Food Security, Sustainable Development Goals, and Just Transitions: Institutional Frameworks and Agrarian Futures In the Global South

Climate change is reshaping agriculture and food systems across the Global South. Rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, extreme weather events, and environmental degradation are affecting food production, livelihoods, and access to natural resources. While these impacts are often discussed in relation to farmers, they extend far beyond agricultural production, influencing workers, communities, consumers, markets, and institutions throughout the food system. These challenges raise important questions about the future of agriculture and food systems in a changing climate. In response, governments, development agencies, civil society organizations, and private actors are promoting a wide range of measures to support climate adaptation, sustainable agriculture, and food system transformation. However, important questions remain. Who benefits from these transitions? Who bears the costs and risks? How are resources, opportunities, and decision-making power distributed among different actors? Under what conditions can these transitions contribute to both sustainability and food sovereignty?

This session invites empirical and conceptual contributions that examine the social, institutional, and policy dimensions of food system transitions under climate change. We welcome papers on agroecological practices, local and indigenous knowledge, governance arrangements, institutional change, community responses, youth engagement in agriculture, and other efforts to address climate-related challenges in food systems. Particular attention will be given to studies that provide evidence and lessons from practice. The session seeks to explore diverse experiences, emerging alternatives, and the conditions that may support more inclusive and equitable agrarian futures in the Global South.