Learning communities and new farmer knowledge in Canada

Abstract

This research examines the agroecological learning processes of new farmers in Canada in order to understand the role of learning communities in transforming food systems. We consider how these learning communities represent new farmer engagement with agroecology and community-based economies as part of a global movement building alternatives to dominant capitalist and productivist food systems. In particular, we examine how the lack of formal education in agroecological alternatives in Canada is being overcome by these new farmers. Our results arise from interviews conducted in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba with new and aspiring farmers, mentors, and farmer trainers. Farmer learning networks were described and compared according to factors that include region, gender, years of experience, and production practices. These networks showed remarkable similarities across these categories, indicating the importance of informal networks and the relevance of relationships that support farmers on their learning journeys. Farmers placed the greatest value on social learning, followed by independent learning, whereas institutional learning had much less value. Farmers who did not know each other were learning in similar ways, indicating that they may be part of a broader agroecological movement which relies on global assemblages of neighbours, peers, online tools, and mentors. Farming knowledge, as a component of a reimagined, sustainable, and just food sovereignty movement, has the potential to change the way farming is practiced and to facilitate the emergence of alternative food systems in Canada and indeed the world.