How do farmers research and learn? The example of organic farmers’ experiments and innovations: A research concept

Experimenting, adapting and innovating are central features of farmers’ activities all over the world. Farmers hold valuable knowledge about their environment, they actively do experiments, and have their own research traditions. The development of organic farming systems is continually evolving through the experiments and innovations of organic farmers. So far, there has been little attempt to study the nature, characteristics, and factors associated with the experimental processes of farmers in a systematic, comprehensive way. A current research project investigates learning processes of organic farmers in Austria, Cuba and Israel through researching the multifaceted experiments they conduct and the innovations they obtain as possible results. This paper presents the research concept of the project

Strengthening organic agriculture in Austria until 2030: measures and strategic implementation

Content (Slides) - "Organic success story" in Austria - Organic development - Project "Organic 2030" - Selected measures – Three central bundels of measures 1. Raise share of organic food in (public) procurement, cantines and gastronomy -- Best practice example: «Natürlich gut essen» Vienna 2. Enhance cooperation along value chains -- Best practice example: Bio Suisse 3. Strengthen organic knowledge systems -- Best practice example: «Schule des Essens» - Next step

Ein kleines Land hat Großes vor

Das Burgenland hat sich viel vorgenommen: Bis zum Jahr 2027 soll die Biofläche 50 Prozent einnehmen. Wissenschaftlich begleitet wird diese „Biowende“ vom FiBL. Unsere Autoren stellen erste Erkenntnisse vor

Experimente von Biobäuerinnen und Biobauern in Österreich

Farmers’ experiments can be defined as the activity of trying or introducing something totally or partially new at the farm, including evaluation of the success or failure. In this research, topics, motives, methods and evaluation strategies of farmers’ experiments are investigated. Personal interviews were conducted with 73 organic farmers (47 semi-structured interviews, 26 structured questionnaire interviews). Organic farmers in Austria were found to experiment in a broad range of topics. To evaluate the experiments, all farmers conducted observation, and most of them also comparisons. Farmers experiment to find own creative solutions for their specific conditions and emerging problems. It is advisable to support farmers in their experimentation activities, provide room for experimentation within regulatory frameworks and to make active use of the outcomes of farmers’ experiments for the development of local agricultural systems

Bäuerliche Experimente in Österreich – Beurteilung von Video als möglicher Auslöser der Experimentiertätigkeit von Biobäuerinnen und Biobauern

Farmers’ experiments are an integral element of agricultural practice, contribute to the development of local knowledge and form the precondition for local innovations. This study addresses organic farmers’ experiments in Austria, and specifically video as tool for capturing and sharing lessons learned from farmers’ experimentation, as well as the potential of video to trigger farmers’ experiments. For 85 % of the surveyed organic farmers (n=34) farmers’ experiments were considered to have high relevance in the course of their farming activities. The elaborated videos stimulated 71 % of the farmers to conduct experiments. The videos were successfully applicable in adult and student agricultural education. After watching them, 12 of 16 students (75 %) came up with ideas for experiments they would like to try at their parents’ farms

Bäuerliche Experimente in Kuba und ihre Bedeutung für eine nachhaltige Landwirtschaft

This paper aims to examine farmers’ perception on the contribution of farmers’ experiments to sustainable agriculture. Field research was conducted in Cuba and comprised semi-structured interviews with 72 farmers. Most Cuban farmers experimented with locally available resources. According to the farmers’ perception, resources, topics and methods were ecologically compatible and involved little risks. Through experimenting the respondents felt, that they increased the production and the degree of self-sufficiency. Farmers ensured that experiments contributed to improve the local farming system and thereby supported the sustainable development of agriculture

