From ‘weak’ to ‘strong’ multifunctionality: Conceptualising farm-level multifunctional transitional pathways

Wilson, Geoff A.

doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2007.12.010

Cited by 387 publications

(343 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Transition management is seen as a form of participatory policy-making based on complex systems thinking (Foxon et al 2009). In agriculture, the term "transition" is used to indicate a reconfiguration of activities within the farm (Wilson 2008;Lamine 2011) but also as a radical change in agriculture or sub-sectors most often at national or higher levels and, more recently, at local to regional levels. Such transitions may take place in a middle-to longterm time span (Darnhofer 2015).…”

Section: Challenges Of the Transition To Biodiversity-based Agricultumentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing agroecological transitions; A review

Duru

Thérond

Fares

2015

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

367

230

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Concerns about the negative impacts of productivist agriculture have led to the emergence of two forms of ecological modernisation of agriculture. The first, efficiency-substitution agriculture, aims to improve input use efficiency and to minimise environmental impacts of modern farming systems. It is currently the dominant modernisation pathway. The second, biodiversity-based agriculture, aims to develop ecosystem services provided by biological diversity. It currently exists only as a niche. Here we review challenges of implementing biodiversity-based agriculture: managing, at the local level, a consistent transition within and among farming systems, supply chains and natural resource management. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of existing conceptual frameworks developed to analyse farming, socialecological and socio-technical systems. Then we present an integrative framework tailored for structuring analysis of agriculture from the perspective of developing a territorial biodiversity-based agriculture. In addition, we propose a participatory methodology to design this agroecological transition at the local level. This design methodology was developed to support a multi-stakeholder arena in analysing the current situation, identifying future exogenous changes and designing (1) targeted territorial biodiversity-based agriculture, (2) the pathway of the transition and (3) the required adaptive governance structures and management strategies. We conclude by analysing key challenges of designing such a complex transition, developing multi-actor and multidomain approaches based on a combination of scientific and experiential knowledge and on building suitable boundary objects (computer-based and conceptual models, indicators, etc.) to assess innovative systems designed by stakeholders.

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Section: Challenges Of the Transition To Biodiversity-based Agricultumentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing agroecological transitions; A review

Duru

Thérond

Fares

2015

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

367

230

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“…Since farming profitability is lower in mountain as compared to lowland areas, and the economic subsidies of agricultural policies have been unable to compensate for this gap (Bazin, 1995), it has been suggested that the economic viability of traditional, extensive farming should be promoted through a "multifunctional farming" approach (Wilson, 2008). In this approach, the lower productivity of extensive production practices should be compensated by increasing the farm revenues through direct processing and marketing of products, agro-tourism activities, and public contribution for the landscape maintenance and use of environmentally friendly practices (Mac Donald et al, 2000;Bonsembiante and Cozzi, 2005).…”

Section: Livestock Systems In Italian Alpsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It comprises traditional farms that have been unable to adopt modern, intensive practices, but also farms that aim to maintain profitability of farming by diversifying income sources instead of intensifying production. In many European rural areas development of multifunctional production systems with high quality products is an alternative strategy to create additional revenues to farming (Wilson et al, 2008).…”

Section: Livestock Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Livestock systems and farming styles in Eastern Italian Alps: an on-farm survey

Sturaro

Cocca

Gallo

et al. 2009

Italian Journal of Animal Science

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this research aimed to study the relationships between livestock systems, landscape maintenance and farming styles in the belluno Province, a mountainous area of the Eastern Italian Alps. A total of 65 farms were sampled on the basis of livestock category farmed and herd size. Farms were visited to collect information on technical and productive aspects, on landscape features of land managed, which was identified by aerial photographs and digitised in a GIS environment, and on the farmers' background, attitudes and approach to farming. Six different livestock systems were identified: intensive beef cattle (2 farms); extensive beef cattle (12 farms); large sheep/goat farms (9 farms); small sheep/goat farms (6 farms); intensive dairy cattle (14 farms) and extensive dairy cattle (22 farms). The intensive systems had larger herds, modern structures and equipment, and were strongly production oriented, whereas the extensive systems had smaller herds and productivity, with often traditional or obsolete structures and equipment, but showed a tendency to diversify production by means of on-farm cheese making and/or mixed farming of different livestock categories. the ability to maintain meadows and pastures was greater for the extensive systems, especially in steep areas, while the annual nitrogen output, estimated as kg N/ha, was lower. Data on the farmers' background and attitudes were analysed with a non-hierarchical cluster procedure that clustered the farmers into 4 farming styles widely different in motivations to farming, innovative capability, and ability to diversify income sources and ensure farm economic viability. the farming styles were distributed across all livestock systems, indicating the lack of a linkage between the assignment of a farm to a livestock system and the way the farm is managed. this study demonstrates that in mountain areas variability of livestock systems may be high, and that they differ not only in production practices but also in the ability to maintain landscape, which is generally higher in the extensive or even marginal systems. Within a given livestock system, farms may be managed with different styles, which implies that informative knowledge to address policy decisions needs to integrate the definition of livestock systems with the assessment of farming styles.

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“…According to this approach, the reasons and decisions behind the choice to undertake multifunctional agriculture merit particular attention. In this context, greater attention is needed in the analysis at the farm level, for it is at this level that we find the "most direct expression of multifunctional action and thought" (Wilson, 2008). In fact, the distinctive feature of what Wilson (2008) calls 'strong multifunctionality' is the social and cultural transformation that takes place within the farm and that implies a heightened awareness of the farmer's contribution to society.…”

Section: Taking a Look At The Puzzle Of Multifunctionalitymentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Besides these goods, other types of services that influence the quality of life and the vitality of rural areas are also extremely important (Renting et al, 2008), such as the creation of employment and the effect of agricultural activity on local production. At the basis of the capacity of farms to develop this range of functions, three key elements have been identified: the awareness of the farmer's social role, the reorganisation of farm production factors, and the relations with other stakeholders in the territory (Brunori, 2003;Wilson, 2007Wilson, , 2008. According to this approach, the reasons and decisions behind the choice to undertake multifunctional agriculture merit particular attention.…”

Section: Taking a Look At The Puzzle Of Multifunctionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Paths to developing multifunctional agriculture: insights for rural development policies

Casini

Contini

Romano

2012

IJARGE

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Abstract:The paper proposes to contribute to the growing literature on the practise and significance of multifunctional agriculture, drawing on an empirical study of 50 farms located in Central Italy and Sicily. The paper intends, in particular, to identify and analyse the ways that multifunctionality can be translated into rural development models, and to distinguish the territorial and farm features that favour the development of agricultural practices whose strength lies in supplying non-market goods and services. The results enable us to draw guidelines for public intervention aimed at promoting the diffusion of development models that integrate traditional farming processes and ways to internalise externalities.

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From ‘weak’ to ‘strong’ multifunctionality: Conceptualising farm-level multifunctional transitional pathways

Cited by 387 publications

References 56 publications

Designing agroecological transitions; A review

Designing agroecological transitions; A review

Livestock systems and farming styles in Eastern Italian Alps: an on-farm survey

Paths to developing multifunctional agriculture: insights for rural development policies

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