Mutual learning between researchers and farmers during implementation of scientific principles for sustainable development: the case of biodiversity-based agriculture

Sustainability Science - Tập 13 - Trang 517-530 - 2017
Laurent Hazard1, Patrick Steyaert2, Guillaume Martin1, Nathalie Couix1, Marie-Laure Navas3, Michel Duru1, Anne Lauvie4, Julie Labatut1
1AGIR, Université de Toulouse, INRA, INPT, INP-EI PURPAN, Castanet Tolosan, France
2INRA, UMR 1326 LISIS, Marne-la-Vallée, France
3Montpellier SupAgro, UMR 5175 CEFE, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
4INRA, UMR 0868 SELMET, Montpellier Cedex 1, France

Tóm tắt

A part of scientific knowledge that aims to promote sustainable development consists in management principles of complex systems. Its implementation requires a precise understanding of the situation of action and of the actors’ involvement in the situation. It can no longer be thought of in terms of transfer. Successful implementation relies on changing the ways of understanding and valuing the local context, as well as the actors’ practices. Transdisciplinary approaches are proposed to facilitate mutual learning between researchers and local actors that lead to a better understanding of the action situation. We explore the benefits of such approaches and their implications for those involved in the field of agroecology. Agroecology is based on the implementation of scientific principles that aim to make agriculture more sustainable. These include the creation of agricultural production based on biodiversity. Analysis of three case studies concerning the biodiversification of forage production shows that implementation is not getting farmers involved in the researcher’s project, but rather that researcher’s intentions find a place in the farmer’s projects. Researchers adapt their scientific production to the farmer’s needs while farmers review their goals and means as a result of these interactions. The result is a better understanding of the situation to be transformed by both researchers and farmers. This new insight justifies making implementation an integral part of the scientific approach. However, both researchers and farmers committed to the situation need to be ready to leave their comfort zone.

