Socio-cultural lock-ins and the difficulty of sustainability transition in fertilization : response to Struckman

Abstract

This commentary discusses the socio-cultural context of farming and proposes ways to break related lock-ins in the context of sustainability transition research. To be able to change farming practices and design policies to promote the changes, it is essential to understand what actually needs to change. Do we need to change the ways farmers think, the ways that food markets operate, the requirements of plant varieties or the requirements related to protecting water quality? In a complex situation the needed change emerges from the intertwinement of many different issues, which simultaneously work to create the locked-in situation. A focus on people and their practices provides a good starting point for understanding the intertwinement, and working in just ways to break the lock-ins.