Sustainability spaces for complex agri-food systems

As a result of the complexity of agri-food systems, popularly-supported ‘win-win’ solutions rarely result in wholly satisfactory outcomes. We draw on documented cases of the introduction of agricultural input subsidies; the intensification of livestock production; and the development of genetically modified crop varieties as examples of agri-food systems in which there are multiple interconnected sustainability priorities and inevitable conflicts. Generic or narrowly conceived goals may not fully reflect the multiple and conflicting dimensions of sustainability that are relevant to such cases. There is a need to advance established multiple-win agendas, such as sustainable intensification and climate smart agriculture, to more fully reflect this complexity. We propose the use of the sustainability space concept for defining and monitoring sustainability priorities that might become the basis for effective management of complex systems. We further outline the challenge of defining and monitoring these priorities, which will require carefully designed, interdisciplinary and participatory research agendas.