Exploring new ways

The potential of facilitating transitions for sustainable development in Swedish agriculture through systemic participatory learning and action research was examined. The work was based on research and learning from two cases of vegetable growers collaborating with researchers, advisors and a research facilitator. A range of possibilities arose from the different approaches adopted in the cases, which were aimed at improving sustainability in vegetable production. The possibility of using systems ecology to improve the outcome of participatory learning and action research was examined. The results emphasise the importance of using approaches that are aligned with the nature of the situations and problems in order to improve systemic situations and problems, and what this alignment implies. It is concluded that sustainable development is about organizing ourselves in accordance with the functions of the ecological system that already is there, and the social values we already know give rise to thriving social systems. For research to contribute to sustainable development, new ways of carrying out research are needed whereby research approaches based on basic principles applicable to the systemic development issues, opportunities and situations under examination are used.

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