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The Need for Decolonizing Research in the Economics of Agriculture and Natural Resources Management

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  • Domptail, Stéphanie Eileen
  • Mörsdorf, Jessica

Abstract

The science of agricultural and natural resource use economics tends to be developed and applied within a post-positivist epistemological standpoint. Researchers, objective and exter-nal, investigate a state of being on the ground and interpret their results in the context of theo-ries of agricultural and natural resources, which we assume as close to the truth as humanity can be on a given day. This epistemological positioning follows from the scientific method developed within the Western Cartesian worldview in the 17th century. Our current knowledge relies on ecological social and economic theories that were largely developed in Europe since then - in such, they pertain to a European Cartesian ontology. Yet, the paper’s premise is that knowledge is a social construction and is contextual to specif-ic ontologies. Following the pluriverse idea, we point to limits of a single world perspective, also in science and research when attempting to address creatively the multiple environmental crises the current civilisation generated. Our paper aims to make the point that a decolonized teaching and research curricula is needed to support a deeper change in humans’ relation to nature towards sustainability. We use the decolonization concept to highlight power relations between scientists and researches as well as between different forms of knowledge. This will lead us to reflect on the tangible implications for decolonization of research in agricultural economics and natural resource use. Especially, we suggest developing awareness on the po-sitionality of researchers and on structural power relations transported by research and data collection methods. These are first steps towards the possible development of a more inclu-sive epistemology.

Suggested Citation

  • Domptail, Stéphanie Eileen & Mörsdorf, Jessica, 2023. "The Need for Decolonizing Research in the Economics of Agriculture and Natural Resources Management," GEWISOLA 63rd Annual Conference, Goettingen, Germany, September 20-22, 2023 344244, GEWISOLA.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:gewi23:344244
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.344244
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Laila N. Boisselle, 2016. "Decolonizing Science and Science Education in a Postcolonial Space (Trinidad, a Developing Caribbean Nation, Illustrates)," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(1), pages 21582440166, March.
    2. Funtowicz, Silvio O. & Ravetz, Jerome R., 1994. "The worth of a songbird: ecological economics as a post-normal science," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 197-207, August.
    3. Amy Hudson & Kelly Vodden, 2020. "Decolonizing Pathways to Sustainability: Lessons Learned from Three Inuit Communities in NunatuKavut, Canada," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-20, May.
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    Agribusiness; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies;

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