On-farm experimentation practices and associated farmer-researcher relationships: a systematic literature review

Abstract

The convergence among the rise of digital technologies, the attention paid to the localized issues of transitions in practices toward agroecology, and the emergence of new open innovation models are renewing and reviving the scientific community’s interest in on-farm experimentation (OFE). This form of experimentation is claimed to be enhanced by digital tools as well as being an enabler of production of credible, salient, and legitimate science insofar as it embraces a farmer-centric perspective. However, the forms of research in which some experimental activities on farms are anchored vary greatly, notably with regard to the actual forms that interventions on farms take, the legitimacy of the actors involved and their roles, or the observations and instruments applied for interpretation. We propose a systematic review of the literature and an analytical framework in order to better understand this diversity of practices behind on-farm experimentation. Our analysis segregated six major publication clusters based on themes appearing in titles and abstracts. These themes guided a more in-depth analysis of representative articles, from which we identified seven types of OFE practices that are described and discussed here with regard to the knowledge targeted, roles of the various actors, and on-farm experimental space. Our typology provides an original basis for supporting reflexivity and building alignment between the above-mentioned dimensions and the ways in which new tools can support the experimental process.