Table Of ContentChanging European
farming systems for a
better future
New visions for rural areas
edited by:
Hans Langeveld
Niels Röling
Changing European farming systems for a better future
International Steering Committee
Jacques Baudry Colin Newsham
Jacques Brossier Egon Noe
Benoît Dedieu Milan Slavik
Kirsten von der Heiden Luigi Omodei Zorini
Rebecka Milestad
Workshop convenors
Jacques Baudry Colin Newsham
Marianne Cerf Egon Noe
Benoît Dedieu Philippe Perrier-Cornet
Ken Giller Milan Slavik
Kirsten von der Heiden Sri Sriskandaraja
Andrea Knierim Chris Stoate
Cees Leeuwis Luigi Omodei Zorini
Rebecka Milestad
Changing European
farming systems for a
better future
New visions for rural areas
edited by:
Hans Langeveld
Niels Röling
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ISBN: 978-90-8686-002-9 Box 220, 6700 AE Wageningen, the Netherlands,
e-ISBN: 978-90-8686-572-7 www.WageningenAcademic.com
DOI: 10.3920/978-90-8686-572-7
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Preface
We live in an ever changing world, today probably more than ever. Conditions for farmers as
well as for consumers and policy makers are evolving continuously. Processes such as trade
liberalisation, reducing support for farming and increasingly strict demands on food quality,
environmental quality and animal welfare place heavy demands on land use. Land managers
need to identify innovative strategies for improved technical and economic performance, as
well as for successful communication with non-agricultural stakeholders. Policy makers and
scientists, on the other hand, need to find new ways to reconcile often conflicting interests of
farmers, consumers and other stakeholders.
It is under these conditions that the contributions of this book have been prepared. Following
a call from the organisers of the 7th European symposium of the International Farming Systems
Association, researchers, farmers, advisors and policy makers have used their expertise,
experience, insights and vision to define what they think successful changes in land management
could and should look like.
Wageningen University and Research Centre has played its role in developing innovative land
use practices. Our track record builds on decades of experience, both in Europe and elsewhere
in the world, representing a huge scientific and policy oriented research experience that has
impacted European and development policy and practice.
Over the years, participatory, interactive, systems-oriented research developed into an
important element of our research and education activities. Learning from it we have defined
the ‘Wageningen approach’, that is multi-stakeholder, inter-disciplinary, participative and
systems-oriented. We now have quite a large number of examples where this approach has
worked and has managed to bring people and solutions together.
The Board of Wageningen University and Research Centre finds it extremely important to present
this way of thinking to a wide audience. Therefore, we are happy and proud that this IFSA
conference takes place here in Wageningen. We feel that it represents an important approach to
the development of innovative, sustainable land use. I hope that our Wageningen work in this
field makes a useful contribution. I congratulate the organisers with the Conference Proceedings
before the conference. It contains over 100 contributions from around the world. I am confident
that this book will contribute in the search for new, improved land use practices.
Wageningen, April 2006
Martin Kropff, Rector Magnificus of Wageningen University
Changing European farming systems for a better future
Table of contents
Preface 7
General introduction 19
Hans Langeveld, Niels Röling and Janice Jiggins
How sustainable can agriculture be in an EU-scenario of free market & social policy? 23
P.H. Vereijken and C.M.L. Hermans
Section 1 – Learning as a process
Introduction to section 1 – Learning as a process: Understanding one’s role in the new
learning demands of multifunctional land use systems, working with different actors,
tools and scales 27
Nadarajah Sriskandarajah, Marianne Cerf and Egon Noe
Where do participatory approaches meet social learning systems in the context of
environmental decision making? 29
Chris Blackmore
The action researcher as a reflective partner to a core group 35
Dorthe Christensen and Nadarajah Sriskandarajah
New futures for traditional regions: A dairy farming systems response to regional
development in Australia 40
Anne Crawford, Mark Paine, Howard Smith and Tom Davison
Learning from participatory research with organic farmers in the UK and Sweden 45
David Gibbon, Cheney Longville and Karin Eksvärd
Setting a research agenda to support change in agriculture: Learning processes,
stakeholder participation, R&D policy making 49
Bernard Hubert
Sustainable rural development and communicative learning 54
Egon Noe and Anne-Mette S. Langvad
Landscapes and sugar boxes for learning in rural areas management 59
Richard Raymond, Salma Loudiyi and Sylvie Lardon
Farmer stable schools: A fruitful way for Danish organic dairy farmers with the goal to
phase out antibiotics from their herds 64
Mette Vaarst
The changing perception of expert advice in nature conservation: A case of the
Drentsche Aa 69
Severine van Bommel
Changing European farming systems for a better future
