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Are advisory services “fit for purpose” to support sustainable soil management? An assessment of advice in Europe
Author(s) -
Ingram Julie,
Mills Jane
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
soil use and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.709
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1475-2743
pISSN - 0266-0032
DOI - 10.1111/sum.12452
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , advice (programming) , advisory committee , business , function (biology) , scale (ratio) , environmental resource management , knowledge management , political science , computer science , public administration , economics , geography , cartography , archaeology , evolutionary biology , biology , programming language
This assessment examines the extent to which advisory services are able to address current and emerging knowledge needs of practitioners (primarily farmers) about sustainable soil management ( SSM ) in Europe. The assessment is structured around the following components: the context of advice (policy, market, socio‐economic conditions, privatization of advisory systems); the challenges that SSM presents for advice; the current and emerging practitioner knowledge needs; and the existing structure and function of advisory services for SSM . The analysis reveals fragmented policy and advisory services, paralleled by the multi‐scale character of SSM and a diverse audience for advice. The challenges and opportunities this complex arena presents are analysed, and suggestions made for achieving more effective advisory services for SSM , together with examples of existing approaches.