The Agroecology Knowledge Collective consists of researchers working at various institutions. The Collective plays a supportive role in the network. The working group is committed to strengthening and spreading knowledge about agroecology in the Netherlands (and beyond). We assist both the network as a whole and its member organizations and working groups in co-creating knowledge and resources to support their goals, ambitions, and concrete actions. Central to this is the importance of context-specific knowledge and skills from farming practices and farmer-to-farmer exchanges, as well as engaging in knowledge dialogues with others to achieve collective actions.
A variety of researchers are connected to this working group, all with diverse backgrounds, skills, experiences, and knowledge. Among them are researchers affiliated with institutions such as the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Wageningen University & Research, University of Twente, University of Groningen, the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University, the Transnational Institute, freelance researchers, and some of our agroecological farmers themselves.
This text is under development and aims to promote fruitful collaborations between farmers
(organisations), researchers and social movements. The intended end product is a publication by
Toekomstboeren with principles for better cooperation. The text has come about through the
experience of the research projects in which Toekomstboeren has participated. Furthermore, both
scientists and members of Toekomstboeren have been consulted, individually, through a survey,
through farmer-scientist meetings and at the Agroecology Conference.
1) Co-creation
We advocate full participation of farmers (‘s organizations) in research, projects and actions. This
means involving farmers in problem definition, process and devising possible solutions and to put
more effort into long-term collaborations.
2) Reciprocity
As farmers, we produce new knowledge and constantly face new questions. We advocate that in
projects with external funding, farmer organizations should participate as equal partners and be
budgeted for. It also means that in interviews, farmers should be compensated for their time and
contribution. This can be in the form of money, or for example by helping out on the farm for a
number of hours.
3) Diversity
Farmer(s) are not all the same. There are gender and cultural differences between farmers. There
are differences between successors and first generation farmers,
partnership/VOF/association/cooperative participants, employees and volunteers, medium-sized
and small farms and more. Everyone has different knowledge and views based on their position in
society. We advocate for diversity as a central principle in the making of knowledge, technologies
and innovations.
4) Autonomy and sustainability
Many innovative farming practices make farmers dependent on external knowledge and resources.
Dependence can put farmers in dire straits because they have to keep buying new inputs that often
become more expensive while the price of their own products often falls.
We therefore argue that we should focus on more local knowledge and resources and start from the
‘do no harm’ principle. How can we ensure that technologies and innovations do not make us (more)
dependent on external financiers and that they do not harm ecology and community. We also want
to look at how we can use fossil-free options to power the machines without going into debt or
exploiting people or nature elsewhere.
5) Free access
When disseminating knowledge, technologies and innovation, profit is often placed above
accessibility. This applies to patents on innovations but also to outcomes of scientific research in
expensive journals. We advocate free accessibility to knowledge, innovations and technologies. This
includes working with open access and making outcomes easy to find for practitioners.
Do you share our vision of agroecology and the role of knowledge and research in it, and would you like to contribute to agroecological knowledge and research? Feel free to contact us at info@agroecologie.nl.