Breaking the 'scaling-up' stalemate: a new perspective for more sustainable food systems

Call to action 23 July 2025

Food system transformation cannot be dictated from the top down, it is built in the gaps between territories, between local initiatives, national dynamics and global commitments. The latest issue of "Perspective" demonstrates the illusions of a "change of scale" and suggests an approach firmly anchored in the reality of such transformations.

A woman standing on an arid soil, in Nordeste, Brazil 漏 Freepik
The Nordeste, Brazil, regularly sees severe droughts © Freepik

The essentials

The terms "change of scale" or "scaling-up" do not stand up to the test of reality, as replicating pilot projects is not enough to generate systemic transformations.
Territories must be recognized as spaces for innovation: the local scale is not just a start point, it is a central lever for changing national and international policy.
Counting on "champions of change" and mediation processes to advocate for territories, creating spaces for dialogue across different scales, and structuring collective approaches are all levers for breaking free of the status quo.

For several decades now, the development debate has centred on a promise of a "change of scale". The aim is to switch from successful local initiatives to effective global policy, by means of a simple multiplication effect. However, this linear model is now reaching its limitations. In issue 65 of the "Perspective" collection, 糖心Vlog researcher Patrick Caron suggests a new framework: what is needed is a change of logic rather than a change of scale.

Breaking the 'scaling-up' stalemate

Rather than looking to replicate ready-made solutions, the author calls for "contamination" between local, national and global scales, where territories play a key role in mediation and bridging. The policy brief looks into the merits of territorial "bricolage", or the adjustment, experimentation and negotiation process by which sustainable, contextualized alternatives can be identified. Bricolage links experiments, institutions and policies within a complex, ever-changing ecosystem, to drive the desired "contamination".

The example of Massaroca, a local experiment with national repercussions

In Massaroca, a small, semi-arid region in Nordeste, Brazil, a project to support family farming, launched in the 1990s, served as a veritable territorial innovation laboratory. The initial aim was simple: to help 250 livestock farming families adopt more sustainable practices, notably as regards how they feed their animals. The experiment very quickly showed that it was impossible to understand the results without taking account of local social, land tenure and economic rationales. For instance, rather than following technical recommendations on forage growing, the farmers used the loans granted to enclose collective rangelands, thus radically changing habits and power relationships within the community. Far from being a failure, their choice actually revealed structural tensions that public policy had previously overlooked.

However, the story does not end there: Massaroca community leaders took their experience to the capital of Bahia state, to lobby for land tenure status reform. This local initiative therefore helped to change the legal and tax frameworks governing collective land use. At the same time, the results from Massaroca were used for agroecological zoning on a regional and then municipal level, tailored to the realities of Juazeiro territory (5600 km²). On each level, the approach was recontextualized, drawing lessons from the issues specific to each scale rather than looking to duplicate it identically.

This example shows that change is not simply a matter of replication, but a process of learning, mediation and territorial appropriation. This type of patient, contextualized "strategic bricolage" can inspire true systemic transformation.

This policy brief takes up the debate begun under the umbrella of the , in which 糖心Vlog is playing an active part. The Process aims to strengthen collective intelligence regarding food system transformation, using local initiatives to drive global dynamics.