Agroecological Transitions: A Systematic Review of Research Approaches and Prospects for Participatory Action Methods

Abstract

There have been many calls for an agroecological transition to respond to food shocks and crises stemming from conventional food systems. Participatory action research and transformative epistemologies, where communities are research actors rather than objects, have been proposed as a way to enhance this transition. However, despite numerous case studies, there is presently no overview of how participatory approaches contribute to agroecological transitions. The present article therefore aims to understand the effect of applying participatory action research (PAR) in agroecology. We undertook a systematic review of articles reporting methods and results from case studies in agroecological research. On the one hand, our systematic review of 347 articles shows that the agroecological research scope is broad, with all three types—as science, a set of practices and social movement—well-represented in the corpus. However, we can see a clear focus on agroecology “as a set of practices” as the primary type of use of the concept. On the other hand, we found a few case studies (23) with a participatory approach while most studies used extractive research methods. These studies show that understanding the drivers and obstacles for achieving an agroecological transition requires long-term research and trust between researchers and farmers. Such transformative epistemologies open doors to new questions on designing long-term PAR research in agroecology when confronted with a short-term project-based society.

A scoping review of participatory research methods in agroecology studies conducted in South Asia

“…Indeed, identified some studies that we considered to be participatory in nature, which did not use the term 'participatory' at all. As we approached the final stages of our review, a global systematic review was published that explored the use of participatory methods in agroecology, and the extent to which participatory approaches contribute to agroecology transitions (Sachet et al 2021). The authors of this opted to limit the search results by including "case study" as a keyword.…”

“…Sachet et al also identified a diverse range of participatory methods, including participatory rural appraisal (PRA), rapid rural appraisal (RRA), participatory learning, and participatory action research. They described some participatory methods as 'extractive' meaning that "participants are consulted on a particular topic without opening space for co-learning, interaction, and potential selfmobilization" (Sachet et al 2021).…”

Decision analytical methods for assessing the efficacy of agroecology interventions

“…Such holistic approaches can provide support for decision-making by making use of these existing agricultural knowledge bases. Farmers innovate and experiment, their accumulated knowledge and expertise can provide valuable information about the practical implications and potential efficacy of agroecology interventions at the farm (Sachet et al 2021) and landscape level.…”

Creating Conditions for Harnessing the Potential of Transitions to Agroecology in Europe and Requirements for Policy

“…Collaborative approaches to policy design can contribute to overcoming cognitive barriers to the adoption of agroecological practices by farmers and new approaches to the food system (as proposed in the ‘Partnership on Accelerating farming systems transition: agroecology living labs and research infrastructures’, European Commission, 2022). They have the potential to improve the results of agri‐environmental schemes by increasing the adoption of practices, fostering environmental synergies and, in turn, strengthening community and family networks (Sachet et al ., 2021). However, they can create barriers and discourage participation, leading to trade‐offs that must be addressed in policy design (Legras et al ., 2021).…”

“…community and family networks (Sachet et al, 2021). However, they can create barriers and discourage participation, leading to trade-offs that must be addressed in policy design .…”