‘Slow to change’: Farmers’ perceptions of place-based barriers to sustainable agriculture

Abstract

Smallholder farmers are an important and growing segment of the farm population in Indiana and in the USA. Past research regarding farmer decision-making has been inconsistent and has largely focused on the larger-scale, conventional farmer, leaving smallholders poorly understood. There is a need to better understand the management decisions of smallholder farmers within their regional context to promote efforts toward environmental, social and economic sustainability. Through in-depth qualitative inquiry, this study investigated the impact of regional factors that influence farmers’ decisions and the barriers and opportunities most relevant to farm viability and sustainability in the context of East Central Indiana (ECI). Semi-structured interviews with 15 key informants and 33 farmers informed our understanding of the factors most relevant to small-scale farming in the region. Several important themes emerged related to perceived barriers to sustainable farm management, including markets; structures and regulations; time and labor; environmental/ecological factors; and networking and access to educational support. The results of this study complement the findings of previous work that describe the complex framework farmers navigate when making decisions on the farm. Further, subtle regional factors emerged that significantly impact farmers’ decisions, emphasizing the importance of local context in crafting agricultural policies and outreach efforts. Implications and recommendations for ECI are discussed.

Local Challenges and Successes Associated with Transitioning to Sustainable Food System Practices for a West Australian Context: Multi-Sector Stakeholder Perceptions

“…Food system actors that were interviewed to shape the Foodprint Melbourne report highlighted policy issues such as the siloed, piecemeal approach to food systems [35] that similarly slowed action. Furthermore, inadequate local infrastructure, such as equipment, local labour and storage, further precluded progress towards sustainable food system practices, which is consistent with other studies [36].…”

“…An additional challenge reported was environmental factors, and included soil degradation and an unreliable water supply which confounded poor soil quality that was evident in current farming practices, potentially affecting the ease and cost of transition to sustainable agriculture. Grover and Gruver [36] conducted place-based research in the United States, to explore the slow adaptive process of sustainable farming and found poor soils contributed to a slower uptake of these practices. There is also evidence of studies in Africa that discuss more sustainable water management practices and recommends that governing institutions provide more guidance and work with producers to ensure sustainable practices are embedded and maintained to foster local water security [38].…”

Gender, place, and agricultural extension: a mixed-methods approach to understand farmer needs in Liberia

“…Previous studies suggest that place influences agricultural productivity, what farmers need to be successful, and their access to resources (Grover and Gruver 2017). Postconflict countries face additional challenges related to place, such as restricted access due to limited infrastructure, outmigration, mortality of young men, and detrimental gender norms (Tacoli and Mabala 2010;Tripp 2015).…”

Synthesizing Conservation Motivations and Barriers: What Have We Learned from Qualitative Studies of Farmers’ Behaviors in the United States?

“…During the past decade, more qualitative research has emerged than in the past perhaps because journals and reviewers have become more open to publishing qualitative research in the agricultural field (see Prokopy 2011 for discussion of biases against publishing qualitative data). These data, in farmers' own words, enrich our understanding of conservation behaviors, while documenting both motivations and barriers to adoption (Roesch-McNally et al 2017;King, Baker, and Tomlinson 2017;Mattia, Lovell, and Davis 2016;Grover and Gruver 2017). Although the number of qualitative studies has grown over the years, current scholarship lacks a qualitative synthesis.…”