Enhancing farmers' agency is a more effective extension paradigm: The case of soil health management in Africa

IF 6.1 1区农林科学 Q1 AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY Agricultural Systems Pub Date : 2025-02-18 DOI:10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104267

Chima Rickards , Paswel Marenya , Mazvita Chiduwa , Anton Eitzinger , Monica Fisher , Sieglinde Snapp

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Abstract

CONTEXT

Climate change, volatile markets, and local resource variability pose significant challenges to sustainable agricultural development, particularly in soil health management. Despite extensive scientific research, the adoption of soil health solutions (SHS) among smallholder farmers in Africa remains low, highlighting a gap between research and practical implementation.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the role of farmer agency in enhancing the effectiveness of agricultural extension models, with a focus on soil health management. The paper aims to demonstrate how empowering farmers to innovate and adapt both local and scientific knowledge can lead to more efficient and sustainable agricultural systems.

METHODS

This paper presents a review and perspective on the importance of farmer agency in sustainable soil management and agriculture extension more generally. It examines current limitations in research and extension systems, discusses the need for hyper-localisation of soil health practices, and proposes solutions for integrating farmer agency into agricultural development programmes.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

The review identifies several factors that enhance farmer agency, including education, economic opportunities, social networks, and supportive policies. It concludes that fostering farmer agency is crucial for improving soil health outcomes and driving sustainable agricultural transformation. The paper proposes guiding principles for policies and programmes aimed at elevating farmer decision-making power, including farmer-centred learning platforms, digital tools, and initiatives that strengthen social capital within farming communities.

SIGNIFICANCE

This perspective highlights the critical role of farmer agency in bridging the gap between scientific research and practical implementation of sustainable soil management practices. By emphasising the importance of empowering farmers as autonomous decision-makers, the paper provides a framework for more effective agricultural extension and development programming. This approach has the potential to significantly improve the adoption and adaptation of SHS, leading to more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems in Africa.

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加强农民的能动性是一种更有效的推广模式：非洲土壤健康管理的案例

气候变化、市场波动和当地资源多变性对可持续农业发展，特别是土壤健康管理构成重大挑战。尽管进行了广泛的科学研究，但非洲小农对土壤健康解决方案（SHS）的采用率仍然很低，这凸显了研究与实际实施之间的差距。目的以土壤健康管理为重点，探讨农民代理在提高农业推广模式有效性中的作用。这篇论文的目的是展示赋予农民创新和适应地方和科学知识的能力如何能够导致更有效和可持续的农业系统。方法综述和展望农民在土壤可持续管理和农业推广中的重要性。它审查了目前研究和推广系统的局限性，讨论了土壤健康实践高度本地化的必要性，并提出了将农民机构纳入农业发展计划的解决方案。结果和结论本综述确定了提高农民能动性的几个因素，包括教育、经济机会、社会网络和支持性政策。报告的结论是，培养农民能动性对于改善土壤健康成果和推动可持续农业转型至关重要。该文件提出了旨在提高农民决策权的政策和计划的指导原则，包括以农民为中心的学习平台、数字工具和加强农业社区社会资本的举措。这一观点强调了农民机构在弥合科学研究与可持续土壤管理实践的实际实施之间的差距方面的关键作用。通过强调赋予农民作为自主决策者的权力的重要性，该文件为更有效的农业推广和发展规划提供了一个框架。这一方法有可能显著改善可持续农业的采用和适应，从而在非洲建立更具可持续性和抗灾能力的农业系统。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Agricultural Systems 农林科学-农业综合

CiteScore

13.30

自引率

7.60%

发文量

174

审稿时长

30 days

期刊介绍： Agricultural Systems is an international journal that deals with interactions - among the components of agricultural systems, among hierarchical levels of agricultural systems, between agricultural and other land use systems, and between agricultural systems and their natural, social and economic environments. The scope includes the development and application of systems analysis methodologies in the following areas: Systems approaches in the sustainable intensification of agriculture; pathways for sustainable intensification; crop-livestock integration; farm-level resource allocation; quantification of benefits and trade-offs at farm to landscape levels; integrative, participatory and dynamic modelling approaches for qualitative and quantitative assessments of agricultural systems and decision making; The interactions between agricultural and non-agricultural landscapes; the multiple services of agricultural systems; food security and the environment; Global change and adaptation science; transformational adaptations as driven by changes in climate, policy, values and attitudes influencing the design of farming systems; Development and application of farming systems design tools and methods for impact, scenario and case study analysis; managing the complexities of dynamic agricultural systems; innovation systems and multi stakeholder arrangements that support or promote change and (or) inform policy decisions.