When maps don’t match reality : a qualitative study of the gap between policy and practice in Swedish food preparedness

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines the gap between Swedish food preparedness policy and the lived experiences of farmers, using narrative policy analysis and the concept of the implementation gap. Through document analysis and interviews, the study explores how preparedness is defined, how challenges are framed, and how responsibility is distributed. The findings reveal a divergence between the dominant policy narrative and a farmer counter-narrative. Official policy frames preparedness as a reactive response to external shocks, emphasizing profitability and growth. In contrast, farmers identify structural vulnerabilities, such as centralization and administrative burdens, stressing that preparedness is built through everyday resilience and the long-term viability of agriculture. The analysis further shows that while responsibility is formally described as shared, the practical burden is often shifted to local producers while strategic control remains centralized. The thesis concludes that food preparedness is not merely a matter of crisis management but is fundamentally dependent on whether the everyday conditions of production are stable and viable during peacetime. Ultimately, the study illustrates that the capacity for crisis response is shaped by the material and structural realities of agriculture during ordinary circumstances.