Food system transitions in low- and middle-income countries: exploring the Missing Middle in the case of Vietnam

Food systems worldwide are changing rapidly: shifting from small-scale farming and informal markets toward larger, more industrialized supply chains. In low- and middle-income countries, this transition offers both opportunities and significant challenges, including persistent food safety risks, environmental pressure, and rising inequality. Despite substantial policy efforts, progress toward sustainable food systems remains frustratingly slow and uncertain.

This research argues that a key cause is the "Missing Middle" — the gap between global or national objectives and local realities, as well as between the practices of diverse actors involved in food production, distribution, and consumption.
Using Vietnam as a case study, Quoc Nguyen explores why initiatives in food safety and sustainability so often fail to gain traction. Based on fieldwork in the pork and vegetable value chains in Northern Vietnam, the study demonstrates how disconnects between policy, market structures, and daily practices hinder transformative change, and what is required to bridge those gaps.

Quoc Nguyen,

the candidate of the PhD defence "Food system transitions in low- and middle-income countries: exploring the Missing Middle in the case of Vietnam".