Developing the Welsh organic sector: Knowledge generation and learning

This research study is concerned with the role and influence of knowledge generation and learning processes in the development of Organic Agriculture in Wales. It builds on previous work which suggested that barriers to the generation and exchange of knowledge about organic agriculture between farmers and other actors in the sector were significant in inhibiting development. The thesis is predicated on the view that organic farming demands a complex treatment of knowledge and processes of learning, and that organic agriculture represents a synthesis of knowledge from a wide range of actors, knowledge domains and knowledge forms. The development of knowledge about organic agriculture is considered at the institutional and at the farmer level and interaction between institutions, institutions and farmers, and between farmers are explored. The development of organic agriculture is seen as a process where all actors are engaged in continuous learning, where learning trajectories are defined by historical conditions, local context and physical influences. The study set out to map the ways by which organic farmers in Wales acquired their knowledge about organic farming as they made the decisions to convert, during conversion and subsequently as they became more proficient organic farmers. It was designed to study the ways by which well embedded conventional family farmers went through this process, and how their knowledge-networks are reconfigured during conversion. The farmers in the study are categorised according to a range of characteristics and these categories are considered in exploring farmer associations and social learning activities. They are also related to farmer attitudes toward organic agriculture and farmers are categorised as different types of organic farmers

Developing the Welsh organic sector: knowledge sharing and learning processes

This paper follows research on how full-time family farmers learn about organic farming in Wales. The study surveys the sources and the support services used by farmers: as they made the decision to convert; during conversion; and as they became more proficient organic farmers. Whilst there are potentially extensive networks of knowledge sources ava ilable, organic farmers continue to be reliant on their own initiative, and show preference for learning from peer groups. However, farmers in the study also show differing expectations of organic farming, which is reflected in the ways that they learn about the system, and farmers’ learning processes are shown to be influenced both by their attitudes and motivations to business, as well as to organic conversion. Differentiation among organic farmers also indicates the differential ‘framing’ of organic farmers, organic agriculture, and sustainable agriculture in general. Such framing, and farmers’ response to it, affects the development of organic farming, and indicates how farmers and others act as co-producers of knowledge about organic agriculture. Interaction between organic and conventional farmers also shows potential to produce hybrid farming practices, the development of which may have implications for policy ranging from agri-environment to climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. The study explores the ways farmers interact in associations, analysis of which has made use of the Community of Practice (CoP) framework to explore social learning processes in agriculture. Understanding social learning processes is of general interest in extension practice, and this paper is, therefore, relevant to those working on extension methods and learning processes in agriculture, as well as to those interested in the development of organic and other alternative or innovative practices in Welsh agriculture

Social Learning among Organic Farmers and the Application of the Communities of Practice Framework

The paper examines social learning processes among organic farmers and explores the application of the Community of Practice (CoP) model in this context. The analysis employed utilises an approach based on the CoP model, and considers how, or whether, this approach may be useful to understand social learning among farmers. The CoP model is applied to case studies of social learning fora among organic farmers. The case studies are compiled from in-depth semi-structured interviews and participant observation with farmers and other actors, and the data are analysed with reference to three dimensions of the CoP model, namely mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoires. Farmers associate and engage in social learning more readily with peers determined by similar attitudes to farm business, farming styles and understanding of what organic agriculture entails. Such associations support the hypothesis that CoPs are self-organising structures that generate their knowledge in sympathy with community definition and identity. A CoP framework applied within relatively unstructured and dispersed communities, such as described in this paper, emphasises the fluid nature of CoPs, and their essentially self-organising nature. Extension approaches may be facilitated by regarding farmers as de-facto members of CoPs and by understanding how CoPs may form and develop. The CoP model is applied as a heuristic to examine social learning processes in organic farming