Mapping the suggestion of a food social security: “a farmer could have, socially seen, the status of a town doctor”
by Tsilla Boisselet. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3924048
licensed under Creative Commons 4.0
An exercise on the why such suggestions, as sustained by AMAP, Confédération paysanne, Ingénieurs sans frontière Agrista , Réseau Salariat, makes sense for sustainability.
Our starting point, an article from the online magazine novethic, published the 21th of may 2020 in the category “environment”.
«Créer une sécurité sociale de l'alimentation alors qu'un Français sur cinq souffre d'insécurité alimentaire»
“Create a food social security while one out of five Frenchmen suffers food insecurity”
Following the model of universal health care, where taxes pay the essential health care for all, these organizations ask to create a system to, in an analog way, provides essential food supply for all.
Emmanuel Marie, membre of the french national comity of the farmers’ organisation (Confédération paysanne) hopes to give farmers the social status of doctors; "Comme les médecins qui sont conventionnés en secteur 1. Mon rêve c’est que le paysan soit considéré, socialement, comme un médecin de ville« -
In the light of the cascade of crises following the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the emerging problems has been stressing the global food chain system’s limits. Increasing food waste and missing labor force on one part, empty trucks and supermarkets on the other part, and workers without jobs and revenue in between. Is this the best moment to reflect about the fragility of the whole and think about new ways to make it resilient towards crisis, present and future?
How to decide on a partnership and to share about this strategy in a visual way?
Defenders of the Nature, or alarmed researchers on the impact of biodiversity loss make their voices loud to preserve resources that are essential to many human activities. But investments are still low and actions reflect the place environment holds in priority ranking – certainly not the top ranks, for citizens and governments alike, despite some changing. There seem to be more important issues to tackle, like health, and getting enough food. Moreover, farmers have often a simple survival need before they would even care for the environment. “Green” will not pay the bills, will it?
Why are there so many prototypes of great ideas, as we do not have the time for just prototypes?
Should it all be the consumers’ responsibility? What motivates a shift in businesses taking actions? What can policy makers change? What do consumers or voters accept?
In a government’s perspective, choosing between priorities, to satisfy not only voters but also a wide range of other stakeholders, is a difficult balance exercise.
But, as one of the goals for the SDGs 2030, partnership development can help answer some of those dilemmas. Existing, resilient systems can be a source of inspiration to tackle together problems that seem unrelated.
To see how partnerships make sense, and how the complexity of decision making within a government can be managed, mapping can be an useful tool. In particular, we will use Wardley maps as a base to lay out the suggestion of linking policies that are now separated - for instance health policies and agricultural policies.
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The map shows straightforward need chains between stakeholders, practices and concepts with a logical link. We can base this links on the point of view of the government.
So, the government needs voters to get to power and to pay taxes
Voters need to survive, hence their need for health. Health itself is sustained by healthcare in form of treatment, facilities and preventive care.
All those need a budget, handled by a ministry of health from the government, payed partly by taxes from voters. For treatment, natural resources might be used. Technical resources are needed for treatment, facilities and preventive care. Last but not least, healthcare staff is needed, to which the government or the facility gives income from the budget.
Simplified map of the public health care system (adapted from Wardley maps, p 356, fig 239)
Note that the budget is sorted centrally, with contributions from citizens (voters) , their taxes. The distribution of taxes roughly depends on their respective income.
One assumption for such a system is that everyone potentially needs health care, and that’s it’s fair enough to participate globally to this system, because it ensures a general coverage of a certain minimum standard in the whole country.
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In the same manner, we can map the food system from the government’s perspective. Like previously, the government needs voters to get to power and to pay taxes.
Voters need to survive, so they need access to food. That food comes from food distribution and processing industry, which gets its raw material from farms (primary producers).
Farms, to produce their products, need natural, technical and financial resources, and farmers (staff).
