Knowledge Co-creation in Agroecology

Co-creating instead of transferring knowledge means recognizing diverse forms of knowledge and engaging in a collective process. What are some examples and what lessons can we learn from these processes of knowledge co-creation?

Overview | Researchers | Publications

Moving towards sustainable and just food systems requires the engagement of all us. Rather than pushing a technical solution decided by a small group of experts, agroecology cultivates the processes of co-creation of knowledge. It recognizes that each territory has its needs and the people living there are experts. It therefore combines the plurality of experiences to co-create the knowledge necessary for the transition. This plurality is transdisciplinary, meaning that it includes multiple academic disciplines as well as local, experiential and multi-generational knowledge. There are lessons to learn from each process of knowledge co-creation and we wish to collect and pass them on to foster and enrich other transitions for food-system transformation.     

 

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Overview

farmers in field of maize
Farmers and researchers from different parts of West Africa explore on-farm crop trials in Burkina Faso and create space for dialog and knowledge collaborations across diverse experiences.

 

The co-creation of knowledge in agroecological processes is one of the most important tenets to achieve more ecologically sound and socially just food systems. Knowledge that is place-based, transdisciplinary, critical, and open-access is considered critical to agroecology, an approach to sustainable agriculture premised on blending ecological science with farmers’ traditional and experiential knowledge (Bezner Kerr et al., 2023; HLPE, 2019; Méndez et al., 2015). Further, knowledge for sustainable food system transition requires different forms of knowledge that can be engendered through participatory action research and farmer-centered approaches, including farmer-to-farmer methods and farmer research networks (Méndez et al., 2017; Richardson et al., 2021; Utter et al., 2021). While the concept of “knowledge co-creation” is widely used, there is limited empirical research about the challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned in agroecological co-creation processes. This study focuses on the processes of co-creation of knowledge in agroecology within farmer research networks, and similar initiatives, which support agroecological transitions in smallholder farming contexts. To understand these knowledge co-creation processes, we will seek to answer the overarching questions guiding this research:

  1. In what ways do farmer-centered research projects and smallholder farmer research networks (FRNs), and other similar initiatives, understand and engage in knowledge co-creation in agroecology processes?
  2. What agroecology principles are manifest/upheld through the co-creation of knowledge in farmer research networks and other similar initiatives?
  3. How is the co-creation of agroecological knowledge nested within historical, socio-political-ecological, and scalar contexts and relationships? 

As part of the project outcomes, we will be able to:

  1. Discuss and compare how the co-creation of knowledge in agroecology is understood by different actors in different geographies and contexts.
  2. Discuss impacts that various approaches to knowledge co-creation have had in agroecology research, practice, and policy/movements.
  3. Describe the challenges and opportunities associated with the co-creation of knowledge in agroecology.
  4. Draw lessons learned from these cases and share them with those engaged in agroecology and food systems transformations at the local, national and global scales.
community meeting
Left: Taken during the Andean Community of Practice gathering, these images show participants from Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia using systems thinking to analyze agroecological policies. Right: This photo captures a community meeting in Chigani Alto, Bolivia, where PROSUCO shared a participatory diagnosis on covercropping, soil, and water health with Indigenous farmers. Photos by Amaya Carrasco-Torrontegui.

Methodology

Our proposed research approach includes a literature review on co-creation of knowledge in agroecology, desk-review of project documents, key informant interviews, listening sessions, and workshops using various co-creative and participatory approaches. We seek to develop collaborative relationships with agroecology project stakeholders, to refine the questions and research design, do data collection and reflection, and intended outcomes.

Researchers

Emily Baker Headshot

Emily Baker

Postdoctoral Associate

Ernesto Mendez

V. Ernesto Méndez

Co-Director, Institute for Agroecology • Professor of Agroecology and Environmental Studies, Department of Agriculture, Landscape, and Environment

Ernesto.Mendez@uvm.edu
Colin Anderson

Colin Anderson

Co-Director, Institute for Agroecology • Associate Research Professor, ALE (Agroecology, Landscape, and Environment)

colin.anderson@uvm.edu
Gabriela Bucini

Gabriela Bucini

Research Associate, Institute for Agroecology

Gabriela.Bucini@uvm.edu
Amaya Carrasco

Amaya M. Carrasco-Torrontegui

Postdoctoral Associate • Co-coordinator of Andes Region in Agroecology Support Team

Amaya.Carrasco@uvm.edu

Key Terms

Co-Creation of Knowledge

Body

Co-creation of knowledge: a process for both sharing and generating knowledge that is participatory and transdisciplinary. It integrates traditional, Indigenous and academic knowledge systems with a focus on equity, cooperation and community expertise.

Farmers Research Networks

Body

Farmers Research Networks: an association of farmer groups, working together with research and development organizations to facilitate access to technical, institutional, and financial support, which engages in research and is networked to share information and data (Nelson et al., 2019)

Agroecology Transitions through Co-Creation of Knowledge

Body

Agroecology transitions through co-creation of knowledge: collective processes, relationships, norms, principles and activities of knowledge co-creation that build paths towards agroecology or strengthen agroecology. 

Publications

Publications

Publications

Knowledge democratization approaches for food systems transformation

Brock, Samara, Lauren Baker, Amanda Jekums, Faris Ahmed, Margarita Fernandez, Maywa Montenegro de Wit, Francisco J. Rosado-May, V. Ernesto Méndez, Colin R. Anderson, Fabrice DeClerck, Molly D. Anderson, Rachel Bezner Kerr, Brendan Hoare, Hannah Wittman, Amaury Peeters, Peter Gubbels, Cerasela Stancu, Stéphane Bellon, Jonathan G. Lundgren, Swati Renduchintala, Vijay Thallam, Jane Maland Cady, and Paul Rogé | May 9, 2024 | Download Attachment

Nature Food. DOI: 10.1038/s43016-024-00966-3.

Co-creation of knowledge in agroecology

Alisha Utter, Alissa White, V. Ernesto Méndez and Katlyn Morris | November 9, 2021 |

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 9 (1): 10.1525/elementa.2021.00026. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2021.00026

Building agroecology with people. Challenges of participatory methods to deepen on the agroecological transition in different contexts

López-García, D., Cuéllar-Padilla, M., de Azevedo Olival, A., Laranjeira, N. P., Méndez, V. E., Peredo y Parada, S., . . . Tendero-Acín, G. | Download PDF

Journal of Rural Studies 83: 257-267. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.02.003

Project Funders