Reconnecting Farmers with Nature through Agroecological Transitions: Interacting Niches and Experimentation and the Role of Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems

Abstract

Sustainability transitions in agriculture are explored through an analysis of niche initiatives within a common production system, relying on sustainable transitions, multi-level perspectives, and agroecological frameworks, and involving multi-actor, agricultural knowledge, and innovation systems (AKIS). The article focuses on how experimental niches and sustainable activities affect farmers’ relationships with nature, and the reconceptualisation of the production system in which they operate, particularly where this system is embedded in less sustainable conventional or dominant regimes and landscapes. The need for fundamental changes, in the way that humans interact with nature, is widely argued for in order to achieve sustainable development, and farmers occupy a central role through participation in complex networks of agri-food systems. They have also found themselves disconnected from nature through conventional agri-industrial production practices. Four niches (biological control, ecological restoration, soil health, and ecological pond management) within the greenhouse sector of Almeria (SE Spain) are explored in a case study. Our results indicate that a farmer’s interaction with nature is functional, but through agroecological practices, a deeper understanding of the ecosystems in which greenhouse landscapes are embedded may be gained. As they become more connected to nature and benefit from ecosystem services, they can transition to more sustainable agricultural systems.

Reconnecting with Nature through Good Governance: Inclusive Policy across Scales

“…Agroecology is particularly adept at multiscale impacts since it is both a localized practice and a globalized political social movement. In addition, agroecological transitions have been shown to reconnect farmers with nature in a way that is powerful and regenerative [73]. Utilizing contributions from global and local efforts, ZBNF is projected to reach six million farmers and provide decent livelihoods, prosperous communities, and resilient environments to many more.…”

A Transformative (r)Evolution of the Research on Agriculture through Fostering Human-Nature Connectedness—A Special Issue Editorial

“…A long-standing framework such agroecology [24] seems to be one of the most suitable methods to include both the ecological and the social dimensions of agri-food systems [25,26] and eventually to contribute to agri-food system change [27]. In this SI, different contributions include agroecology as a framework for the transition toward more sustainable agri-food systems (e.g., [28][29][30][31]). However, so far, in the Global North, the majority of the proposed frameworks have been based on applying incremental or reformative practices (e.g., sustainable intensification, sustainable agriculture, conservation agriculture, or integrated pest management) [32], whereas agroecology has been more frequently applied in countries of the Global South [33].…”

“…This has to be accompanied by the combination of a set of social research methods and approaches that lead to transformative change in the agricultural systems for sustainability. Thus, in this SI, alternative approaches have been employed, such as conservation biology [34], nature's contribution to people [35], ecosystem services [36,37] and multi-actor authorship approaches [29], which go beyond the biophysical analysis by considering socio-cultural aspects under a more systemic perspective. Most of these approaches imply a broadening in the scale of the study while incorporating knowledge, perceptions, preferences and values from local stakeholders.…”

“…Most of these approaches imply a broadening in the scale of the study while incorporating knowledge, perceptions, preferences and values from local stakeholders. While typically, agricultural studies are focused at the plot level, embracing these new approaches leads to a broadening of the scale, especially to farm or landscape scales [29,31,35,[37][38][39], and to a lesser extent to regional or foodshed [40] or to country scales [34].…”

“…For instance, Schwartz et al [36] used GIS software to develop a participatory mapping exercise, Murillo-López et al [35] used semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data, whereas Chen et al [39] and Gugerell et al [38] developed questionnaires and interviews for quantitative analysis to evaluate farmers' ecological cognition and different proximities, respectively. However, other studies required mixed complex methods incorporating agroecology and involving multi-actor, agricultural knowledge, and innovation systems [29,37]. Besides these innovative approaches, there are others not included in this SI that can also be used or combined with those mentioned.…”