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

Kummer, Susanne

Leitgeb, Friedrich

Ninio, Racheli

Vogl, Christian Reinhard

English

Organic Eprints

16th IFOAM Organic World Congress, Modena, Italy, June 16-20, 2008 Archived at http://orgprints.org/view/projects/conference.html How do farmers research and learn? The example of  organic farmers’ experiments and innovations:  A research concept Kummer, S.1, Ninio, R.1, Leitgeb, F.1 & Vogl, C.R.1  Key words: Farmers’ experiments, Organic farming, Local knowledge. Abstract 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. Introduction The history of farming shows how farmers have constantly developed and adapted their farming systems to changing agro-ecological and socioeconomic conditions. Farmers have an intimate knowledge of their local environment, conditions, problems, priorities, and criteria for evaluation, and they are actively engaged in experimentation as a part of their farming routine (Chambers et al. 1989, Rhoades and Bebbington, 1995, Sumberg and Okali, 1997). Organic farming research developed through pioneer farmers and scientists in the 1920s. Formal scientific research activities began in the 1970s through a few private research institutes. Organic farming chairs at universities and organic farming projects at state research institutes were only established later (Niggli and Willer, 2000). Therefore, organic farmers themselves have been responsible for most of the advances and innovations in organic farming, and have always researched topics pertinent to their production systems. Not surprisingly then, organic farmers have become the leaders and experts in this field (Bull 2000; Scialabba and Hattam, 2002). Through investigating farmers’ experimental processes, formal researchers can broaden their epistemological base by understanding the importance of observation and experience, as well as tacit knowledge, and by learning from farmers’ strategies how to deal with complexity (Hoffmann et al., 2007).                                                    1 Working Group for Knowledge Systems and Innovations, Division of Organic Farming, Department for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Gregor Mendel Str. 33, A-1180 Wien. E-Mail: orgexp@boku.ac.at  16th IFOAM Organic World Congress, Modena, Italy, June 16-20, 2008 Archived at http://orgprints.org/view/projects/conference.html Objectives A research project about organic farmers’ experiments and learning processes is carried out between January 2007 and December 2008. The objectives of the project are: • to generate empirical knowledge on the processes by which organic farmers’ local knowledge is created (Figure 1);  • to identify and define motives, topics, methods and outcomes of farmers’ experiments; • to understand the factors associated with variation in organic farmers’ experiments within and among sites; • to define the links between organic farmers’ experiments and the local agricultural communication systems; and • to understand the role that experimentation plays as a mode of learning and a strategy to deal with changes.   Adaptation of a common solutionTrying a new ideaResearch process:experimentsabout a specific topic with a specificmethodologyInterveningfactors(environmental,social,personal,etc.)CommunicationsystemsResultsFailureAdoption of a solutionwithout further adaptation...InventionLocal innovationAdaptationagronomiceconomic socialProblemor “topic”  Figure 1: The research process as context to study farmers’ experiments  Methods The research project is conducted in Austria, Cuba and Israel by 3 PhD-students, as well as several master students. The countries were selected to represent organic 16th IFOAM Organic World Congress, Modena, Italy, June 16-20, 2008 Archived at http://orgprints.org/view/projects/conference.html farmers in i) different environmental conditions ii) different agricultural systems iii) different socio-economic conditions and iv) different phases of the organic farming movement.  The first field research phase of the project was carried out between July and December 2007. In the first field phase, 40 to 50 personal in-depth interviews with organic farmers, as well as several interviews with experts (e.g. advisors of organic farmers’ institutions, scientists, etc.) were completed in each country. A purposeful stratified sample, based on maximum variation regarding agricultural zones, farm structure, infrastructural conditions, and types of farmers was applied. Farm walks as well as photographic documentation were realized in the course of the visit on organic farms to complement the interviews. Timelines were used to track changes at the farm level, based on the hypothesis that changes are either triggers