Participatory assessment of progress, barriers and opportunities for sustainability in Southern agricultural systems

Participatory assessment of progress, barriers and opportunities for sustainability in Southern agricultural systems

Summary

Pursuing a participatory determination of the most cost-effective means of increasing sustainability of Southern agricultural systems, we unite case studies of sustainable systems, analysis of relevant secondary databases and a survey of system managers. 

In the first year of the project, we have developed 8 case studies of sustainable local food systems in regions of the South where little local foods activity is occurring.  These case studies combined with a review of ecological resilience literature led to an eight component model of Southern agricultural system sustainability from the ecological resilience perspective.

The model was then used to choose secondary databases to explore sustainability across the region.  We have created indices for the components of sustainability and from them developed an overall index of resilience at the county level.

At present, we are analyzing data from the survey to unite with secondary database information to shed further light on the most important constraints to sustainable systems in the South and the regions of the South where this work is most needed.

These findings will then be used in Opportunity workshops in the areas of greatest need to create research and education prototypes and farmer researcher teams to implement those prototypes.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Objective 1. Qualitative exploration of constraints to sustainable agricultural systems through a rolling workshop/tour and case studies of farmers who have established locally-owned integration of sustainable production, processing, marketing (also known as locally-owned value added or LOVA enterprises) in regions where integration is scarce.

 Activity 1.1 Recruit stakeholders and engage them in participatory exploration of whole system integration from production to processing and marketing with other successful integrators in a rolling workshop.

Time: March-April 2014

Deliverables: At least eleven stakeholders participate in KY event. Stakeholders recommend additions to survey. Stakeholders compare their enterprise development process to other participants.

 Activity 1.2 Conduct series of interviews with case study participants to both prepare for development of formal case studies detailing decisions and strategies for overcoming barriers and a draft model incorporating findings from all case studies and Activity 1.1.

Time: March-April 2014

Deliverables: Case study interviews complete in four states. Draft model of LOVA development complete.

 Activity 1.3 Prepare Decision Case studies from information collected in Activity 1.2.

Time: April-August 2014

Deliverables: Case studies complete, published and available online.

 Objective 2. Assemble quantitative data on constraints and opportunities through surveys of stakeholders. This survey will include all questions in the original SOS survey plus questions exploring emergent issues as informed by key stakeholders.

 Activity 2.1 Pretest survey with participants in Activity 1.1 and finalize survey 1; pretest survey 2 with participants in Activity 4.1 and finalize survey 2.

Time: March-June 2014 and March-June 2015

Deliverables: Robust surveys finished.

Activity 2.2 Conduct two online surveys, one after case studies interviews/rolling workshops and a second after first set of regional workshops.

Time: July-Oct 2014 and July-Oct 2015

Deliverables: At least 2000 surveys complete for each of two surveys. Results analyzed and used to modify model developed in 1.2. Final survey results published and available online.

Objective 3. Detail major characteristics and identify potential challenges and opportunities in Southern agricultural systems by integrating secondary databases of indicators of sustainable agricultural systems with survey data from Objective 2.

Activity 3.1 Select, access and analyze secondary data bases based on conclusions from Objective 1 and comparison to SOS 1995.

Time: May-Oct 2014

Deliverables: Relevant data chosen based on input from Objective 1, analyzed by county, and compared to data of SOS 1995.

Activity 3.2 Integrate survey data with secondary data to explore draft model developed in previous Activities.

Time: Nov 2014-Feb 2015

Deliverables: Survey and secondary data integrated to develop indices to test model.

Activity 3.3 Integrate survey and secondary data with Opportunity Conference results

Time: Feb-Oct 2015

Deliverables: Analysis by stakeholders in 4.1 used to select and integrate new databases and develop second survey. All data integrated from all sources, published and available online.

Objective 4. Identify and lay foundation for removing constraints identified in Objectives 1, 2 and 3 by developing farmer/entrepreneur-researcher networks with Opportunity Conferences.

