Learning and Innovation Networks for Sustainable Agriculture: Processes of Co-evolution, Joint Reflection and Facilitation

Farmers’ Own Research: Organic Farmers’ Experiments in Austria and Implications for Agricultural Innovation Systems

“…even extensionists working intensively with farmers in participatory research projects are often not aware of the experimental capacity of farmers (Bentley et al, 2010). It will be crucial to find appropriate ways of participatory research and joint learning between the actors within the AIS, and lately a considerable number of promising concepts evolved, such as adaptive co-management (Armitage, Marschke, & Plummer, 2008), networks of practice (Oreszczyn, Lane, & Carr, 2010), or learning and innovation networks (Brunori et al, 2013;Moschitz, Roep, Brunori, & Tisenkopfs, 2015). Concrete examples how to make more active use of farmers' experimental capacities include experiential learning groups of Danish dairy farmers that developed concrete solutions to improve the health of their herds based on mutual advice, group induced experiments and common evaluation of the results (Vaarst et al, 2007).…”

Facilitating practice-led co-innovation for the improvement in animal welfare

“…Thus practice-led innovation reacts to the demand for innovation in practice to solve local problems using practical knowledge and creativity at the local farm level (Vogl et al, 2016). This practical local knowledge is an essential foundation for local innovation however literature shows this is often not enough for local innovation to occur (Eastwood et al, 2017;Arkesteijn et al, 2015;Lambrecht et al, 2015); to enable this process requires creating space for joint learning and knowledge sharing through innovation networks, bringing together a variety of actors, with different (forms or sources of) knowledge (Spielman and Birner, 2008;Moschitz et al, 2015;McKenzie, 2013).…”

“…producers, scientists, advisory services, consumers, SME's, NGO's and local policy makers) and research shows innovation networks are dynamic in nature (its composition can change over time as priorities and access to resources of actors change), vary in shape and size and in strength of their relationships between actors (Moschitz et al, 2015;Brunori et al, 2013).…”

Ex-Post Evaluation of the Impacts of the Science-Based Research and Innovation Program: A New Method Applied in the Case of Farmers’ Transition to Organic Production in the Camargue

“…Studies like JOLISAA 23 (Almekinders et al, 2012) demonstrated more clearly, but in an African context, that collaborative research can solve problems encountered by farmers to make desired changes possible. Lastly, in the general context of increasingly complex models of knowledge co-creation, the needs of and the varied types of knowledge must be acknowledged and reflected interactively among stakeholders (Moschitz et al, 2015;EU SCAR, 2012;Klerkx et al, 2009). Nevertheless, in our case study the CFR did not acknowledge the need to develop more sustainable systems and has disrupted the pathway the innovation was taking.…”