for experimentation or the results of experiments. Recorded interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed with the help of the software package Atlas.Ti©. This first qualitative analysis is currently going on. Structured quantitative data (sociodemographic and farm data) was stored in an Access Database and facilitates a multivariate analysis with specialized software packages (e.g. SPSS). Conclusions Farmers’ experiments are one important source of information and knowledge that supports the evolution of agricultural practices and systems (Rhoades and Bebbington, 1995; Sumberg and Okali, 1997). Organic farmers gain practical experience and build up local knowledge by experimenting. Practical experience, accumulated wisdom and traditional knowledge offer valid solutions, tested by time (IFOAM, 2005). Numerous recent publications draw attention to farmers’ experiments and local innovations (e.g. Reij and Waters-Bayer, 2001, Bentley, 2006, ILEIA, 2000), mostly by using case studies of peasant farmers in developing countries. To develop a comprehensive understanding of farmers’ research, it is important not only to focus on marginal areas, but to consider diverse social, political and natural conditions. Furthermore, there has been little attempt to look systematically at the nature, characteristics, and the factors associated with the experimental processes of farmers.  Advances and innovations in organic agriculture have so far been done mainly by organic farmers themselves. These processes of experimentation and innovation in organic farming have not yet been assessed scientifically. Understanding which role farmers’ experiments play, improves our understanding and knowledge on the complex interactions that organic farmers face in their daily farming practices. Conducting a comparative study about organic farmers’ experiments in three different countries permits us to determine the nature of farmers’ experimentations. Furthermore the factors associated with variations in the experimental processes, within and among sites are being analyzed. This research contributes to the study of learning processes, and enhances the understanding of the links between organic farmers’ experiments and local agricultural communication systems.   16th IFOAM Organic World Congress, Modena, Italy, June 16-20, 2008 Archived at http://orgprints.org/view/projects/conference.html Acknowledgments We acknowledge the funding of this research by the Austrian Science Foundation (FWF). We further want to thank Kendra Leek for her helpful comments. References  Bentley, J. W. (2006): Folk experiments. Agriculture and Human Values, 23:451-462. Bull, C. T. (2000): Research models for maximizing the impact of organic research conducted with limited resources. In Alföldi, T. (ed.): Future of organic farming. Proceedings 13th IFOAM Scientific Conference in Basel, 29.-31.8.2000. FiBL, Zürich.  Chambers, R., Pacey, A. and Thrupp, L. A. (eds.) (1989): Farmer first: Farmer Innovation and Agricultural Research. IT Publications, London, 219 p. Hoffmann, V., Probst, K., Christinck, A. (2007): Farmers and researchers: How can collaborative advantages be created in participatory research and technology development? Agriculture and Human Values, 24:355-368. IFOAM (2005): Principles of Organic Agriculture. Bonn, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. http://www.ifoam.org/about_ifoam/principles/index.html, (accessed 2007-10-18). ILEIA (2000): Grassroots innovation. Newsletter for Low External Input and Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA), 16 (2). Niggli, U. and Willer, H. (2000): Organic agricultural research in Europe – present state and future prospects. In Alföldi, Thomas (ed.): Future of organic farming. Proceedings 13th IFOAM Scientific Conference in Basel, 29.-31.8.2000. FiBL, Zürich.  Reij, C. and Waters-Bayer, A. (eds.) (2001): Farmer Innovation in Africa. A Source of Inspiration for Agricultural Development. Earthscan Publications Ltd, London, 362 p. Rhoades, R. and Bebbington, A. (1995): Farmers Who Experiment: An untapped resource for agricultural research and development. In Warren, D. M., Slikkerveer, L. J. and Brokensha, D. (eds.): The Cultural Dimension of Development. Indigenous Knowledge Systems. Intermediate Technology Publications, London, 296-307. Scialabba, N. and Hattam, C. (eds) (2002): Organic agriculture, environment and food security. Environment and Natural Resources Series No. 4. FAO, Rome.  Sumberg, J and Okali, C. (1997): Farmers´ Experiments. Creating Local Knowledge. London, Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc, 185 p. 

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

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