TRANSLATING THE MULTIACTOR APPROACH TO RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE USING A WORKSHOP APPROACH FOCUSING ON SPECIES MIXTURES

Henrik Hauggaard-Nielsen ,Natalia Bellostas ,Maureen Stadel ,Søren Lund ,Jean‐Noël Aubertot ,Laurent Bedoussac ,Ane Kirstine Aare ,Pierre Hohmann ,Cairistiona F E Topp ,Iman Raj Chongtham ,Bertrand Pinel ,Erik Steen Jensen ,C A Watson ,Éric Justes

doi:10.15302/j-fase-2021416

Abstract

The EIP-Agri multiactor approach was exemplified during a 3-day workshop with 63 project participants from the EU H2020 funded project “Redesigning European cropping systems based on species MIXtures”. The objective was to share firsthand experience of participatory research among researchers who were mostly not familiar with this approach. Workshop participants were divided into smaller multidisciplinary groups and given the opportunity to interact with representatives from eight actor positions in the value chain of the agrifood cooperative Terrena located in Western France. The four stages of the workshop were: (1) key actor interviews, (2) sharing proposed solutions for overcoming barriers, and (3) developing possible interdisciplinary concepts. Expressions of frustration were recorded serving both as a motivation for group members to become more aware of the scientific concerns and practices of their colleagues, as well as a recognition that some researchers have better skills integrating qualitative approaches than others. Nevertheless, the workshop format was an effective way to gain a common understanding of the pertinent issues that need to be addressed to meet overall multiactor-approach objectives. Working with the actor networks was identified and emphasized as a means to overcome existing barriers between academia and practice in order to coproduce a shared vision of the benefits of species mixture benefits.

Highlights

Benefiting from plant−plant interactions[1,2,3], species mixtures, the simultaneous cultivation of at least two species in the same field, have been grown since ancient times[4,5]
The EIP-Agri multiactor approach was exemplified during a 3-day workshop with 63 project participants from the EU H2020 funded project “Redesigning European cropping systems based on species MIXtures”
The workshop participants came to understand that species mixtures are primarily an advantage for the production part of the Terrena value chain (Table 1) rather than the processing part

Summary

Introduction

Benefiting from plant−plant interactions[1,2,3], species mixtures, the simultaneous cultivation of at least two species in the same field, have been grown since ancient times[4,5] This agroecology strategy is shown to substantially improve land use efficiency[6] and contribute to productive and resilient and environmentally-friendly cropping systems less dependent on external inputs[7,8,9] operating with competitive and facilitative interactions within the crop[10,11]. This contrasts with the current dominating cropping practices with large areas of monocultured species using modern cultivars narrowing the genetic base of crops[12]. Novel project designs and structure are needed including the idea that innovative farming practices can be developed as elements of multilevel sociotechnical systems[15,16]

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Discussion

Conclusion