Activity 4.1 Conduct two Exploring Opportunity Conferences which analyze survey 1 in context of case studies and database analysis to determine barriers to sustainable whole system integration.

Time: Nov 2014-Feb 2015

Deliverables: Two meetings develop consensus on barriers to sustainable agricultural systems and draft model of LOVA development.

Activity 4.2 Conduct two Designing Opportunity Conferences to integrate results from case studies, surveys and databases.

Time: Nov-Dec 2015

Deliverables: Two final conferences design prototype research and education projects to remove barriers identified in previous Objectives.

Activity 4.3 Design and implement interactive SOS website to support all Objectives.

Time: Jan 2015-Jan 2016

Deliverables: Project website presents project data, conference proceedings, LOVA development model and continuing training in ecological resilience approach to sustainable agricultural systems.

Objective 5. Achieve widespread activities to remove constraints through presentations and publications to recruit participation based on analysis of all data from the first four Objectives.

Activity 5.1 Publicize and discuss results at regional conferences, elicit questions for survey 2 and recruit participation in Activity 4.2 and model development.

Time: Jan-Feb 2015

Deliverables: Two regional conferences explore implications of results and recruit participants for 4.2.

Activity 5.2 Publish Southern Futures 2015 papers and recruit continued participation in model development.

Time: Nov 2015-Feb 2016.

Deliverables: Results available in comprehensive final report, peer-reviewed articles and online. Model will be available for interactive discussion online and in post-project workshops to stimulate further testing.

 Fig. 1. Flowchart from Kentucky workshop.

 Fig. 2. Factors conditioning resilience in Southern agricultural systems.

 Fig.3. Resilience of agricultural systems in Southern counties.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Objective 1.

Activity 1.1.  A workshop of stakeholders was held in Kentucky to explore resilient local food systems.  The group developed 77 specific recommendations for establishing resilient local food systems which were summarized into the 14 categories in Figure 1.

Details of the workshop recommendations are available on request and were used to develop the model in Activity 1.2.

Activity 1.2 Thirty case study interviews of resilient local food system in three states were completed. Each interview was developed into a written vignette and then used to develop case studies in Activity 1.3.   A model of Resilient Local Food Systems was developed based on this qualitative data.  The model posits that eight qualities are necessary for any system to be resilient: Modular connectivity; Complementary diversity; Redundancy; Building assets; Locally self-organized; Ecologically integrated; Conservative innovation; Periodic transformation.  The model proposes that the components are related to the ecological adaptive cycle as shown in the Figure 2.

Activity 1.3 Eight decision case studies were developed from information collected in Activity 1.2.

These case studies are summarized in the following table

Case studies are complete and will soon be published and available online.

Objective 2.

Activity 2.1 and 2.2  A survey of farmers, extension agents and other managers with practical experience in agricultural systems was developed, pre-tested and then administered online.  The online survey is available at the link: http://uofmississippi.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_1TRbM6m63OwIpfv.  Our analysis of the survey results is not complete.  However, we do have some preliminary results.  A total of 1473 people started the survey. Of those, 647 (44%) finished the survey.  The highest percentages of respondents were from Kentucky (13.6%), North Carolina (12.4%), and Mississippi (10.8%).

 A little more than one-third (36.3%) of respondents reported being a farmer or rancher, and 72.6% were affiliated with Extension or a college/university agricultural program. The areas identified as needing the most research were (in order with 1 being the most important): 1. farm profitability, 2. alternative markets, 3. total sustainable farming systems, 4. consumer attitudes/behavior, and 5. crop and livestock diversification.

The areas identified as needing the most education were (in order with 1 being the most important): 1. farm profitability, 2. alternative markets, 3. total sustainable farming systems, 4. integrated pest management, and 5. cover cropping.

Survey data is presently being analyzed and results will be used to refine the model developed in activity 1.2.

Objective 3.

Activity 3.1 We selected, accessed and analyzed secondary data bases based on conclusions from Objective 1 SOS 1995. These included: Decennial Census, American Community Survey, Census of Agriculture, County Health Rankings, USDA Food Atlas, and Farm to School database.