The voters need an income to get some food, and their taxes depend on that income. At least they need an income to be able to pay taxes.
Government needs voters (and satisfy food industry), so gives subsidies to farms.
This needs a budget, handled by a ministry of agriculture from the government, financed partly by taxes.
Note that the budget comes taxes. But it mostly covers possible subsidies to farmers. This is not an obligate step, the system theoretically can work without it, since there is revenue for the food chain: citizens’ income and budget.
One question about this simplified system could be: are farms mostly financed by consumers? By food industry? By subsidies? Where is the biggest flow and therefore influence on decisions and practice? (1, 2 or 3?)
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Similarly, we can map environmental management from the government’s perspective. Like previously, the government needs voters to get to power and to pay taxes. In this case, specific, targeted taxes are not well defined or less spread, or even inexistent.
For environmental issues, the connection between voters and their needs are not clear: status, romantic, general well-being, cause to defend, or research specialty. To simplify, we call it fulfillment, to differentiate it from survival needs. This class of voters might not be a majority, but since this movement is gaining momentum, it is somehow important to care for the environment (natural resources) to get these voters satisfied.
So nature conservation and sustainable practices – which might be financing research projects - would be a response. This needs some form of technical resources to implement.
It also depends upon a budget, handled by a ministry of environment from the government, financed partly by taxes.
But if global voters care for nature per se is still relatively low, taxes are low and budget is low, too. Practices are likely not much developed.
Simplified map of the environmental management
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What if the links and the flows changed?
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What would a system where food, or at least the basic, vital food needs, would be provided as part of a universal program, with providers, facilities and staff, look like?
Farmers as public employees...?
As medical doctors, they fulfill certain standards to become certified providers.
This “service provision” can be organized in different ways, as healthcare, which can go through an electronic card system, or another accounting system.
It is then in the interest of most to get a good geographic and social coverage, in order not to have food deserts. If a distribution can also be certified and part of the system, local and seasonal food can become more advantageous.
Additional links can refine more the advantages of some criteria for production on-farm, distribution etc. → Environmental criteria become interesting (cf natural resources, energy and distribution), linking to social system (voters’ income linked to taxes, unemployment). Also, food waste tackling has a chance when connecting every place with public food providers and social system, schools etc.
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A system where food, or at least the basic, vital food needs, would be provided as part of a universal program, with providers, facilities and staff.
Farmers as public employees …Or subdued to a worse system?
As medical doctors, they fulfill certain standards to become certified providers. Who decide those criteria and what could they look like? How many should be compulsory and which ones could be an additional motivation and trigger?
Does this pose a threat to be highjacked to exclude sustainable production? Would a mafia-like system be able to evolve from this?
It is important to raise this questions, and to make sure the conditions and stakeholders are clear beforehand, and to design the system in a way to avoid, or make uninteresting, such drifts.
One hint would be to link it to the social protection system (in countries where it is functioning). Indeed, social system overload is also connected with voters’ income linked to taxes or unemployment. Not to forget that social system have been successfully established precisely in times of critical economical situations.
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Concluding this brief first foray in value chain and maturity mapping...
Mapping poses a clear base for discussion about this principles, making visible some emerging questions. One other interesting fact emerging from the map is, the social cost of maintaining a population of voters at a certain income level to ensure tax revenue is also visible. It would be very useful to map social protection system and link it.
Likewise, taxes and budgets allowing flows or merged does allow to maneuver the rhetoric of taxes, i.e. not adding “new” taxes for environmental issues, as there were something unrelated, but just improve the existing food (and health, social system) with existing resources (even if those could be increased, for the sake of security?? Cf police, army and similar???). If voters have a certain need for security, a universal system ensuring vital coverage for health, food (and other social services) can be a powerful tool, too.
Changing the way food is produced requires high and broad involvement, mapping helps grasping its complexity without getting overwhelmed, and shows the usefulness of increasing chosen partnerships and links in innovative ways.
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