10CONVENTIONAL EXTENSIONResearchers develop a technologyThey conduct field trialsat an experiment stationThey do more trialson a farmer’s fieldExtensionists set up demostrationplots, <strong>and</strong> host field days <strong>for</strong> farmers,<strong>and</strong>/or visit farmers to promote thetechnologyThe peasant family adoptsor rejects the technologyCAMPESINO TO CAMPESINOA peasant alreay has a solution,or innovates a solution, to a problemthat is common <strong>for</strong> many peasantsS/he becomes a promoter of this newor rediscovered solutionExchanges are set up, where otherpeasants visit his or her farm to learn,or where s/he visits the farms ofother peasants to share the solutionwith themOther peasants teach other peasantsthisas well as other solutionsFigure 1.3. Conventional agricultural extension versus Campesino-a-Campesino. Source: Machín Sosa et al. (2010)The Campesino a Campesino movement wascreated <strong>and</strong> developed in Guatemala during the 1970s(Holt-Giménez, 2006). Basically, farmers exchangeknowledge among themselves to solve problems. It isa participatory method based on local needs, culture,<strong>and</strong> environmental conditions. The innovative aspectis the central role that farmers play as well as the newrole that the technician, should there be one, has toassume. S/he does not come with a recipe solution, buthas to support <strong>and</strong> facilitate the exchange processes.Exchanges take place at the farms that are well knownenvironments <strong>for</strong> farmers. As a result, they feel morecom<strong>for</strong>table <strong>and</strong> will be more motivated to participate<strong>and</strong> express themselves (Figure 1.3).Campesino a Campesino is now well establishedthroughout Central America. It has several hundredthous<strong>and</strong> farmer-promoters <strong>and</strong> has helped ruralfarming families improve their livelihoods <strong>and</strong> conservetheir natural resources. Through this, hundreds ofthous<strong>and</strong>s of smallholders have been able to developsustainable agriculture, even under highly adverseconditions – indeed <strong>for</strong> many it has been the lifeline oftheir survival.Campesino a Campesino’s extensive knowledgenetworks have been highly successful in generating<strong>and</strong> spreading sustainable agricultural practices onthe ground. In effect, it has decentralized the practice ofagricultural development. This is both a measure of <strong>and</strong>an ex<strong>plan</strong>ation <strong>for</strong> its successes. If agriculture is to besustainable, it must not only be based on the ecology ofthe specific agroecosystem where it is being practiced,it must evolve from the social structures <strong>and</strong> cultures inwhich the system itself is embedded. The opportunity isthen <strong>for</strong> these embedded, agroecological experiences toscale out, geographically, <strong>and</strong> up into the institutions thatshape agriculture’s social, economic, <strong>and</strong> political terrain.Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) wereoriginally created by local farmer organisations to providecheaper organic certification <strong>for</strong> their small farmerssupplying local markets. One of the first PGS of Europeis that of Nature & Progrès in France. PGS have nowbeen developed in every continent. They often includeconsumer organisations <strong>for</strong> better communicationbetween the two constituencies.The starting thesis is that farmers want to adhere tothe st<strong>and</strong>ards, so certification is not seen as a repressivetool. On the contrary, it is a helpful one that supportsfarmers <strong>and</strong> processors to improve their procedures. PGSpromote, within the st<strong>and</strong>ard requirements, an on-goingprocess aimed at increasing sustainability per<strong>for</strong>mance.They finally turn into a <strong>learning</strong> experience, basedon exchange between farmers themselves <strong>and</strong> withconsumers.