Tài liệu tham khảo

Adger WN, Arnell NW, Tompkins EL (2005) Successful adaptation to climate change across scales. Glob Environ Change 15:77–86. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2004.12.005 Al Haj Khaled R, Duru M, Decruyenaere V et al (2006) Using leaf traits to rank native grasses according to their nutritive value. Rangel Ecol Manag 59:648–654 Allen C, Garmestani A (2015) Adaptive management of social-ecological systems. Springer, Netherlands Altieri MA, Nicholls CI, Henao A, Lana MA (2015) Agroecology and the design of climate change-resilient farming systems. Agron Sustain Dev. doi:10.1007/s13593-015-0285-2 Armitage D, Marschke M, Plummer R (2008) Adaptive co-management and the paradox of learning. Glob Environ Change 18:86–98 Avenier M-J (1997) La strategie chemin-faisant. Strategies et organisations. Economica, Paris Avenier M, Nourry L, Sweeney M (1999) Sciences of the artificial and knowledge production: the crucial role of intervention research in management sciences. Des Issues 15:55–70 Bammer G (2013) Disciplining interdisciplinarity: integration and implementation sciences for researching complex real-world problems. ANU E-PR, Canberra Bjerknes G, Bratteteig T (1995) User participation and democracy: a discussion of Scandinavian research on system development. Scand J Inf Syst 7:73–98 Blackstock KL, Kelly GJ, Horsey BL (2007) Developing and applying a framework to evaluate participatory research for sustainability. Ecol Econ 60:726–742. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006.05.014 Cash DW, Clark WC, Alcock F et al (2003) Knowledge systems for sustainable development. Proc Natl Acad Sci 100:8086–8091. doi:10.1073/pnas.1231332100 Connell JH (1978) Diversity of tropical rainforests and coral reefs. Science 199:1304–1310 Couix N, Hazard L (2013) When the future of biodiversity depends on researchers’ and stakeholders’ thought-styles. Futures 53:13–21. doi:10.1016/j.futures.2013.09.005 Davidson-Hunt IJ, Michael O’Flaherty R (2007) Researchers, indigenous peoples, and place-based learning communities. Soc Nat Resour 20:291–305. doi:10.1080/08941920601161312 Dixon J, Stringer L, Challinor A (2014) Farming system evolution and adaptive capacity: insights for adaptation support. Resources 3:182–214. doi:10.3390/resources3010182 Dunning JB, Danielson BJ, Pulliam HR (1992) Ecological processes that affect populations in complex landscapes. Oikos 65(1):169–175 Duru M, Cruz PP, Raouda AHK et al (2008) Relevance of plant functional types based on leaf dry matter content for assessing digestibility of native grass species and species-rich grassland communities in spring. Agron J 100:1622. doi:10.2134/agronj2008.0003 Duru M, Therond O, Martin G et al (2015) How to implement biodiversity-based agriculture to enhance ecosystem services: a review. Agron Sustain Dev. doi:10.1007/s13593-015-0306-1 Ewenstein B, Whyte J (2009) Knowledge practices in design: the role of visual representations as “epistemic objects”. Organ Stud 30:7–30. doi:10.1177/0170840608083014 Fitzgerald D (2003) Every farm a factory: the industrial ideal in american agriculture. Yale University Press, New Haven Folke C, Holling CS, Perrings C (1996) Biological diversity, ecosystems, and the human scale. Ecol Appl 6:1018. doi:10.2307/2269584 Fraser MW, Richman JM, Galinsky MJ, Day SH (2009) Intervention research: developing social programs. Oxford University Press, Oxford Geber MA, Griffen LR (2003) Inheritance and natural selection on functional traits. Int J Plant Sci 164:S21–S42. doi:10.1086/368233 Girard N, Magda D, Astruc JM et al (2015) Analyzing indicators for combining natural resources management and production-oriented activities. Environ Dev Sustain 17:155–172. doi:10.1007/s10668-014-9544-7 Gliessman S (2006) Agroecology: the ecology of sustainable food systems, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, FL Gonzalo-Turpin H, Couix N, Hazard L (2008) Rethinking partnerships with the aim of producing knowledge with practical relevance: a case study in the field of ecological restoration. Ecol Soc 13(2):53 Hatchuel A, Molet H (1986) Rational modelling in understanding human decision making: about two cases studies. Eur J Oper Res 24:178–186 Holling CS (2001) Understanding the complexity of economic, ecological, and social systems. Ecosystems 4:390–405. doi:10.1007/s10021-00 Hoste H, Jackson F, Athanasiadou S et al (2006) The effects of tannin-rich plants on parasitic nematodes in ruminants. Trends Parasitol 22:253–261. