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Library New knowledge networks of small-scale farmers in Europe’s periphery

New knowledge networks of small-scale farmers in Europe’s periphery

New knowledge networks of small-scale farmers in Europe’s periphery
Land Use Policy Volume 63

Resource information

Date of publication
maart 2017
Resource Language
ISBN / Resource ID
lupj:S0264837716311280
Pages
13

In this paper we assess the types of knowledge networks utilised by small-scale farmers in four case studies (located in Bulgaria, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom). We focus on knowledge acquired to inform three new activities being undertaken by study participants: agricultural production, subsidy access and regulatory compliance, and farm diversification (specifically agritourism). Findings demonstrate that the new knowledge networks are dominated by different forms of expertise: formal ‘agricultural advisors’ identified in the case studies primarily offer codified managerial knowledge through centralised networks, suggesting that state-funded services for small-scale farmers are largely embedded in traditional, linear models of knowledge transfer. Production and diversification knowledge is exchanged through ‘distributed’ and ‘decentralised’ networks, where a range of actors are involved across varying geographical distances. Findings highlight issues associated with the quality and independence of both ‘free’ and paid advice, as well as the importance of combining tacit and codified knowledge for credibility. In all four cases, we found that small-scale farmers utilise formal advisory services primarily for accessing subsidies (e.g. completing application forms), rather than acquiring production knowledge. The authors argue that by utilising the state funding allocated to advisory services for small-scale farmers primarily to enable these farmers to access subsidies, important opportunities for innovation by both advisors or farmers can be lost.

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Authors and Publishers

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s)

Sutherland, Lee-Ann
Madureira, Lívia
Dirimanova, Violeta
Bogusz, Malgorzata
Kania, Jozef
Vinohradnik, Krystyna
Creaney, Rachel
Duckett, Dominic
Koehnen, Timothy
Knierim, Andrea

Publisher(s)
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