11PGS work on the basis of six principles: common vision(described by the st<strong>and</strong>ard), participation, horizontality,transparency, trust <strong>and</strong> <strong>learning</strong> process. Peer-review 1is at the centre of the system. The inspection is doneby a farmer, who is clearly a professional with empiricknowledge <strong>and</strong> a full underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the local farmingconditions. Every member st<strong>and</strong>s at the same level <strong>and</strong>each member is responsible <strong>for</strong> one of the certificationsteps, on a rotational basis. Transparency <strong>and</strong> trust gotogether <strong>and</strong> build naturally upon these foundations.The <strong>learning</strong> process is one of the main characteristicsof PGS. The certification becomes an opportunity <strong>for</strong>farmers to get to know other farms, to discover otherfarming methods, <strong>and</strong> to exchange experiences withpeers that work in the same region with the sameagronomic <strong>and</strong> socio-economic problems. Even thoughPGS were originally created as a certification tool, they areactually multidisciplinary networks, locally based, wherefarmers <strong>and</strong> stakeholders meet to exchange <strong>and</strong> to createsolutions based on a diversity of views, experiences <strong>and</strong>knowledge.Community supported agriculture (CSA) is analternative, locally based economic model of farmmanagement <strong>and</strong> food distribution. Its origins stem frombiodynamic farming in Europe, but it became establishedin the 1980s in the USA, <strong>and</strong> then spread back to Europe,especially in the UK as a response to the economicrecession <strong>and</strong> the resulting pressure on small organicproducers.CSA members or subscribers pledge to support one ormore local farms <strong>and</strong> pay a subscription at the onset of thegrowing season <strong>for</strong> a share of the anticipated harvest. Thisis distributed weekly, often by means of a box scheme.Thus growers <strong>and</strong> consumers share the responsibilities,risks <strong>and</strong> rewards of food production.There are almost as many models as there are CSAs,with varying levels of support right up to the farm beingowned by its CSA members. Similarly most CSAs involvetheir members in the work of the farm. This can rangefrom simple open days right up to regular work weekendswhich may or may not count towards the financialsubscription.CSAs are perhaps the most sophisticated <strong>and</strong>innovative example of short supply chains around theWorld. What they all have in common is the direct link1 By peers we underst<strong>and</strong> farmers that are producing thesame crops or breeding the same animals.between farmers <strong>and</strong> consumers. Besides the marketingaspect <strong>and</strong> security <strong>for</strong> the farmers, these initiatives arealso plat<strong>for</strong>ms <strong>for</strong> <strong>learning</strong> <strong>and</strong> exchange. The farmers arein direct <strong>and</strong> continuous contact with their customers,so get almost instant feedback on the quality of theirproduce <strong>and</strong> what their customers want; the consumershave access to all the production in<strong>for</strong>mation of the farm<strong>and</strong> can experience farming first h<strong>and</strong>.Furthermore, some of the CSA members are likelyto have additional skills, e.g. accountancy, marketing,conservation, etc., that the farmer <strong>and</strong> the farm canbenefit from – a skills resource ‘on tap’. Finally, with theadded security af<strong>for</strong>ded by sharing risks, farmers aremore able to free up resources <strong>and</strong> experiment withnew practices, becoming in themselves a source of newin<strong>for</strong>mation <strong>for</strong> other farmers.1.3.2 ExtensionTraditionally the mainstream system of agriculturaladvice did not cover the needs of the organic sector oragroecological farmers. Alternative extensions serviceshave been created that facilitate the exchange ofknowledge among organic farmers, help improvingproduction techniques <strong>and</strong> empower rural communitieswhile increasing overall sustainability. Many initiativesgrew out of the niche <strong>and</strong> are now recognised <strong>and</strong>supported by authorities at local, national or EU level.Six interesting <strong>and</strong> ground-breaking examples are givenbelow (<strong>and</strong> exp<strong>and</strong>ed in chapter 2), showing a range ofaims, partners <strong>and</strong> methodologies.Bio-districts, the organic approach to ruraldevelopment, were pioneered by local organic farmers<strong>and</strong> their association in Southern Italy. A bio-districtis a geographical area where farmers, citizens, touristoperators, associations, industry, research <strong>and</strong> trainingcentres, <strong>and</strong> public authorities enter into an agreement<strong>for</strong> the sustainable management of local resources.Bio-districts create a local network of natural, cultural<strong>and</strong> productive resources, rein<strong>for</strong>ced by local policiesoriented towards the protection of the environment,traditions <strong>and</strong> local knowledge. They promote thenatural, typical, organic products of the area, togetherwith short food chains, also supplying public offices <strong>and</strong>schools. These are inextricably linked with the promotionof the l<strong>and</strong> itself <strong>and</strong> its special characteristics, so togetherthey can fully realise their economic, social <strong>and</strong> culturalpotential. This benefits tourism <strong>and</strong> the local economywhilst ensuring sustainability of local resources.
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