Variables from the databases were summarized into indices for each of the components identified in Activity 1.2.  Each of these indices were used to calculate scores by county which were then summarized by state.  A complete resilience index was then established.  An example of the data is the resilience index scores by state with per cent of counties with resilience index in the upper half of all counties: 

We have also developed maps to graphically illustrate the resilience index acrosss the region (Figure 3).

Activity 3.2.  We have not yet analyzed the survey data.  When this analysis is complete we will integrate them with the secondary data to explore the draft model we have developed.

Activity 3.3 Due to the reduction in funding from our original proposal we will not be holding Opportunity Conferences in this project.  We do hope that a subsequent project will include them and we will then be able to integrate results from the conferences with survey and secondary databases.

Objective 4.

Due to the reduction in funding from our original proposal, we will not be conducting Opportunity Conferences and website development.    We are developing a proposal for funding to enable us to accomplish this objective in the future.

Objective 5.

Activity 5.1 We conducted two regional conferences in Kentucky and Mississippi to explore implications of results of our studies and elicit input in development of our resilience model.  We have also conducted several workshops and presentations in Montana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and DC for the project.

Activity 5.2 We expect to publish the complete Southern Futures 2015 report along with several peer reviewed papers in the next few months.               

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

The most impact of sustainable agriculture research and education programs on producers and consumers will be achieved by projects which remove the most limiting constraints on creation of sustainable systems.  In order to remove those constraints, we must identify what they are.  Then we must make sure research and education are focused on the most important and cost effective projects. To do this we are assisting the many dedicated professionals and managers of Southern agricultural systems in exploring the most important problems of their agricultural systems. 

The first goal of our research is to participatively identify those constraints.  We are doing that in several ways.

One is through our online survey.  This survey asks the same questions asked 20 years ago in the initial State of the South (SOS) survey sponsored by Southern SARE and additional questions exploring resilience.

Just as in the first SOS project, the present project has collected and begun to analyze data to identify constraints and opportunities for moving toward sustainability in Southern systems. As in the first SOS, we will integrate survey results with secondary databases to determine the status of key indicators of sustainability. Just as in the original SOS, thousands of farmers, environmentalists, extension and NRCS agents will participate in our effort and provide both input and support for future SARE projects. This project will provide a foundation through participative identification of the constraints and opportunities for removing barriers in Southern agricultural systems.

We also seek to improve the conceptualization of sustainability used by farmers and researchers in the South. Agricultural systems often focus on a vision of sustainability which, though helpful in maintaining short term sustainability, may actually decrease long term resilience. Ecologists increasingly are taking an approach to sustainability known as ecological resilience. Ecological research indicates that systems are most resilient when they maintain certain qualities in their components (e.g., flexibility, redundancy, modularity, connectivity, diversity and reassembly) rather than narrowly focusing on maintaining the existing system. To be sustainable from the ecological resilience perspective, the entire system must maintain components with the capacity to adapt and even reassemble in response to disturbances and trends from outside domains including policy and markets. 

Adaptive response to feedback is a key to sustainability of any system. Any strong research and education program seeks out feedback on outcomes. This project’s assessments will provide that feedback to SSARE. Twenty years ago, the original State of the South project attracted national and international attention and contributed to development of several state and federal programs designed to help farmers move toward more sustainable agricultural systems. However, many parts of the South still lag in creation of such systems. This project will both measure the changes toward more sustainability in the South and develop models, networks and research and education prototypes to move the South toward even more sustainability. 

All sectors of Southern agriculture will benefit from understanding such trends and integrating production more closely with sustainable processing and marketing. We are developing a model of sustainable integration of production, processing and marketing from the perspective of ecological resilience.

This project is initiating a process which solicits input from managers of all Southern agricultural systems to refine the model.  Then, once consensus is reached on the model, we will develop farmer-researcher research teams to pursue projects which create more sustainability by removing the most limiting constraints.

Collaborators: