Farmer collectives for more effective agri-environmental schemes? An assessment framework based on the concept of ‘professionalization’

Agri-environmental schemes (AESs) have been implemented in many countries in Europe. However, there is mixed evidence about their effectiveness. Several studies in different countries suggest that AESs are more effective when designed at landscape level and implemented by groups of collaborating farmers (‘farmer collectives’). The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has enabled groups of farmers to be applicants for and final beneficiaries of AESs subsidies for the period 2015–2020, but it is unclear what is needed for farmer collectives engaged in AESs to contribute to more agrobiodiversity. In this paper, the lens of ‘professionalization’ is used to conceptualize and operationalize the performance of farmer collectives. We have developed an assessment framework that facilitates the characterization and development of the degree of professionalization of farmer collectives. The ultimate aim is achieving ecological effectiveness of AESs by professionalization of the farmer collectives. The framework distinguishes three categories of professionalization: organizational, occupational and systemic, and provides a new lens for research on AESs. It can also be used by practitioners involved in AESs to provide insight into, and reflect upon, the performance of farmer collectives

Toll-like receptor and IL-12 signaling control susceptibility to contact hypersensitivity.

Allergic contact hypersensitivity (CHS) is a T cell-mediated inflammatory skin disease. Interleukin (IL)-12 is considered to be important in the generation of the allergen-specific T cell response. Loss of IL-12 function in IL-12Rbeta2-deficient mice, however, did not ameliorate the allergic immune response, suggesting alternate IL-12-independent pathways in the induction of CHS. Because exposure to contact allergens always takes place in the presence of microbial skin flora, we investigated the potential role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the induction of CHS. Using mice deficient in TLR4, the receptor for bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), IL-12 receptor (R) beta2, or both, we show that the concomitant absence of TLR4 and IL-12Rbeta2, but not the absence of TLR4 or IL-12Rbeta2 alone, prevented DC-mediated sensitization, generation of effector T cells, and the subsequent CHS response to 2,4,6-trinitro-1-chlorobenzene (TNCB), oxazolone, and fluorescein isothiocyanate. Introduction of the TLR4 transgene into the TLR4/IL-12Rbeta2 mutant restored the CHS inducibility, showing a requirement for TLR4 in IL-12-independent CHS induction. Furthermore, the concomitant absence of TLR2 and TLR4 prevented the induction of CHS to TNCB in IL-12-competent mice. Finally, CHS was inducible in germ-free wild-type and IL-12Rbeta2-deficient mice, but not in germ-free TLR4/IL-12Rbeta2 double deficient mice, suggesting that the necessary TLR activation may proceed via endogenous ligands

Innate and adaptive autoimmunity in type 1 diabetes

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74867/1/j.1399-5448.2007.00334.x.pd

Professional farmer collectives for effective agri-environmental management: an assessment

In 2013 the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) enabled groups of farmers to be applicants and final beneficiaries of Agri-environmental schemes (AES). The Dutch government went one step further, ruling that only groups of farmers (farmer collectives) could be beneficiaries of AES. The changing role of farmer groups or farmer collectives comes with a variety of challenges. Using the lens of professionalization, we investigated the professionalization of the Dutch farmer collectives after three years of coordinating AESs, with the aim of ascertaining how professional the collectives are and how any differences in professionalism can be explained. The experience of the Dutch collectives is relevant to other groups of farmers in Europe who are starting or are engaged in the process of self-organization and professionalization, as well as to the further development of the Dutch collectives. Our assessment revealed that there are different types of professional collectives, depending on the situation. Most of the collectives scored excellently on the organizational and occupational criteria with an internal focus. All the collectives have criteria that could be improved. There are differences in professionalization based on history, resources and scale

TLR9-Dependent and Independent Pathways Drive Activation of the Immune System by Propionibacterium Acnes

