Farmers' Visions on Soils: A Case Study among Agroecological and Conventional Smallholders in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Autor/inn/en	Klingen, Klarien Elisabeth; De Graaff, Jan; Botelho, Maria Izabel Vieira; Kessler, Aad
Titel	Farmers' Visions on Soils: A Case Study among Agroecological and Conventional Smallholders in Minas Gerais, Brazil
Quelle	In: Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 18 (2012) 2, S.175-189 (15 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1389-224X
DOI	10.1080/1389224X.2012.655969
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Hypothesis Testing; Public Policy; Policy Formation; Social Networks; Developing Nations; Agricultural Production; Agricultural Skills; Agricultural Occupations; Economic Development; Rural Development; Case Studies; Environmental Influences; Conservation (Environment); Sustainable Development; Ecological Factors; Land Use; Interviews; Comparative Analysis; Brazil + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Hypothesenprüfung; Hypothesentest; Öffentliche Ordnung; Politische Betätigung; Social network; Soziales Netzwerk; Developing country; Developing countries; Entwicklungsland; Agriculture; Production; Landwirtschaft; Produktion; Agrarproduktion; Landwirtschaftliche Produktion; Occupation; Beruf; Landwirtschaftlicher Beruf; Wirtschaftsentwicklung; Rural environment; Development; Ländliches Milieu; Entwicklung; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Environmental influence; Umwelteinfluss; Conservation; Environment; Konservierung; Bewahung; Umwelt; Nachhaltige Entwicklung; Ökologischer Ansatz; Bodennutzung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Brasilien
Abstract	Purpose: Why do farmers not take better care of their soils? This article aims to give insight into how farmers look at soil quality management. Design/methodology/approach: It analyses diverse land management practices and visions on soils and soil quality of ten agroecological and 14 conventional smallholder farmers in Araponga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. As agroecological farming (that is, managing soils with minimum use of external inputs) requires more complex knowledge, it is assumed that agroecological farmers would be more knowledgeable on soils compared to conventional farmers. This case study tests the hypothesis that differences in land management practices between agroecological and conventional farmers can be explained by differences in their knowledge on soils. Findings: The hypothesis turned out to be faulty: agroecological and conventional farmers do not differ in what they know about soils, but how they use their knowledge in their farming strategy. Both groups of farmers have different but rational farming strategies. Practical implications: Designing policies and measures to make farming more environmentally friendly and more sustainable as two-way knowledge exchange between farmers and science (and not as one-way knowledge transfer from science to farmers), to benefit from vital and context-based farmers' knowledge and to ensure successful implementation of more sustainable land management practices. Originality/value: By analysing farmers' visions on soil quality management and farming strategies, this study shows that farmers' knowledge is valuable for farmers, for scientific knowledge on soil quality management and for policies which are to be effective and adapted to the local environment. (Contains 9 tables and 1 figure.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10