Ways of farming and ways of thinking: do farmers&amp;#8217; mental models of the landscape relate to their land management practices?

Vuillot, Carole; Coron, Nadège; Calatayud, François; Sirami, Clélia; Mathevet, Raphaël; Gibon, Annick

doi:10.5751/es-08281-210135

Cited by 64 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The 22 stakeholders were asked to create mental models individually and directly. Individual elicitation minimizes the effects of power relationships and local social dynamics associated with collective elicitation, while direct elicitation helps respondents explore their cognition through the process of mapping [50]. The interviews with the stakeholders took place in Shihoro during December 2016 and January 2017.…”

Section: Eliciting Stakeholder Viewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Model Analysis of Biogas Energy Perceptions and Policy Reveals Potential Constraints in a Japanese Farm Community

2019

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Biogas systems are complex and involve many local stakeholders who produce and utilize energy and digestate. If the systems are managed properly, they offer environmental and socioeconomic benefits to the community. However, further expansion may be challenging when differences in values and perspectives exist among stakeholders. This study analyzed perceptions among local biogas stakeholders by using a mental model approach. A local community in a northern Japanese island was chosen as a case study, and 22 stakeholders were asked to develop individual mental models of the biogas system. We found that many stakeholders shared the cognitive benefits of biogas, while there were perception differences regarding digestate use. Arable farmers mentioned technical and non-technical constraints for accepting digestate, while dairy and non-farmers were ambivalent about these demand-side constraints. This perception difference may lead to potential obstacles for future expansion of biogas systems in the region. Therefore, biogas policy should incorporate actions for better usage of digestate. These include the mandatory planning of digestate use when designing a new biogas plant, as well as actions to improve the attractiveness of digestate for arable farmers. These findings are useful for other livestock-intensive areas where the number of biogas plants is rapidly increasing but digestate management is yet organized.

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Section: Eliciting Stakeholder Viewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Model Analysis of Biogas Energy Perceptions and Policy Reveals Potential Constraints in a Japanese Farm Community

2019

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“…The interview notes were re‐read, cross‐checking against the influence diagrams. All constructs and relationships expressed in the composite group diagrams were expressed by at least one‐third of the individuals of the group, which resulted in 2 ≤ n ≤ 13 (Vuillot et al, 2016) unless there was significant observational data to justifying the inclusion of the relationship or construct in the final diagram. Influence diagrams (Morgan, 2002) enabled a visual version of the mental models to facilitate identification of gaps and overlaps among stakeholders.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Models of Soil Management for Food Security in Peri‐Urban India

Friedrichsen¹,

Daroub

Monroe

et al. 2018

Urban Agric & Regnl Food Sys

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Core Ideas There is a perceived link between soil, plant, and human health. Soil health and food security are culturally influenced concepts. Stakeholders’ mental models provide insight into culturally appropriate technology. Soil management for food security needs to be culturally appropriate. Stakeholders’ mental models offer insight to enhance extension communication. Agricultural development during the Green Revolution brought India food sovereignty but food insecurity persists. Increased crop production was promoted without considering the more holistic impact on food security. Scientists, extension agents, and farmers have different perspectives on how soil health relates to food security. Understanding stakeholders’ perspectives is essential to improving extension communication and mitigating consequences. This study uses qualitative interviews to construct mental models of soil health for food security. The study site is a peri‐urban watershed, which is currently participating in the Integrated Farmer Participatory Watershed Management Model (IFPWM). Our study details and defines stakeholders’ mental models of soil health, soil nutrient management, soil sodicity, and food security. A triad belief held by farmers shows the strongly perceived causal relationship between soil health, plant health, and human health. Healthy soil produces healthy food and humans that eat such food will be healthy. Scientists only perceive one condition to achieving food security in the community—food quantity. However, all other stakeholders perceived another risk to food security—food quality. Eating poor quality food is perceived as linked to human health problems in the community. This research suggests the importance of including a fifth dimension of food security, cultural acceptability, within agricultural technology development and dissemination.

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“…Jones et al (2014) mention no significant difference between direct or indirect elicitation. Other authors mention the risk of individual interviewer bias in the case of indirect elicitation (Vuillot et al 2016). Interviewer bias is certainly a risk to the accuracy of the mental model because an intermediary is added to the elicitation process.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape and biodiversity as new resources for agro-ecology? Insights from farmers’ perspectives

Salliou¹,

Barnaud²

2017

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Pesticide reduction is a key current challenge. Scientific findings in landscape ecology suggest that complex landscapes favor insect pest biological control by conservation of natural enemy habitats. A potential agro-ecological innovation is to conserve or engineer such complex landscapes to reduce pesticide use. However, whereas the relevant resources are often well known in most natural resource management situations, potential resources involved in this innovation (natural enemies and the landscape) are not necessarily considered as resources in the eyes of their potential users. From the perspective that resources are socially constructed, our objective was to investigate whether and how these resources are considered by their potential users. To do so, we conducted research in an area specializing in tree-fruit (apple) production in southwestern France. This site was selected for its high pest incidence and high use of insecticides on orchards and, consequently, high stakes involved for any alternative. We conducted 30 comprehensive interviews with stakeholders (farmers and crop advisors) about their pest control strategies to explore their representation of their landscape and natural enemies. Our results show that natural enemies are considered by local stakeholders as public good resources, especially in the context of interventions by public institutions for their conservation, acclimation, and management. Farmers sometimes consider natural enemies as private goods when they can isolate the crop, enclosing it with nets or some other type of boundary. We also show that the landscape was not considered as a resource for biological pest control by conservation, but rather as a source of pests. We advocate for more research on the effects of landscapes on natural enemies, including participatory research based on dialogue among farmers, crop advisors, and scientists.

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Ways of farming and ways of thinking: do farmers’ mental models of the landscape relate to their land management practices?

Cited by 64 publications

References 35 publications

Mental Model Analysis of Biogas Energy Perceptions and Policy Reveals Potential Constraints in a Japanese Farm Community

Mental Model Analysis of Biogas Energy Perceptions and Policy Reveals Potential Constraints in a Japanese Farm Community

Mental Models of Soil Management for Food Security in Peri‐Urban India

Landscape and biodiversity as new resources for agro-ecology? Insights from farmers’ perspectives

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Ways of farming and ways of thinking: do farmers&#8217; mental models of the landscape relate to their land management practices?

Cited by 64 publications

References 35 publications

Mental Model Analysis of Biogas Energy Perceptions and Policy Reveals Potential Constraints in a Japanese Farm Community

Mental Model Analysis of Biogas Energy Perceptions and Policy Reveals Potential Constraints in a Japanese Farm Community

Mental Models of Soil Management for Food Security in Peri‐Urban India

Landscape and biodiversity as new resources for agro-ecology? Insights from farmers&#8217; perspectives

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Product

Resources

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Ways of farming and ways of thinking: do farmers’ mental models of the landscape relate to their land management practices?

Landscape and biodiversity as new resources for agro-ecology? Insights from farmers’ perspectives