INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVEMENT THE RESILIENCE OF NORTHERN FOOD SYSTEMS (EXAMPLE OF NORTHWEST CANADA)

DOI 10.32651/224-92

Issue № 4, 2022, article № 14, pages 92-97

Section: Foreign news

Language: Russian

Original language title: ИННОВАЦИОННОЕ РАЗВИТИЕ И ПОВЫШЕНИЕ ЖИЗНЕСПОСОБНОСТИ СЕВЕРНЫХ ПРОДОВОЛЬСТВЕННЫХ СИСТЕМ (НА ПРИМЕРЕ СЕВЕРО-ЗАПАДНЫХ ТЕРРИТОРИЙ КАНАДЫ)

Keywords: ARCTIC, CANADA NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, INNOVATIONS, FOOD SYSTEMS, RESILIENCE, CLIMATE GLOBAL CHANGE

Abstract: At the regional level, case studies on resilience and innovative development of northern and arctic food systems have been conducted in Canada's Northwest Territories (NWT). As a result, sub-components of the NWT agri-food system were identified. In the natural sub-system, the predominant components are climate, soils and ecosystems. The more common components of the social sub-system include policy, rules, governance and socio-cultural norms. Knowledge and access to resources are the predominant sub-components of the core system services, while production and consumption are the major sub-components of the system's core activities. It has been established that the innovative development of food systems in the NWT is constrained by high transport costs and export tariffs for expensive food products, which negatively affects the profitability of food producing companies. In many rural and remote areas, there is a general shortage of labour, and especially of highly qualified specialists, which can become an obstacle to the development of the industry. Other obstacles include the difficulty of introducing new food products, as well as new innovative technologies already in use in more southern areas. Government programs to support agri-food systems in some cases cause economic headwinds for local food producers, as the subsidized cost of imported food is often lower than the actual cost of food produced in the north. An additional challenge for food production in Canada's NWT is the implementation of "Complex Land Claims (CLCs)". While the regulation of the CLCs has empowered indigenous and local people in many ways, the specific articles contained in these agreements have also created obstacles to the development of the food industry, with most regional CLCs banning the commercial sale of traditional foods.

Authors: Volkov Sergei Gennadevich