Developing the Welsh organic sector: Knowledge generation and learning

This research study is concerned with the role and influence of knowledge generation and learning processes in the development of Organic Agriculture in Wales. It builds on previous work which suggested that barriers to the generation and exchange of knowledge about organic agriculture between farmers and other actors in the sector were significant in inhibiting development. The thesis is predicated on the view that organic farming demands a complex treatment of knowledge and processes of learning, and that organic agriculture represents a synthesis of knowledge from a wide range of actors, knowledge domains and knowledge forms. The development of knowledge about organic agriculture is considered at the institutional and at the farmer level and interaction between institutions, institutions and farmers, and between farmers are explored. The development of organic agriculture is seen as a process where all actors are engaged in continuous learning, where learning trajectories are defined by historical conditions, local context and physical influences. The study set out to map the ways by which organic farmers in Wales acquired their knowledge about organic farming as they made the decisions to convert, during conversion and subsequently as they became more proficient organic farmers. It was designed to study the ways by which well embedded conventional family farmers went through this process, and how their knowledge-networks are reconfigured during conversion. The farmers in the study are categorised according to a range of characteristics and these categories are considered in exploring farmer associations and social learning activities. They are also related to farmer attitudes toward organic agriculture and farmers are categorised as different types of organic farmers