Participatory Inquiry for Sustainable Agriculture

The paper argues that a new paradigm for sustainable agriculture has emerged from a recognition of the limitations of dominant scientific methods and advances in other domains. New systems of learning and inquiry are needed. Participation and collaboration are essential to ensure public involvement and representation of multiple perspectives. It is noted that there are many types of participation, some of which threaten rather than support sustainable agriculture. Participatory inquiry is a structured methodology used to bring about changes in problem situations that the people involved view as improvements. Methods have been devised for team dynamics, sampling, interviewing and visualisations. The criteria for validity of findings are discussed. Beyond new methods, however, a change in institutions and the development of a new professionalism in agriculture are urged for.