practical guidelines. Three examples of methodologies are briefly described. The Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE), a global and collective effort to generate evidence on the extent and role of agroecology for transitioning towards more sustainable agroecosystems. The MESMIS framework, based on the participatory selection of multiple indicators, their quantification and integration for holistic assessment. Finally, FarmDESIGN, a model-based optimization tool allowing to assess current and alternative farm configurations and farming practices and quantify trade-offs, allowing the design of alternative, more sustainable systems. The application and adaptation of these and other systems analysis methods and tools can play a crucial role in the transition towards more sustainable agroecological systems.

The discussion around global environmental issues such as climate change, as well as changes in societal expectations towards the role of agriculture and food production, have focused attention on sustainability transitions in agri-food systems. In parallel, there is a growing recognition of the potential of small-scale, agroecological and territorially integrated farming and food systems to help transition towards more sustainable more sustainable forms of production. Redesigning local and regional agri-food systems according to agroecological principles also holds the potential to increase the resilience of farming systems and rural communities and create linkages among agri-food system actors—from producers to consumers—based on fairer and more democratic relationships. This paper employs concepts from the field of sustainability transitions, together with the notion of territorialization, to discuss opportunities and barriers to scale agroecology at the territorial level and suggest directions for future research and practice.

In response to the growing concerns about the unsustainable consequences of the current industrial agri-food system and the increasing call for sustainable transformation, the concept of “climate smart agriculture (CSA)” has been developed and mainstreamed in the international community. Given its ambiguous definition and applications, and its advocacy by global agribusiness corporations, there is concern as to whether the concept of CSA may obscure the transformative perspectives of alternative agri-food initiatives and hinder their scale up. This paper utilizes the Gramscian concept of hegemony, to trace the development of the CSA concept and uncovers power dynamics behind the mainstreaming and institutionalization of CSA. In doing so, this paper elucidates the recent corporate consolidation in the agricultural input industry and their strategies for digital agriculture, which is touted as a powerful tool for CSA and therefore a key solution to climate change. The findings show that by exercising hegemonic power to legitimize their CSA model, global agribusiness corporations are turning climate crises into new opportunities for capital accumulation without fundamental transformation of the agri-food system.