Transformative change of agri-food systems through farmer-centric on-farm experimentation: The current research landscape and recommendations
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Various actors working in agriculture have repeatedly called for transformative change to radically restructure agri-food systems amidst ongoing and intensifying climate change. Farmer-centric on-farm experimentation (OFE) has emerged from this landscape as a research process which aims to centralize farmers’ endogenous experimentation and democratize relationships between scientists, farmers, and other stakeholders in agri-food systems as means of enacting transformative change. However, little is known both about how farmers experiment on their farms along with how farmer-centric OFE operationalizes change. This thesis approaches these challenges through (1) a systematic literature review of farmer-centric OFE to understand how transformative change is implemented in practice and (2) a survey of farmers in New York State to understand endogenous experimentation practices and how to develop collaborative programs based on these practices. Findings reveal that farmer-centric OFE is heterogeneous in its implementation but can draw from methodologies and paradigms used in critical social sciences to better engage in political questions that limit transformative change. Additionally, the place-based character of farmers’ endogenous experimentation along with high levels of interest in collaborative experimentation indicate that farmer-centric OFE has potential for implementation but must remain attentive to the conditions farmers are working in.