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Participatory Research towards Food System Redesign: Italian Case Study and Perspectives

Author

Listed:
  • Corrado Ciaccia

    (CREA—Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Via della Navicella 2-4, 00184 Rome, Italy)

  • Marta Di Pierro

    (CREA—Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Via della Navicella 2-4, 00184 Rome, Italy
    AIAB Lazio—Italian Association of Organic Farmers, Lg Dino Frisullo, snc, 00153 Rome, Italy)

  • Elena Testani

    (CREA—Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Via della Navicella 2-4, 00184 Rome, Italy)

  • Giancarlo Roccuzzo

    (CREA—Research Centre for Olive, Citrus and Tree Fruit, via la Canapona 1 bis, 47121 Forlì, Italy)

  • Marcello Cutuli

    (CREA—Research Centre for Olive, Citrus and Tree Fruit, Corso Savoia 190, 95024 Acireale, Italy)

  • Danilo Ceccarelli

    (CREA—Research Centre for Olive, Citrus and Tree Fruit, via di Fioranello, 52, 00134 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

Industrial agriculture and its requirement for standardized approaches is driving the world towards a global food system, shrinking the role of farmers and shifting decision-making power. On the contrary, a holistic perspective towards a new food-system design could meet the needs of a larger share of stakeholders. Long-term experiments are crucial in this transition, being the hub of knowledge and the workshop of ‘participation in’ and ‘appropriation of’ the research in agriculture over a long term. We present a methodology applied during the creation of a small network of organic farmers in Italy and detail the steps of the co-innovation process implemented. After a context analysis of the area to define the type of research and degree of participation, three steps were performed: (1) Identification of stakeholders; (2) dialogic identification of common activities; and (3) validation and feedback from participants. In the first participatory step, five organic farms were engaged for the second and third steps. We organized meetings to discuss future plans, facilitating the interaction process between farmers and researchers. These activities led to: (i) the definition of a research protocol based on farmers’ research needs for a new long-term experiment; (ii) committing farmers to take an active role in the research; and (iii) hosting experimental satellite trials in their own farms.

Suggested Citation

  • Corrado Ciaccia & Marta Di Pierro & Elena Testani & Giancarlo Roccuzzo & Marcello Cutuli & Danilo Ceccarelli, 2019. "Participatory Research towards Food System Redesign: Italian Case Study and Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:24:p:7138-:d:297495
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alessia D’Andrea & Arianna D’Ulizia, 2023. "Preserving Local Food Traditions: A Hybrid Participatory Approach for Stimulating Transgenerational Dialogue," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-15, April.
    2. Costin Lianu & Violeta-Elena Simion & Laura Urdes & Rocsana Bucea-Manea-Țoniș & Irina Gabriela Radulescu & Cosmin Lianu, 2023. "Agroecological Approaches in the Context of Innovation Hubs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-16, February.
    3. Elena Pagliarino & Secondo Rolfo, 2021. "Examining Researchers’ Attitudes, Barriers, and Opportunities for Participatory Research: The Case of the Riso-Biosystems Project on Organic Rice," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-24, April.
    4. Corrado Ciaccia & Elena Testani & Angelo Fiore & Ileana Iocola & Marta Di Pierro & Giuseppe Mele & Filippo Ferlito & Marcello Cutuli & Francesco Montemurro & Roberta Farina & Danilo Ceccarelli & Aless, 2021. "Organic Agroforestry Long-Term Field Experiment Designing Trough Actors’ Knowledge towards Food System Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-17, May.
    5. Tina D. Beuchelt & Rafaël Schneider & Liliana Gamba, 2022. "Integrating the right to food in sustainability standards: A theory of change to move global supply chains from responsibilities to impacts," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(4), pages 1864-1889, December.

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