Quantifying unintended effects of an agroecological research project on farmers' practices and social network in Papua New Guinea

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60076658%3A12310%2F22%3A43905338" target="_blank" >RIV/60076658:12310/22:43905338 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10404" target="_blank" >https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10404</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10404" target="_blank" >10.1002/pan3.10404</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Quantifying unintended effects of an agroecological research project on farmers' practices and social network in Papua New Guinea

Original language description

Agroecological researchers and advocates often make assumptions about the social impact and dissemination of their work: researchers may assume that their work has impact through postresearch dissemination, while advocates may assume that new agroecological practices can be effectively spread through existing social networks. Here, we test these assumptions by quantifying the effects of an agroecological research project on farming practices and the social network in a village community in Papua New Guinea. The project aimed to test the effect of applying banana peel compost, chicken manure and NPK fertiliser on sweet potato yields. Local farmers were involved in the research as project garden owners or research assistants. Using stochastic actor-oriented modelling, we tracked changes in farming practices and the social network. Over the course of the research project, more people started to use food waste on their farms, while animal manure and NPK fertiliser were not frequently adopted. Farmers also took up practices that were not directly researched, such as mulching and planting the specific variety of sweet potato that was used in the project. This suggests that local farmers created meaning from the project, despite the researchers not intending to give advice until the end of the project. The research project also affected the community&apos;s social network. Research assistants became more often sought-after for advice, while knowledge about the project did not flow far from those directly involved. These results indicate that who gets involved in a project may have social consequences, and show the importance of understanding existing social networks before they are relied upon for spreading farming practices. Overall, this work challenges often-held assumptions about the social impact and dissemination of agroecological research, provides insights into the types of agricultural innovations more likely to be accepted among farmers, and explores how new practices may most effectively be promoted within a community. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10619 - Biodiversity conservation

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2022

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

People and Nature

ISSN

2575-8314

e-ISSN

2575-8314

Volume of the periodical

4

Issue of the periodical within the volume

6

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

11

Pages from-to

1592-1602

UT code for WoS article

000881634500001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85142001285