Abstract for: Enabling Resilient Food Systems: Simulating the Impact on Local Farmers' Livelihoods in Greater Adelaide, Australia

To increase resilience of the food system of Greater Adelaide to threats such as those posed by climate change and global supply chain disruptions, the local councils in the region envision a policy strategy of increasing food system literacy. The question is: Will the councils’ preferred policy actually improve the resilience of small and medium enterprise (SME) farmers – our primary stakeholders? And are there any plausible traps that could adversely affect them? Considering the complex and dynamic nature of food systems, the System Dynamics (SD) method was opted for investigating the questions posed. Representing the real-world system responsible for farmers ́ livelihoods, a simulation SD model was constructed as a proof-of-concept for the councils’ policy strategy. It is evident, based on the findings of the model, that increasing food system literacy does indeed increase the resilience of SME farmers’ livelihoods. Diffusion of food system knowledge amongst the local populace is expected to yield a growing demand for local produce and increased levels of social connectedness, such that the SME farmers can expect increases in income levels and well-being. On these grounds, we recommend that councils allocate resources to increase food system literacy in Greater Adelaide.