Knowledge production and dissemination in sustainable agriculture as a transdisciplinary process – experiences from Switzerland

Abstract

Implementation of innovation is traditionally described by the term “knowledge transfer”. It is mainly seen as a linear, one dimensional process and implies that technologies are supposed to be developed by research and transferred by extension services to users. Based on first insights into two research projects related to present experiences in soil conservation and to the evolution of organic agriculture in Switzerland it can be shown that the “linear model of knowledge transfer” is too limiting to address societal knowledge production for sustainable development. There is evidence that the described classical conceptions of knowledge production do not reflect the communication and innovation processes which have to be understood as a result of an interplay between everyday life and the structures in which it is embedded. Classical models imply a separation between the places, institutions and actors in the process of knowledge production at the one hand and knowledge use at the other. However, in practice the knowledge system of agriculture is much more complex. Farmer-to-farmer interactions and the knowledge backflow from farmers to researchers, extensionists and policy makers should not be neglected. Yet knowledge is exchanged and co-produced rather than transferred between these actors acting at different societal levels.