Towards sustainable farming practices and food security: study about vulnerability of Finnish farms

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss food security in the context of sustainable farming practices in Finland. There are two research questions: 1) How are the Finnish farms vulnerable from the viewpoint of food security? 2) How could they increase their resilience for guaranteeing food security in the future? The paper is based on a qualitative study for which 15 Finnish food system specialists were interviewed in 2015. According to the results, three types of vulnerabilities are discovered: 1) market vulnerabilities, 2) continuity of farms, and 3) environment changes. For reducing vulnerabilities, the re-evaluation of policy instruments is needed. At the same time, new knowledge and skills are needed for supporting the decision-making at the farm level.