Towards a General Theory of Agricultural Knowledge Production: Environmental, Social, and Didactic Learning

• Published in: Culture, agriculture, food and the environment agriculture, food and the environment, 2016-06, Vol.38 (1), p.5-17
• Main Author: Stone, Glenn Davis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: agricultural extension; Agricultural production; agriculture; Environmental education; farmer knowledge; farmer learning; Knowledge; Learning; political ecology; Social policy; technology adoption; Theory
• ISSN: 2153-9553; 2153-9561
• DOI: 10.1111/cuag.12061

Social scientists and input producers alike have seen farmer decision making as driven by environmental learning based on experimentation and empirical observation. A more robust body of theory influenced by behavioral ecology sees a major role for social learning based on emulation of models selected on social criteria, although the relationship between these learning modes is not well understood. But a larger problem is that these perspectives ignore what is here termed didactic learning, whereby various parties bring instruction to the farm. Although not previously theorized, didactic learning is often crucial in agricultural learning and also distinct because it is driven by off‐farm interests. The outline of a general theory of farmer learning is presented, comprising an analysis of the salient characteristics of the three modalities and consideration of interaction among them. The successes of nonindustrial small farm management notwithstanding, there are serious limitations to the experimental basis of environmental learning. Agriculture is particularly suited to formal experimentation, but only because of simplifications that contradict the nature of actual decision making. Social learning is essential in agriculture but it may become maladaptive when environmental learning is particularly challenged. Among the entities involved in didactic learning are the state (with interests in monitoring and control), input developers and sellers (with interests in sales), and Non Governmental Organizations (with interests in media showing impacts of didactic learning).