{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T00:56:29Z","timestamp":1778633789316,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,28]],"date-time":"2018-08-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1535414400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sustainability"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The European Union\u2019s (EU) remote rural areas undergo unique organizational challenges to counteract geopolitical, economic, and environmental constraints and engage in a competitive global food market. A one size fits all recipe to mend specific issues has also proven inefficient and led policy-makers to acknowledge the importance of implementing sustainable landscape governance to promote rural development. This paper inquires what are the challenges and opportunities food systems must adopt in a sustainable landscape governance approach, based on a qualitative research work carried out in the Azores Region (Portugal) in 2016. Data was gathered via eleven semi-structured interviews to key stakeholders and participatory observation in six events related to the management of the Azores\u2019 food system. A grounded theory method structured qualitatively research participants\u2019 perceptions about the Region\u2019s food regime. This analysis is hereby furthered according to the four criteria proposed by the sustainable landscape governance assessment method. Our results indicate the lack of coordination among actors, institutions and policies in the Azores Region could be counteracted by promoting inclusive participation and integrated knowledge to attain cohesive, sustainable, and efficient outcomes at the landscape level. The methodology has proven to be adequate and instrumental in identifying sustainable landscape governance issues in other food systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/su10093057","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,28]],"date-time":"2018-08-28T12:19:06Z","timestamp":1535458746000},"page":"3057","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Assessing Sustainable Food Systems Governance in EU\u2019s Outermost Regions\u2014The Case of the Azores in Portugal"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9525-8885","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paola Andrea","family":"Hern\u00e1ndez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Ci\u00eancias Agr\u00e1rias e Ambientais Mediterr\u00e2nicas (ICAAM), University of Evora, 7000 \u00c9vora, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6904-3696","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Helena","family":"Guimar\u00e3es","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Ci\u00eancias Agr\u00e1rias e Ambientais Mediterr\u00e2nicas (ICAAM), University of Evora, 7000 \u00c9vora, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Rivera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Ci\u00eancias Agr\u00e1rias e Ambientais Mediterr\u00e2nicas (ICAAM), University of Evora, 7000 \u00c9vora, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Emiliana","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias Agrarias e do Ambiente, University of the Azores, 9700-042 Angra do Hero\u00edsmo, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Ingram, J.S.I., Ericksen, P.J., and Liverman, D.M. 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