Against the odds: Network and institutional pathways enabling agricultural diversification

Farming systems that support locally diverse agricultural production and high levels of biodiversity are in rapid decline, despite evidence of their benefits for climate, environmental health, and food security. Yet, agricultural policies, financial incentives, and market concentration increasingly...

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Main Authors: Blesh, Jennifer, Mehrabi, Zia, Wittman, Hannah, Bezner Kerr, Rachel, James, Dana, Madsen, Sidney, Smith, Olivia M., Snapp, Sieglinde S., Stratton, Anne Elise, Bakarr, Abram J., Bicksler, Mohamed, Galt, Ryan, Garibaldi, Lucas A., Gemmill-Herren, Barbara, Grass, Ingo, Isaac, Marney E., John, Innocensia, Jones, Sarah K., Kennedy, Christina M., Klassen, Susanna, Levers, Christian, Vang Rasmussen, Laura, Kremen, Claire
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129783
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author Blesh, Jennifer
Mehrabi, Zia
Wittman, Hannah
Bezner Kerr, Rachel
James, Dana
Madsen, Sidney
Smith, Olivia M.
Snapp, Sieglinde S.
Stratton, Anne Elise
Bakarr, Abram J.
Bicksler, Mohamed
Galt, Ryan
Garibaldi, Lucas A.
Gemmill-Herren, Barbara
Grass, Ingo
Isaac, Marney E.
John, Innocensia
Jones, Sarah K.
Kennedy, Christina M.
Klassen, Susanna
Levers, Christian
Vang Rasmussen, Laura
Kremen, Claire
author_browse Bakarr, Abram J.
Bezner Kerr, Rachel
Bicksler, Mohamed
Blesh, Jennifer
Galt, Ryan
Garibaldi, Lucas A.
Gemmill-Herren, Barbara
Grass, Ingo
Isaac, Marney E.
James, Dana
John, Innocensia
Jones, Sarah K.
Kennedy, Christina M.
Klassen, Susanna
Kremen, Claire
Levers, Christian
Madsen, Sidney
Mehrabi, Zia
Smith, Olivia M.
Snapp, Sieglinde S.
Stratton, Anne Elise
Vang Rasmussen, Laura
Wittman, Hannah
author_facet Blesh, Jennifer
Mehrabi, Zia
Wittman, Hannah
Bezner Kerr, Rachel
James, Dana
Madsen, Sidney
Smith, Olivia M.
Snapp, Sieglinde S.
Stratton, Anne Elise
Bakarr, Abram J.
Bicksler, Mohamed
Galt, Ryan
Garibaldi, Lucas A.
Gemmill-Herren, Barbara
Grass, Ingo
Isaac, Marney E.
John, Innocensia
Jones, Sarah K.
Kennedy, Christina M.
Klassen, Susanna
Levers, Christian
Vang Rasmussen, Laura
Kremen, Claire
author_sort Blesh, Jennifer
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Farming systems that support locally diverse agricultural production and high levels of biodiversity are in rapid decline, despite evidence of their benefits for climate, environmental health, and food security. Yet, agricultural policies, financial incentives, and market concentration increasingly constrain the viability of diversified farming systems. Here, we present a conceptual framework to identify novel processes that promote the emergence and sustainability of diversified farming systems, using three real-world examples where farming communities have found pathways to diversification despite major structural constraints. By applying our framework to analyze these bright spots in the United States, Brazil, and Malawi, we identify two distinct pathways—network and institutional—to diversification. These pathways emerge through alignment of factors related to social and ecological structure (policies, institutions, and environmental conditions) and agency (values, collective action, and management decisions). We find that, when network and institutional pathways operate in tandem, the potential to scale up diversification across farms and landscapes increases substantially.
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language Inglés
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spelling CGSpace1297832025-11-11T17:41:55Z Against the odds: Network and institutional pathways enabling agricultural diversification Blesh, Jennifer Mehrabi, Zia Wittman, Hannah Bezner Kerr, Rachel James, Dana Madsen, Sidney Smith, Olivia M. Snapp, Sieglinde S. Stratton, Anne Elise Bakarr, Abram J. Bicksler, Mohamed Galt, Ryan Garibaldi, Lucas A. Gemmill-Herren, Barbara Grass, Ingo Isaac, Marney E. John, Innocensia Jones, Sarah K. Kennedy, Christina M. Klassen, Susanna Levers, Christian Vang Rasmussen, Laura Kremen, Claire diversification policies institutions networks agrobiodiversity diversificación políticas instituciones Farming systems that support locally diverse agricultural production and high levels of biodiversity are in rapid decline, despite evidence of their benefits for climate, environmental health, and food security. Yet, agricultural policies, financial incentives, and market concentration increasingly constrain the viability of diversified farming systems. Here, we present a conceptual framework to identify novel processes that promote the emergence and sustainability of diversified farming systems, using three real-world examples where farming communities have found pathways to diversification despite major structural constraints. By applying our framework to analyze these bright spots in the United States, Brazil, and Malawi, we identify two distinct pathways—network and institutional—to diversification. These pathways emerge through alignment of factors related to social and ecological structure (policies, institutions, and environmental conditions) and agency (values, collective action, and management decisions). We find that, when network and institutional pathways operate in tandem, the potential to scale up diversification across farms and landscapes increases substantially. 2023-05 2023-03-28T12:34:32Z 2023-03-28T12:34:32Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129783 en Open Access application/pdf Elsevier Blesh, J.; Mehrabi, Z.; Wittman, H.; Bezner Kerr, R.; James, D.; Madsen, S.; Smith, O.M.; Snapp, S.; Stratton, A.E.; Bakarr, A.J.; Bicksler, M.; Galt, R.; Garibaldi, L.A.; Gemmill-Herren, B.; Grass, I.; Isaac, M.E.; John, I.; Jones, S.K.; Kennedy, C.M.; Klassen, S.; Levers, C.; Vang Rasmussen, L.; Kremen, C. (2023) Against the odds: Network and institutional pathways enabling agricultural diversification. One Earth, 6. In Press (May 19, 2023). 13 p. ISSN: 2590-3330
spellingShingle diversification
policies
institutions
networks
agrobiodiversity
diversificación
políticas
instituciones
Blesh, Jennifer
Mehrabi, Zia
Wittman, Hannah
Bezner Kerr, Rachel
James, Dana
Madsen, Sidney
Smith, Olivia M.
Snapp, Sieglinde S.
Stratton, Anne Elise
Bakarr, Abram J.
Bicksler, Mohamed
Galt, Ryan
Garibaldi, Lucas A.
Gemmill-Herren, Barbara
Grass, Ingo
Isaac, Marney E.
John, Innocensia
Jones, Sarah K.
Kennedy, Christina M.
Klassen, Susanna
Levers, Christian
Vang Rasmussen, Laura
Kremen, Claire
Against the odds: Network and institutional pathways enabling agricultural diversification
title Against the odds: Network and institutional pathways enabling agricultural diversification
title_full Against the odds: Network and institutional pathways enabling agricultural diversification
title_fullStr Against the odds: Network and institutional pathways enabling agricultural diversification
title_full_unstemmed Against the odds: Network and institutional pathways enabling agricultural diversification
title_short Against the odds: Network and institutional pathways enabling agricultural diversification
title_sort against the odds network and institutional pathways enabling agricultural diversification
topic diversification
policies
institutions
networks
agrobiodiversity
diversificación
políticas
instituciones
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129783
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