Weak pulse: a Q-methodology study of stakeholder viewpoints on barriers in European food legume value chains

European ambitions for more sustainable food systems rely, in part, on expanding the production and consumption of food legumes. Yet European food legume value chains remain marginal, and EU and national level supporting policies are few. We apply Q–methodology to provide novel evidence about stakeholder perceptions of the relative importance of current value chain barriers and their interrelationship, while also exploring how these perceptions vary among stakeholders from different European countries. Based on a Principal Component Analysis of 91 Danish, German, Polish, and Spanish value chain stakeholders’ sorting of 28 barrier statements, we extract five shared viewpoints, pointing out the perceived most important barriers: (1) a lack of capacity for end-product production and use; (2) unattractive legume products; (3) governance, institutional and capacity gaps; (4) unfavorable food system conditions; and (5) a restricted domestic raw material production. Cross–country analyses reveal that some viewpoints are widely shared, whereas others are country–specific. Our findings underscore the need for a flexible portfolio of European and national policy measures, such as educational initiatives, institutional support, network development, and coordinated national and regional strategies, to effectively address the value chain barriers currently inhibiting the realization of the full potential of food legumes as a pathway toward a more sustainable European food system.