TY - JOUR
T1 - A transdisciplinary study of agroecological niches
T2 - understanding sustainability transitions in vineyards
AU - Teschner, Naama
AU - Orenstein, Daniel E.
N1 - Funding Information:
The second, related, indicator for a successful niche creation is therefore the willingness of various stakeholders to be engaged in a joint venture of niche management. Studies do caution about the limits of cooperation along food supply chains, especially when vested interests of cost-reductions are dominant (see Schäfer in this journal). Yet, in the current study, the transdisciplinary research design that included stakeholders’ roundtable, was effective in creating a forum for facilitating communication between diverse stakeholders during the transition process, increasing trust between actors from the various sectors and identifying key issues of concern (e.g., risk and associated costs) to better align the interests of farmers, wine-makers, and ecologists, as depicted in Fig. . This outcome was supported by the decision of the participating winery to renew financial support for the study, enabling the continuity of the two parts of the study (the ecological and the social) for several successive years.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.
PY - 2022/3/1
Y1 - 2022/3/1
N2 - Despite a widely agreed necessity for agroecological transition, there are various substantial constraints that hinder the adoption of alternative, more sustainable, practices. We employ the niche management concept to examine the initial phases of transition in the local wine-growing niche in Israel, or specifically, the replacement of herbicides with the use of cover-crops combined with the practice of mowing of herbaceous growth using specialized trimming machines. Our goal is to uncover the triggers, drivers and agents of change in farming practices within the agroecological system in which it happened, despite entrenched, widely recognized risk perceptions among farmers. The problem-oriented research design revolved around a transdiciplinary team that included ecologists and social scientists. We identified three groups of frontrunners who initiated, developed and sustained the adoption of the more sustainable agricultural practices. The two-year study focused on interviewing vineyard farmers who were transitioning to cover crops, and this qualitative research was paralleled with continuous ecological monitoring. The farmers believed that the risks inherent in the new practice, if any, were preventable and manageable. The transdisciplinary research design, which integrated farmers into the social and ecological research process, further assisted in facilitating a transition by creating a forum for stimulating communication between diverse stakeholders during the transition, increasing trust between actors from the various sectors and identifying key issues of concern (e.g., risk and associated costs) to better align the motives of farmers, wine-makers, and ecologists. The research design may have also contributed to the adoption of a more holistic view of the agroecological system by various stakeholders and the belief that one cultivation method clearly benefits the system, particularly in the long-term. We therefore conclude with key-insights on the role of the research itself in agroecological transition processes.
AB - Despite a widely agreed necessity for agroecological transition, there are various substantial constraints that hinder the adoption of alternative, more sustainable, practices. We employ the niche management concept to examine the initial phases of transition in the local wine-growing niche in Israel, or specifically, the replacement of herbicides with the use of cover-crops combined with the practice of mowing of herbaceous growth using specialized trimming machines. Our goal is to uncover the triggers, drivers and agents of change in farming practices within the agroecological system in which it happened, despite entrenched, widely recognized risk perceptions among farmers. The problem-oriented research design revolved around a transdiciplinary team that included ecologists and social scientists. We identified three groups of frontrunners who initiated, developed and sustained the adoption of the more sustainable agricultural practices. The two-year study focused on interviewing vineyard farmers who were transitioning to cover crops, and this qualitative research was paralleled with continuous ecological monitoring. The farmers believed that the risks inherent in the new practice, if any, were preventable and manageable. The transdisciplinary research design, which integrated farmers into the social and ecological research process, further assisted in facilitating a transition by creating a forum for stimulating communication between diverse stakeholders during the transition, increasing trust between actors from the various sectors and identifying key issues of concern (e.g., risk and associated costs) to better align the motives of farmers, wine-makers, and ecologists. The research design may have also contributed to the adoption of a more holistic view of the agroecological system by various stakeholders and the belief that one cultivation method clearly benefits the system, particularly in the long-term. We therefore conclude with key-insights on the role of the research itself in agroecological transition processes.
KW - Agroecological transitions
KW - Cover-crops
KW - Frontrunners
KW - Niche management
KW - Transdisciplinary research
KW - Vineyards
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106413806&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10460-021-10220-2
DO - 10.1007/s10460-021-10220-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85106413806
SN - 0889-048X
VL - 39
SP - 33
EP - 45
JO - Agriculture and Human Values
JF - Agriculture and Human Values
IS - 1
ER -