Doing science differently: Working across disciplines to advance agroecology

Field visit to the Aguajal area in Loreto, Peru. Photo by Junior Raborg/CIFOR-ICRAF

Given the complexity and challenges of implementing agroecology—a farming approach inspired by natural ecosystems—across scales, approaches focussed on listening, respect, value alignment and willingness to work differently were emphasized by practitioners at an interactive Transformative Partnership Platform on Agroecology (Agroecology TPP) workshop on 11 July. 

Titled ‘Doing Science Differently’, the event marked the first Agroecology TPP Dialogue, and was aimed at sharing and co-creating knowledge. The platform works to address key knowledge and implementation gaps to support agroecological transitions. It aims to accelerate and coordinate work on agroecology across international, national and local scales and contexts, towards transitions to more sustainable agricultural and food systems.

The dialogue series grew from requests by the platform’s forum members to strengthen interactions between its constituencies, partners, Community of Practice (CoP) and project members, as well as to broaden its scientific dissemination role and strengthen co-creation opportunities. When developing the series, the Agroecology TPP demonstrated a co-creation approach from the outset, opening the choice of topics through its online ‘Request a workshop‘ tool.

During the event, almost 200 workshop participants explored challenges and best practices in implementing agroecology. Keynote speaker Michael Hauser, a senior associate with the Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) and an associate professor BOKU University in Vienna, presented a new possible ‘framework for reality’ to assess the transdisciplinarity of research or programmes using key characteristics of transdisciplinary research including knowledge; depth and breadth of collaboration; problem-solving orientation; innovation; application and impact. 

Hauser highlighted the importance of new behaviours, which he said require capacity development, capabilities and interest. The latter “is most important because attitudes, willingness to change and core values all grow from interest,” he said. “We must change the way we see the world…and refine our core values. Core values are almost like our operating system when it comes to behaviour.”

 While some challenges are systemic and complex, others are more straightforward, said Lisa Fuchs, a scientist at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT in Nairobi. She shared progress and findings on Agroecology TPP projects that have focused on innovation, methodology, results and co-creation, and advised practitioners to listen closely before collaborating; prioritize relationship-building at the beginning of an interaction; be reachable and accessible; be responsive in actions and words; and share insights.

 Brigid Letty, a principal scientist at the Institute of Natural Resources (INR) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and a member of the oversight group for international learning network Prolinnova, led a panel discussion on the framework proposed in the keynote address. She identified key issues to consider, including the extent to which various researchers actually collaborate in a transdisciplinary way, and whether the respect necessary to underpin the work is always present. 

“We want to collaborate in a meaningful way, we want to solve real-life problems and certainly we want to have impact and see application of the things that are developed through these co-creation processes,” she said. “This framework has application in many different research contexts.” 

The framework could also support a transition process towards doing science differently, said panellist Lilian Beck, an agroecology extension specialist at the Institute for Social Sciences of Agriculture of the University of Hohenheim. “It’s good to have this tool to reflect on ourselves, to understand how we can improve, and to implement [research] in more complex realities.”

Embedding research into action is a significant challenge, but can be tackled by starting with a problem-solving orientation, said Valentina Robiglio, a senior land use systems scientist at the  CIFOR-ICRAF. She described a research pilot project in Peru called AgroFor, which involves forest stewardship and close collaboration among scientists, technical and local experts, governance leaders and communities, leading to continuous co-learning. “The key step was when we were able to go to the fields together with authorities from different sectors, farmers, communities, NGOs, foresters and extension agents,” she said.

Transdisciplinarity in research seems, essentially, to be an intercultural process of co-creation “in which there are different ways of creating, innovating and transmitting knowledge, coming together in a safe environment to create something new,” said Francisco Rosado-May, Professor at Universidad Intercultural Maya de Quintana Roo.

Some tweaks to the framework could be useful in response to local context and needs, said Jane Maland Cady, programme director of the Global Collaboration for Resilient Food Systems at the McKnight Foundation. “Part of this that is so critical is our mindsets… a little more of that could be reflected in the framework.”

Lauren Baker, deputy director of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, described the framework as “strong and useful” in reshaping institutions as part of moving towards transdisciplinarity. “We need people with different ways of experiencing the world around the table,” she said. “We need different ways of thinking. We need the ways that various languages help us experience the world, the way people live in different places that help us interpret both problems and solutions.”

A willingness to do research differently, apply context specificity and adapt as required is key to success, and contributes to the emergence of a new culture for researchers and their organizations, said Bernard Triomphe—current Agroecology TPP co-convenor, system agronomist and innovation specialist at the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), and visiting professor at Chapingo University in Mexico.

Teams in the CGIAR Initiative on Agroecology, one of the integrated projects of Agroecology TPP, are doing research differently in many locations, deploying and inventing systemic approaches, methods and tools that favour dialogue and co-design at various scales. “This requires continuous negotiations and adaptation,” he said.

‘Doing science differently’ was also demonstrated through participatory foresight exercises in India and Senegal via the Foresight project, explained Marie de Lattre-Gasquet, a CIRAD researcher. The project anticipates and responds to more than one possible future scenario, creating instead a number of desirable futures. The process is interdisciplinary, collaborative and innovative, including stakeholders ranging from farmers to policymakers, to agro-industries. “New models, new metrics, more and better-quality data, and an agroecology lens are essential,” de Lattre-Gasquet said. “Policymakers cannot make transformative decisions if they are always presented with the same options.”

 The biggest barrier to successful project implementation may ultimately be people —including researchers—and their preconceptions, as well as their emotional readiness for change, said Hauser, who closed the workshop with a list of key lessons.

 “We all have our baggage, and we have our own institutional ties—another form of baggage that we have to navigate,” he said. “It can be a process full of pressure. It can be tough and tiring, and one must be emotionally ready to engage and learn together. This remains a ‘people issue’ for me.”

 In a survey during the event, participants highlighted innovation, transdisciplinary action, Indigenous knowledge and co-creation of knowledge as important takeaways from the keynote presentation. Also emphasized were measures for improving analysis, including collaboration with stakeholders, an open mindset, capacity building, knowledge sharing and mutual respect.

Those themes were brought to the forefront in breakout group discussions where participants highlighted the value of listening to stakeholders and building trust while also sharing information and goals to ensure participants understand the importance of the project in question. Validating local and traditional knowledge, and transferring knowledge across generations, is essential, as are approaches that try to adapt to local conditions and context.

Interdisciplinarity of work is more apparent when team compositions are diverse, cutting across silos to include different cultural backgrounds and knowledge, which, in turn, enrich each other and yield a holistic approach in the work, said participants.

“To change mindsets, you need practical actions,” said one participant.

You can now replay the recording, read the summary report, and access the presentation slides on:

• Transdisciplinary research – presented by Michael Hauser

• ABCD approaches – presented by Lisa Fuchs

• Agrofor – presented by Valentina Robiglio

• The Agroecology Initiative – presented by Bernard Triomphe

• Foresight – presented by Marie de Lattre-Gasquet