Wellbeing, environmental sustainability and profitability: Including plurality of logics in participatory extension programmes for enhanced farmer resilience

Abstract

Environmental sustainability and economic challenges are requiring significant change in the agricultural sector, and this is driving an increased focus on farmer and farm business resilience. Participatory extension programmes (PEPs) are a well‐known approach for supporting farmer change. The objective of this article is to explore how a PEP based on peer‐to‐peer learning can support farmers in increasing resilience. Our study examines the interaction of wellbeing, environmental change and profitability through the applications of an institutional logics evaluation framework. We interviewed 24 participants in a PEP based in Northland, New Zealand. Findings show that PEPs can provide a safe space to discuss wellbeing challenges and link farmers with networks to support them on their wellbeing journey. We found that farmer wellbeing is intrinsically linked to other pressures that farmers face around profitability and sustainability, and therefore PEPs need to balance these three pillars. This article adds to the current literature by expanding an institutional logics evaluation framework and identifying the role of different actors in change mechanisms.

Building connections in health and wellbeing education: Qualitative findings of a study with New Zealand agricultural students

“…The study adds to the limited literature on the connection between educators and students in mental health workshops in a rural context (Knook et al, 2022b; Stanley-Clarke, 2019). While the findings cannot be generalised due to sample selection and size, they add to learning and are relevant to the delivery of mental health wellbeing programmes to agricultural students by stressing the importance of relationships and building connection.…”

“…One way of building wellbeing resilience is by introducing those working and living in farms to aspects of wellbeing via extension and education programmes (Knook et al, 2022b). These programmes can be helpful in conveying mental health concepts to those who come from rural communities, such as university students (Stallman and Shochet, 2009).…”

“…This article reports on qualitative findings from a mixed-methods evaluation of WellMates, a university educational mental health programme in New Zealand targeted towards first-year students of agriculture. The development and delivery of this wellbeing programme was prompted by a concern from academic staff at one of the universities in reaction to suicide deaths of rurally based alumni; the high rates of suicide attached to rural communities in New Zealand and an identified gap in terms of wellbeing programmes for agricultural university students (Beautrais, 2018; Knook et al, 2022b; Stanley-Clarke, 2019).…”

Farming wellbeing through and beyond COVID‐19: Stressors, gender differences and landscapes of support

“…The final article by Knook et al. (2023) furthers our evaluation of support interventions for farmer wellbeing. The authors examine profitability, environmental and wellbeing change amongst farmers participating in a participatory extension programme (PEP) in Aotearoa‐New Zealand.…”

Contribution of Pluralistic Agriculture Extension Service Provision to Smallholder Farmer Resilience

“…The qualitative agriculture extension systems studies indicate that aspects such as formal and technical knowledge, governance, polycentric management structures, social capital, human capital, physical capital, natural capital, and social capital are linked to farmer resilience (Bhowmik et al 2021;Kliem, 2022;Meuwissen et al 2019). Other qualitative studies also identified the agriculture extension factors that contribute to building farmer resilience (Hunt et al 2011;Knook et al 2023), however, the magnitude of the relationship is yet unknown. Studies on the effect of agricultural policies on resilience also revealed the influence of agricultural policies on farming systems' resilience (Buitenhuis et al 2020;Thorsøe et al 2020).…”