Propionibacterium acnes is usually a relatively harmless commensal. However, under certain, poorly understood conditions it is implicated in the etiology of specific inflammatory diseases. In mice, P. acnes exhibits strong immunomodulatory activity leading to splenomegaly, intrahepatic granuloma formation, hypersensitivity to TLR ligands and endogenous cytokines, and enhanced resistance to infection. All these activities reach a maximum one week after P. acnes priming and require IFN-γ and TLR9. We report here the existence of a markedly delayed (1–2 weeks), but phenotypically similar TLR9-independent immunomodulatory response to P. acnes. This alternative immunomodulation is also IFN-γ dependent and requires functional MyD88. From our experiments, a role for MyD88 in the IFN-γ-mediated P. acnes effects seems unlikely and the participation of the known MyD88-dependent receptors, including TLR5, Unc93B-dependent TLRs, IL-1R and IL-18R in the development of the alternative response has been excluded. However, the crucial role of MyD88 can partly be attributed to TLR2 and TLR4 involvement. Either of these two TLRs, activated by bacteria and/or endogenously generated ligands, can fulfill the required function. Our findings hint at an innate immune sensitizing mechanism, which is potentially operative in both infectious and sterile inflammatory disorders

Water Managers' Boundary Judgments and Adaptive Water Governance. An Analysis of the Dutch Haringvliet Sluices Case

__Abstract__ In this paper, we explore how managing actors' boundary judgments influence the adaptability of water governance. We approach this question by examining the relationship between the way water managers frame, and act in, complex water issues on the one hand and develop adaptive water governance strategies on the other. We define four categories of boundary judgments made by water managers in order to deal with the complexities in water governance issues. An in-depth case study analysis of an attempt to adjust the management of the water regime in the south-west Delta of the Netherlands is provided in order to reconstruct the water managers' boundary judgments and their impact upon governance strategies used. We found that, most of the time, the water managers involved predominantly made tight boundary judgments. These tight boundary judgments seemed to hamper the mutual learning process among a variety of stakeholders that is needed to realize adaptive water governance. We argue that wide boundary judgments enhance the chance of realizing adaptive practices and build upon exploration, learning, and connection

Politicizing food security governance through participation: opportunities and opposition

Since the 2007/08 food price crisis there has been a proliferation of multi-stakeholder processes (MSPs) devoted to bringing diverse perspectives together to inform and improve food security policy. While much of the literature highlights the positive contributions to be gained from an opening-up of traditionally state-led processes, there is a strong critique emerging to show that, in many instances, MSPs have de-politicizing effects. In this paper, we scrutinize MSPs in relation to de-politicization. We argue that re-building sustainable and just food systems requires alternative visions that can best be made visible through politicized policy processes. Focusing on three key conditions of politicization, we examine the UN Committee on World Food Security as a MSP where we see a process of politicization playing out through the endorsement of the ‘most-affected’ principle, which is in turn being actively contested by traditionally powerful actors. We conclude that there is a need to implement and reinforce mechanisms that deliberately politicize participation in MSPs, notably by clearly distinguishing between states and other stakeholders, as well as between categories of non-state actors.</p

Mission-oriented public policy and the new evaluation culture

In this chapter, our aim is to develop a framework to improve public policy-related evaluation practice for a more adaptive and anticipatory evaluation approach, better in tune with complex interactions and interdependencies that have emerged on our policy agenda today. One of the features of this space for interactions that is public policy is its mission orientation. Such an orientation is accompanied by the evolution of public policy instruments, which in turn necessitate new evaluation approaches. We are convinced that this requires developing a conceptual framework, which can be taken forward to test and further operationalise in situations where similar systemic transformations for policy development are elaborated upon. Based on our work on public-sector leadership, we are proposing a framework for evaluation in a more mission-driven and systems-based perspective. The framework seeks to take better into consideration the diversity of policy interventions at our disposal, ranging from traditional budgetary or legislative instruments to experimentation and piloting. Changes are identified in the very characteristics of the societal problems we are trying to solve, as well as in the nature of policy, both subsequently requiring a more multifaceted scope of evaluation, an emerging practice being towards a more mission-oriented one as well as a more nuanced approach depending on whether one is interested in the multi-organisational performance, policy service delivery or quality of outputs and impacts from policy initiatives and projects. The focus of evaluation in turn ranges from the accountability to evaluation criteria, timescale, motivation, as well as type of intervention used.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Involvement of ubiquitin-editing protein A20 in modulating in-flammation in rat cochlea associated with silver nanoparti-cles-induced CD68 up-regulation and TLR4 activation

The manuscript was just accepted for publication on Nanoscale Research Letters