Learning Recursive Functions From Approximations

This article investigates algorithmic learning, in the limit, of correct programs for recursive functionsffrom both input/output examples offand several interesting varieties ofapproximateadditional (algorithmic) information aboutf. Specifically considered, as such approximate additional information aboutf, are Rose\u27s frequency computations forfand several natural generalizations from the literature, each generalization involving programs for restricted trees of recursive functions which havefas a branch. Considered as the types of trees are those with bounded variation, bounded width, and bounded rank. For the case of learning final correct programs for recursive functions, EX-learning, where the additional information involves frequency computations, an insightful and interestingly complex combinatorial characterization of learning power is presented as a function of the frequency parameters. For EX-learning (as well as for BC-learning, where a finalsequenceof correct programs is learned), for the cases of providing the types of additional information considered in this paper, the maximal probability is determined such that the entire class of recursive functions is learnable with that probability

Building Resilience through Farmers’ Experiments in Organic Agriculture: Examples from Eastern Austria

Farmers have always lived in changing environments where uncertainty and disturbances are inevitable. Therefore, farmers need the ability to adapt to change in order to be able to maintain their farms. Experimentation is one way for farmers to learn and adapt, and may be a tool to build farm resilience. Farmers’ experiments, as defined in this paper, are activities where something totally or partially new is introduced at the farm and the feasibility of this introduction is evaluated. The theoretical framework applied to study farmers’ experiments is the concept of resilience. Resilience is the capacity of social-ecological systems to cope with change, and is a framework used to assess complex systems of interactions between humans and ecosystems. This paper explores to which extent farmers’ experimentation can help build farm resilience. In addition to arguments found in the literature, five organic farms in Eastern Austria are used to illustrate this potential. The farmers were interviewed in 2007 and 2008. The respective farmers all worked fulltime on their farms, were between 34 and 55 years old, and owned farms between 15 and 76 ha. These farmers experimented in ways that enhance resilience – at the farm and in the region. The outcome of experiments can be management changes, new insights, or technology that can be passed on and potentially be built into education and advisory institutions. To encourage farmers’ experiments, it is important to develop conditions that support farmers in their experimenting role

The Diversity of Organic Box Schemes in Europe—An Exploratory Study in Four Countries

Abstract: Box schemes provide an opportunity to scale up local organic food systems by aggregating products from multiple producers and effciently delivering them to consumers. However, there is limited knowledge about the overall organic box scheme landscape and how it develops. This article explores organic box schemes in four European countries and thus contributes by comparing box schemes of different sizes in different geographical and organisational contexts. Survey results from 44 box schemes were used to analyse box schemes in relation to size and growth, organisation, communication with customers, delivery modes, distances travelled by produce and boxes, and values adhered to. Although the surveyed box schemes differed in size and organisation, similarities between box schemes were found in many aspects. For example, most surveyed box schemes had grown considerably since their start, and wished to grow further, and they all rated certain values as important. A tendency for larger box schemes to offer more imported produce, to have operated for a longer time, and to use social media for advertising more often was found. Despite the heterogeneity of the box schemes in the survey, we conclude that box schemes are a useful category to explore in the sustainability transition of food systems

Expression of the High-Affinity Choline Transporter, CHT1, in the Neuronal and Non-neuronal Cholinergic System of Human and Rat Skin

Choline is an essential component in acetylcholine biosynthesis, and is involved in cell signaling. It is unable to permeate the cell membrane and requires a transporter to enter the cell. Neurons that synthesize acetylcholine take up choline by a recently cloned high-affinity choline transporter (choline transporter 1) that is Na+-dependent and can be blocked by hemicholinium-3. The aim of this study was to determine the expression and to analyze the distribution of choline transporter 1 in human and rat skin. The mRNA for choline transporter 1 was detected in rat and human skin and in the human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. A polyclonal anti-serum was developed against the N-terminal region of the human and rat protein. In rat and human skin, choline transporter 1 immunoreactivity was present in nerve fibers. In addition, keratinocytes, HaCaT cells and cells of the internal root sheath of the hair follicle contained choline transporter 1 immunoreactivity. The labeling patterns of nonconfluent vs confluent cultured cells and the distribution of choline transporter 1 along the epidermal layer suggest an association of choline transporter 1 with keratinocyte differentiation. In conclusion, this study shows the presence of the high-affinity choline transporter choline transporter 1 in nerve fibers and epithelial cells in the human and rat skin supporting the pivotal role of this transporter in both the neuronal and non-neuronal cholinergic system of the skin