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2006.04.004 Kauffman J, Arico S (2014) New directions in sustainability science: promoting integration and cooperation. Sustain Sci 9:413–418. doi:10.1007/s11625-014-0259-3 Keddy (1989) Competition. Population and community biology. Chapman and Hall, London Kremen C, Miles A (2012) Ecosystem services in biologically diversified versus conventional farming systems: benefits, externalities, and trade-offs. Ecol Soc 17(4):40 Lang DJ, Wiek A, Bergmann M et al (2012) Transdisciplinary research in sustainability science: practice, principles, and challenges. Sustain Sci 7:25–43. doi:10.1007/s11625-011-0149-x Lees GL (1992) Condensed tannins in some forage legumes: their role in the prevention of ruminant pasture bloat. In: Plant polyphenols, pp 915–934 Lenoble J, Maesschalck M (2016) Democracy, law and governance. Ashgate Publishing Company, Farnham Lin BB, Perfecto I, Vandermeer J (2008) Synergies between agricultural intensification and climate change could create surprising vulnerabilities for crops. Bioscience 58:847. doi:10.1641/B580911 Martin G (2015) A conceptual framework to support adaptation of farming systems: development and application with Forage Rummy. Agric Syst 132:52–61 Martin G, Hossard L, Theau JP, Therond O, Josien E, Cruz P, Rellier JP, Martin-Clouaire R, Duru M (2009) Characterizing potential flexibility in grassland use: application to the French Aubrac area. Agron Sustain Dev 29(2):381–389 Martin G, Felten B, Duru M (2011a) Forage rummy: a game to support the participatory design of adapted livestock systems. Environ Model Softw 26:1442–1453 Martin G, Martin-Clouaire R, Rellier JP, Duru M (2011b) A simulation framework for the design of grassland-based beef-cattle farms. Environ Model Softw 26:371–385 Martin G, Theau JP, Therond O, Martin-Clouaire R, Duru M (2011c) Diagnosis and simulation: a suitable combination to support farming systems design. Crop Pasture Sci 62(4):328–336 Martin-Clouaire R, Rellier J-P (2009) Modelling and simulating work practices in agriculture. Int J Metadata Semant Ontol 4(1):42–53 McCown RL (2001) Learning to bridge the gap between science-based decision support and the practice of farming: evolution in paradigms of model-based research and intervention from design to dialogue. Aust J Agric Res 52:549–571. doi:10.1071/AR00119 McCown R, Parton K (2006) Learning from the historical failure of farm management models to aid management practice. Part 2. Three systems approaches. Crop Pasture Sci 57:157–172 Nowotny H, Scott P, Gibbons MT (2001) Re-thinking science: knowledge and the public in an age of uncertainty. Polity, Cambridge Opdam P (2010) Learning science from practice. Landsc Ecol 25:821–823. doi:10.1007/s10980-010-9485-y Picket STA, Ostfeld RS, Shachak M, Likens GE (1997) The ecological basis of conservation: heterogeneity, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Chapman and Hall, New York, NY Pohl C, Hadorn GH (2008) Article methodological challenges of transdisciplinary research. Natures Sci Sociétés 16:111–121. doi:10.1051/nss Rosset PM, Altieri M (1997) Agroecology versus input substitution: a fundamental contradiction of sustainable agriculture. Soc Nat Resour 10:283–295 Sanderson EW, Jaiteh M, Levy MA et al (2002) The human footprint and the last of the wild. Bioscience 52:891. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0891:THFATL]2.0.CO;2 Scholz RW, Steiner G (2015) Transdisciplinarity at the crossroads. Sustain Sci 10:521–526. doi:10.1007/s11625-015-0338-0 Silvertown J (2009) A new dawn for citizen science. Trends Ecol Evol 24:467–471. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2009.03.017 Smit B, Wandel J (2006) Adaptation, adaptive capacity and vulnerability. Glob Environ Change 16:282–292. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.03.008 Snowden D (2002) Complex acts of knowing: paradox and descriptive self-awareness. J Knowl Manag 6:100–111 Stoker G, John P (2009) Design experiments: engaging policy makers in the search for evidence about what works. Polit Stud 57:356–373. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9248.2008.00756.x Suneson CA (1956) An evolutionary plant breeding method. Agron J 4:188–191 Sutherland WJ, Pullin AS, Dolman PM, Knight TM (2004) The need for evidence-based conservation. Trends Ecol Evol 19:305–308. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2004.03.018 Temperton VM (2004) Assembly rules and restoration ecology: bridging the gap between theory and practice. Island Press, Washington, DC Thomas M, Demeulenaere E, Dawson JC et al (2012) On-farm dynamic management of genetic diversity: the impact of seed diffusions and seed saving practices on a population-variety of bread wheat. Evol Appl 5:779–795. doi:10.1111/j.1752-4571.2012.00257.x Tuomi I (1999) Corporate knowledge. Theory and Practice of Intelligent Organizations. Metaxis, Helsinki Uphoff N (2007) Agroecological alternatives: capitalising on existing genetic potentials. J Dev Stud 43:218–236. doi:10.1080/00220380601055700 van Kerkhoff L, Lebel L (2006) Linking knowledge and action for sustainable development. Annu Rev Environ Resour 31:445–477. doi:10.1146/annurev.energy.31.102405.170850 van Passen A, van den Berg J, Steingröver E et al (2011) ‘Knowledge in Action’. The search for collaborative research for sustainable landscape development. Mansholt Publication series, vol 11. Academic Publishers, Wageningen