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Soziotechnische Szenarien als Instrument zur Verbesserung der landwirtschaftlichen Beratungsdienste
Author(s) -
Leloup Héloïse,
Bulten Ellen,
Elzen Boelie,
Prazan Jaroslav,
Zarokosta Eleni
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
eurochoices
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.487
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1746-692X
pISSN - 1478-0917
DOI - 10.1111/1746-692x.12351
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , business , agriculture , advisory committee , diversity (politics) , public relations , marketing , political science , public administration , geography , archaeology , law
Summary This article examines the use of the socio‐technical scenarios (STSc) method to explore the future needs of farmers in the adoption of more sustainable farming practices. It also examines the changes needed for advisory services to meet those identified needs. It presents the results from four STSc workshops organised as part of the H2020 AgriLink project. Workshop participants (farmers, advisors, policymakers, researchers), jointly explored future changes towards more sustainable agricultural systems paying special attention to the role of advisory services in these transitions. Despite the diversity of national contexts, common results emerged concerning both the shortcomings of the current advisory systems and directions for improvement. Participants agreed that advising on single aspects would not achieve the required systemic changes; these would require more integrated advisory systems at different levels (improved cooperation and knowledge flow), supported by more consistent policies. We indeed identified discrepancies between policy expectations and the broader innovation context. Policies should facilitate the role of advisors in supporting farmers to adopt sustainable innovations, but more often they also create barriers for such innovations. Participants’ concrete recommendations for more farmer‐centered advisory services illustrate the usefulness of the STSc to explore potential solutions to key problems in contemporary farm advisory systems.