Abstract
AbstractAgricultural science has produced compelling data to show that soil biota may be exploited to increase agricultural efficiency. However, field application is entirely dependent on farmers’ knowledge. This study assessed current New Zealand dairy farmer’s soil management practices, knowledge on earthworms and soil microbes and their willingness to monitor and manage them for nutrient use efficiency. Farmers indicated that soil quality influences their farms’ overall success with 84% acknowledging that it is enhanced by irrigation and effluent application practices. Although they indicated that earthworms and soil microbes are responsive to management, there were clear gaps in implementation at the farm scale level. For example only 6% of the respondents used soil microbes as soil quality indicators. Scientific findings are not transmitted adequately to farmers, who increasingly rely on scientific expertise to maintain or boost production. Farmers are willing to monitor and use earthworms and soil m...
Highlights
Farmer’s local Knowledge has been valuable in the maintenance and management of the environment and natural resources in developing countries (Sillitoe, 1998)
Because of the complexity and need for farmers to adopt these practices in their day-to-day soil management practices, it is significant to seek their knowledge. It is with this background that this study investigated farmer awareness of soil quality, factors underlying their interactions with soil and their motivation in making soil management decisions
Factors farmers consider important in the success of their farming operations Among the factors listed, farmers considered soil quality to be the most important contributor to the overall economic, social and environmental success of their farming operations (Table 1)
Summary
Farmer’s local Knowledge has been valuable in the maintenance and management of the environment and natural resources in developing countries (Sillitoe, 1998). This practical knowledge is traditionally learned by practice and transmitted through generations of families (Berkes, Folke, & Gadgil, 1995; Berkes, Colding, & Folke, 2000; Walters & Holling, 1990). Farmers have readily adopted scientific knowledge into their soil and wider farm management practices (Morgan & Murdoch, 2000). Uncritical adoption of reductionist science has contributed substantially to reduced sustainability in some industrial-scale agricultural systems, e.g. through soil degradation, pollution and loss of biodiversity. Relying only on technical fixes based on expert knowledge might leave little space for farmer input and discourage the transmission and trust in farmer knowledge tuned to local farming conditions
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