Farming Systems and Resilience Building in a Changing Climate On-Farm Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Cocoa Cultivation in Alto Beni, Bolivia

Resilience research has been applied to socioeconomic as well as for agroecological studies in the last 20 years. It provides a conceptual and methodological approach for a better understanding of interrelations between the performance of ecological and social systems. In the research area Alto Beni, Bolivia, the production of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), is one of the main sources of income. Farmers in the region have formed producers’ associations to enhance organic cocoa cultivation and obtain fair prices since the 1980s. In cooperation with the long-term system comparisons by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Alto Beni, aspects of the field trial are applied for the use in on-farm research: a comparison of soil fertility, biomass and crop diversity is combined with qualitative interviews and participatory observation methods. Fieldwork is carried out together with Bolivian students through the Swiss KFPE-programme Echanges Universitaires. For the system comparisons, four different land-use types were classified according to their ecological complexity during a preliminary study in 2009: successional agroforestry systems, simple agroforestry systems (both organically managed and certified), traditional systems and conventional monocultures. The study focuses on interrelations between different ways of cocoa cultivation, livelihoods and the related socio-cultural rationales behind them. In particular this second aspect is innovative as it allows to broaden the biophysical perspective to a more comprehensive evaluation with socio-ecological aspects thereby increasing the relevance of the agronomic field studies for development policy and practice. Moreover, such a socio-ecological baseline allows to assess the potential of organic agriculture regarding resilience-building face to socio-environmental stress factors. Among others, the results of the pre-study illustrate local farmers’ perceptions of climate change and the consequences for the different crop-systems: all interviewees mentioned rising temperatures and/or an extended dry season as negative impacts more with regard to their own working conditions than to their crops. This was the case in particular for conventional monocultures and in plots where slash-and-burn cultivation was practised whereas for organic agroforestry systems the advantage of working in the shade was stressed indicating that their relevance rises in the context of climate change.

Researchers' roles in knowledge co-production: experience from sustainability research in Kenya, Switzerland, Bolivia and Nepal

Co-production of knowledge between academic and non-academic communities is a prerequisite for research aiming at more sustainable development paths. Sustainability researchers face three challenges in such co-production: (a) addressing power relations; (b) interrelating different perspectives on the issues at stake; and (c) promoting a previously negotiated orientation towards sustainable development. A systematic comparison of four sustainability research projects in Kenya (vulnerability to drought), Switzerland (soil protection), Bolivia and Nepal (conservation vs. development) shows how the researchers intuitively adopted three different roles to face these challenges: the roles of reflective scientist, intermediary, and facilitator of a joint learning process. From this systematized and iterative self-reflection on the roles that a researcher can assume in the indeterminate social space where knowledge is co-produced, we draw conclusions regarding training.

Soil conservation in Swiss agriculture - Approaching abstract and symbolic meanings in farmers' life-worlds

This paper explores the significance of ‘life-worlds’ for better understanding why farmers adopt or reject soil conservation measures and for identifying basic dimensions to be covered by social learning processes in Swiss agricultural soil protection. The study showed that farmers interpret soil erosion and soil conservation measures against the background of their entire life-world. By doing so, farmers consider abstract and symbolic meanings of soil conservation. This is, soil conservation measures have to be feasible and practical in the everyday farming routine, however, they also have to correspond with their aesthetic perception, their value system and their personal and professional identities. Consequently, by switching to soil conservation measures such as no-tillage farmers have to adapt not only the routines of their daily farming life, but also their perception of the aesthetics of cultivated land, underlying values and images of themselves. Major differences between farmers who adopt and farmers who reject no-tillage were found to depend on the degree of coherence they could create between the abstract and symbolic meanings of the soil conservation measure. From this perspective, implementation of soil protection measures faces the challenge of facilitating interactions between farmers, experts and scientists at a ‘deeper’ level, with an awareness of all significant dimensions that characterise the life-world. The paper argues that a certain level of shared symbolic meaning is essential to achieving mutual understanding in social learning processes.

Hacia estrategias de vida sostenibles. Culturas, recursos y cambios en India y Bolivia

Los múltiples autores de este estudio resumen su propuesta en estos términos: “los habitantes de las comunidades rurales han desarrollado percepciones del manejo sostenible de recursos que son específicas a su cultura y ubicación geográfica, por ejemplo, la que se refiere al uso de tierra. Sin embargo, el ‘uso de tierra’ –o manejar los recursos naturales en general– representa tan sólo una dimensión, por muy importante que sea, de una preocupación mucho más amplia relacionada a las estrategias de vida sostenibles. ¿Cómo tratar con la integridad de las dimensiones si queremos apoyar desde los proyectos y programas de “desarrollo” esas estrategias de vida? Este es el centro de este trabajo que busca, partiendo de una experiencia desarrollada en la India, abarcar estos aspectos para Bolivia”.

Desarrollo endógeno sustentable: camino para re-actualizar el "Vivir Bien" en el contexto de la revolución democrática y cultural de Bolivia

Un conjuto de autores Bolivianos y Latinoamericanos reflexionan acerca de los alcances del paradigma del Vivir Bien y sus posibilidades para constituirse en el soporte ético que ilumine un nuevo paradigma de producción y reproducción de la realidad social. Los autores exploran sus dimensiones semánticas y filosóficas, así como los horizones utópicos que propone este paradigma. También hacen un análisis de los patrones de desarrollo en cursos, y cómo se viene aplicando en Bolivia este paradigma. Esta publicación es promovida por el Postgrado en Ciencias del Desarrollo de la Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (cides-umsa) y el Departamento de Economía de la Universidad de Roma “ La Sapienza ”, en el marco de un Convenio de Colaboración académica entre ambas Universidades.

Einflussfaktoren auf Soziale und Gesellschaftliche Lernprozesse im Wissenssystem Biolandbau

Eine Haupterkenntnis von Forschung über biologische Landwirtschaft im Kontext der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit ist, dass nachhaltigere Bewirtschaftung nicht nur von besseren Anbaumethoden, sondern viel mehr davon abhängt, wie diese Methoden verbessert und an spezifische ökologische und sozio-ökonomische Kontexte in einem kontinuierlichen Koproduktionsprozess von Wissen angepasst werden. Diese Untersuchung hat die Ergründung von Faktoren zum ziel, die die Wissenskoproduktion im Bioreisanbau ermöglichen oder hemmen. Anhand einer Multilevelanalyse wird darauf fokussiert, wie der sozio-ökonomische, kulturelle und ökologische Kontext konstituiert ist (Makro-Ebene) wie wichtige Interessegruppen zusammenarbeiten und soziale Lernprozesse fördern (Meso-Ebene) und zu welchem Grad diese Prozesse zur Verbesserung und Integration von biologischen Anbauweisen in die Lebensunterhaltungsstrategien der Bauern (Mikro-Ebene) beitragen. Erforschung von Fallbeispielen in Südkorea und Kambodscha zeigt, dass Schlüsselakteure wie "farmer promoters", "farmer researchers" und Gruppen deren Mitglieder diverse Motivation für eine kontinuierliche Partizipation in den Gruppen haben, entscheidende ermöglichende Faktoren darstellen. In beiden Fallstudien gibt es praxisnahe Ausbildungsgänge für Schlüsselpersonen, jedoch werden diese noch ungenügend in das Wissenssystem Biolandbau integriert und deren Positionen institutionalisiert.