Swedish research in organic farming and food systems

In Sweden research is mainly conducted by researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). The SLU departments of Soil Science, Ecology and Crop Production Science (now Crop Production Ecology), Entomology, Animal Nutrition and Management, Animal Breeding and Genetics, Animal Environment and Health, Agricultural Biosystems and Technology, Crop Science and Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden are conducting research. This research is mainly financed by the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas) through the national programme for organic agricultural research. Furthermore SLU research is funded under the programme for applied research for experimentation and development in organic farming, which is financed by the Swedish Board of Agriculture (SJV). Within the “Ekoforsk” Programme based at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) university scientists are commonly cooperating with advisors connected to private and public extension service institutions and organisations. Finally, the Swedish Farmers´Foundation for Agricultural Research (SLF), which is a levy board, funds a substantial part of research in organic farming, especially applied research in organic primary production systems

Agroecology Education and Research: An Academic Platform for Organic Farming

Agroecology education and research programs are gaining prominence in universities. This emerging field provides an appropriate and convenient platform for bringing organic farming into academia. Agroecology deals with complex systems, uncertainty, and the future. Examples from organic farming and local food systems often provide valuable examples of applications of the principles of ecology in designing a sustainable agriculture. The agroecology MSc program in the NOVA network is a successful example of how organic farming can be brought into university programs, and how interdisciplinary education and research can tap into a regional faculty in agriculture

Farmers facing rapid agricultural land condition changes in two villages in the Upper Amazon, Peru: can action learning contribute to resilience?

The article presents findings of local experimentation for managing land degradation problems in swidden farming, and the institutional setting for such experimental activities within a resilience theory framework. By using action research (AR) methodology, which included in-depth interviews and joint field experiments, the research process facilitated collective learning related to land degradation management. Framed by a local institution (choba choba), learning situations of field experimentation were created in order to speed up the joint learning process between farmers, a local NGO and researchers. The authors argue that AR, as methodology, not only enhances contextual learning processes by working within farmers' existing institutional framework for learning, but also has the advantage of integrating local and scientific knowledge into a joint learning process. AR methodology can therefore be one answer to the question of 'how' to build up and maintain resilience of an agricultural system, particularly its adaptive capacity.Amazon, Peru, swidden agriculture, land management, resilience, action research, farmer learning, adaptive capacity, local institutions, land degradation, swidden farming, field experimentation,

Education and training in organic agriculture : the Nordic region and the USA

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