Knowledge co-creation is a central principle in agroecology and agroecological transitions. Researchers and practitioners engaging in actions to support and enhance biodiversity, maximise use of local resources, improve livelihoods, strengthen circular and solidarity economies, and enhance food security, rely on knowledge creation. But for that knowledge to be useful to farmers in their different contexts, it must be created in ways that engage them with other relevant stakeholders in participatory, inclusive knowledge creation processes.

McKnight Foundation has been supporting this shift towards research that is more responsive to farmers’ priorities and the knowledge they hold. In an effort to expand and deepen the practices already being used, in 2012, the Collaborative Crop Research Program (now Global Collaboration for Resilient Food Systems, or CRFS) proposed “farmer research networks” (FRN) as an approach that could help build and share knowledge through networks of relevant stakeholders (Nelson et al., 2016). These networks bring together farmers, research institutions, development organisations and others to seek ecological solutions tailored to specific contexts, considering local farmers’ needs, priorities and wisdom – including those of women and other historically marginalised groups. An FRN approach is informed by traditions and ideas in farmer participatory research, as well as critical perspectives on the ways in which entrenched power structures have privileged certain forms of knowledge, notably Western science and English-language information. This leaves a broad diversity of evidence unconsidered and unused in advancing more equitable and ecologically grounded practices in agriculture and many other domains (Global Alliance for the Future of Food 2021).

Today there are about three dozen farmer research networks funded by CRFS, which may include hundreds or even thousands of farmers across many communities. They are located in the Andes, in West Africa, and in East and Southern Africa. The ideas and practices they promote are also being taken up in other regions, just as CRFS’s understandings are inspired by work elsewhere on the planet that is aligned. Indeed, research has been done to compare examples of FRNs and other approaches (Tchuwa 2020; Oberson et al., 2024), and agroecology policies that call for more such approaches are being developed in countries such as Tanzania and Kenya.

FRNs use a set of principles as guides for action. These principles speak to ways of working that are inclusive of the diversity of farmers, and that engage farmers and other actors as equals in the research process. Research should help to co-create knowledge that is useful and provides practical benefits to farmers. And finally, networks facilitate learning and sharing among stakeholders and then beyond. The way these principles have been used in practice was reviewed by Richardson et al (2021).

In order to create an opportunity for dialogue on the challenges and opportunities of doing farmer-centered research for agroecology, and to support a shift in global research norms toward knowledge co-creation, a convening was held in October 2024 in Kisumu, Kenya. This was co-hosted by CRFS, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), University of Eldoret, and PELUM Kenya. It brought together about 120 farmers, researchers, NGO staff, philanthropists, government employees, policymakers and more for a 4-day event. We share here some reflections that emerged out of the dialogue among participants.

The diverse ecological, economic and socio-cultural contexts of different regions mean the formation and function of FRNs vary. For example, in West Africa farmer organisations are very strong and take the place that extension services may occupy in other contexts, such as East and Southern Africa where local NGOs fill that role. In the Andes, networked farmer research is often shaped by the culture, spirituality and history of Indigenous peoples and their worldviews. The problems and research questions addressed by FRNs also vary by context. For example, in Malawi farmers, government extension workers and researchers from a local university have collectively tested and adapted soil health options to address the challenge of soil infertility in maize-based farming systems. The co-creation process has led to increased integration of legumes in maize-dominated systems, and a preference for organic fertilizers rather than inorganic soil amendments, resulting in more agroecological practices.

FRNs are an effective way to bring together different knowledge, ideas, skills, and experiences to advance agroecology. Sharing within farmer groups and between groups within the same network is a core component of FRNs. The convening, however, showed that the rare opportunity to exchange among people from very different contexts and environments is also valuable, with South-South encounters being particularly rich. Interactions among people from different countries, institutions and disciplines made it possible to share technologies, such as the work being done in the Andes with a weather app that provides timely information and warnings about highly localized weather systems so farmers can mitigate risk. Many participants from Africa were keenly interested in their innovative work. On the other hand, it has been observed in FRN processes that farmers have the most confidence in information coming from their own observations and those nearby. They are not always convinced that information from people and places they do not know is relevant or reliable. In a Malawi FRN, for example, information sharing was restricted to farmers of the same village and gender. So the challenge of communicating knowledge in a way that is trusted remains.

Members of FRNs in West Africa (Yacouba Tanda, Batamaka Somé, Yalaly Traore, Roger Kabore and Mamourou Sidibe) discussing the usefulness of a locally-made weather station presented by Luis Herrera (Andes), PROSUCO (second from left) during the Knowledge Exchange Fair at the 2024 Farmer Research Network Convening, Kenya. Photo courtesy of the Global Collaboration for Resilient Food Systems, McKnight Foundation.

An FRN approach requires a paradigm change where farmers are recognised as equal partners with valuable perspectives and local knowledge, as well as the capacity to engage in knowledge co-creation. An FRN approach can contribute to shifting power relations and supporting farmer agency. For example, an FRN in Malawi has adopted an interesting approach to experimentation. Some options to test are agreed across the network. To this are added options that are only tested by a small group of farmers, and then individual farmers add other adaptations that only they are interested in. This requires flexible research designs that may compromise traditional experimental principles such as replication, randomisation and statistical power. The co-creation process is a negotiation and thus demands that joint decisions be made about what to investigate, the data to collect, and more. Local knowledge that may not have any scientific basis must be listened to and understood as part of the research process. However, farmers do not always want to be engaged in all phases of a research process, presenting challenges to the ideal of full participation throughout.

Landscape analysis being done by FRN members in Malawi. Credit: Ric Coe

Researchers, farmers and support organizations have different interests and ways of building knowledge. Understanding these differences is important in learning how to collaborate, and the result is different from what any of the groups would do on its own. Researchers build knowledge by testing hypotheses in ways that are robust and stand up to critical scrutiny, using concepts such as replication and unbiasedness. They often are interested in the theoretical implications for understanding mechanisms, as well as the practical applications for their results. Farmers build knowledge by testing in their fields, observing, and comparing with other plots, other farmers and from year to year, for example. Farmers often also draw on a body of traditional knowledge, handed down over generations, and which may be specific to their culture, their farming practices, and their particular landscapes. The researchers’ approach is often criticised for providing a good answer to the wrong question, while the farmers’ approach can take a long time to generate knowledge that is reliable. By working together and understanding different perspectives, new forms of co-created knowledge can emerge, and relations of trust and respect are built. Farmers may learn about the importance of comparing like with like, of not confounding multiple effects, of avoiding overreliance on observations that might be unusual cases, and such. Researchers and extension workers may come to recognise the role of farmers’ agronomic experiences in simultaneously increasing soil health, diversifying crops and reducing labour demands, as was the case in an FRN in Malawi.

An FRN approach can extend beyond production to other parts of the food system and the local environment, for example land use, processing, marketing, waste and circular economies, policy and global trade. It also helps us to think about other issues such as health, nutrition, and environmental conservation. Interestingly, many FRNs that started as research projects have expanded into processing and marketing, in some cases including products generated from waste. These initiatives create employment, often for women’s groups, and help make available products that have been tested and are known to be effective. Some examples include marketing bokashi biofertiliser or biopesticides. In West Africa, farmer organisations now produce and market seeds developed out of participatory plant breeding programs. In Malawi, research has contributed to improving farmer-led seed systems as well as marketing and processing of seed for neglected and under-utilised crops. Other FRN projects have taken the results of tests on different varieties of grains and seeds to process and sell nutritious flours, porridges, biscuits and more. In one West African FRN project, people are raising predatory wasps to control head miner in millet. And new themes have emerged such as using human waste to build soil fertility, as part of a circular economy that connects rural and urban areas.

Nutritious flours produced by an FRN project in West Kenya. Credit: Ric Coe

FRN structures and processes can be used to support collective action, through farmer organizations, NGOs, or local village-based committees. The experience of cooperating and managing other actions, as well as the trust-building already achieved facilitate these collective efforts to respond to shared needs. Examples include rotating labour for terracing and erosion prevention, petitioning local governments to change policies, taking action to contain plant diseases, and more. However, it is important to keep in mind that while an association has a shared vision, a community is made up of diverse people whose different interests and abilities must be taken into account. If not monitored in terms of diversity of membership, these collective structures may act as a medium of exclusion to other marginalised members of the community.

Stonelines built by community members through a “merry-go-round” process of working collectively on each person’s farm in turn. West Pokot, Kenya. Credit: Ric Coe

Farmer research networks are not a panacea. They are an evolving approach that aims to include a greater diversity of farmers in knowledge co-creation processes with other stakeholders, in ways that are equitable, participatory and support farmer agency. Learning to collaborate in this way is a process for all those involved, and it requires humility, openness, and an effort to dismantle oppressive systems, such as colonialism and its effects. Each FRN has challenges to face and learning to do. But we believe that the pathway to a resilient, inclusive and sustainable food system for all requires this sort of knowledge dialogue as well as a steadfast respect for the power and agency of farmers and those who work with them. In the context of multiple environmental and socio-economic crises, we need to see agroecology and other truly regenerative approaches scaling across the food system.

The overall conclusion from the convening was that FRNs are a rich and valuable contribution to knowledge creation for agroecology transitions. They are diverse and adapted to their contexts, and they are dynamic. This means that they are able to tackle new research problems as they evolve, and that they can also move towards business development, or projects that take up socio-economic issues such as rural outmigration or youth unemployment. It seems very likely that FRNs will continue to evolve, developing new ways of working and involving different types of actors over time.

Written by: Mary Richardson, Ric Coe, Frank Tchuwa, Daimon Kambewa, Kate Wellard Dyer, Sara Namirembe, Carolyn Phiri

References

Global Alliance for the Future of Food, The Politics of Knowledge: Understanding the Evidence for Agroecology, Regenerative Approaches, and Indigenous Foodways. n.p.: Global Alliance for the Future of Food, 2021.

Nelson, R., Coe, R. and Haussmann, B. I. G. (2019) ‘Farmer research networks as a strategy for matching diverse options and contexts in smallholder agriculture’, Experimental Agriculture, 55(S1), pp. 125–144. doi: 10.1017/S0014479716000454.

Oberson, Nathalie, Hannatou O Moussa, Ali M Aminou, Yosef Gebrehawaryat Kidane, Juliet Nangamba Luo, Alessandra Giuliani, Eva Weltzien, and Bettina IG Haussmann. 2024. “Participatory Research at Scale: A Comparative Analysis of Four Approaches to Large-Scale Agricultural Technology Testing with Farmers.” Outlook on Agriculture 53 (4): 320–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/00307270241295763.

Richardson, M., Coe, R., Descheemaeker, C., Haussmann, B., Wellard, K., Moore, M., Maland Cady, J., Gubbels, P., Tchuwa, F., Paz, R. Y. and Nelson, R. (2022) ‘Farmer research networks in principle and practice’, International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 20 (3), pp. 247-264. doi: 10.1080/14735903.2021.1930954.

Tchuwa, F. (2020). Pushing boundaries of farmer participation: an analysis of farmer-centered approaches applied in interventions supporting soil health management in smallholder maize-legume farming systems of Malawi. [PhD Thesis]. University of Greenwich.