Green transition to be “the new normal” for future farmers

The new research project FEAST (Farming Education and the Agricultural Sustainable Transition) is based on the fundamental assumption that the transition to sustainable agriculture does not happen suddenly, but is an ongoing process. For future farmers, the green transition will entail lifelong learning as “the new normal”, where society and nature's demands for sustainability are continuously evolving. And it is crucial that sustainable practices are embedded deeper into agricultural education to ensure both their adequacy and permanence in the face of continued and more severe climate change. 

It is in the collaboration amongst schools and we researchers that we will all learn more about what the future of sustainable agriculture could look like.

Over a three-year period, the project team will work to deepen the understanding of sustainability as a core value and practice across agricultural paradigms, particularly organic, regenerative and conventional agriculture. Christian Gamborg explains: ‘The main assumption of the project is that the transition to more sustainable agriculture is an ongoing process rather than a one-off shift.’

Preparing future farmers for the sustainability challenges ahead

Through dialogue, FEAST will promote collaboration on the green transition especially among Denmark's agricultural educators and students, as well as with other food sector actors, to prepare future farmers for the sustainability challenges ahead. ‘It is in the collaboration amongst schools and we researchers that we will all learn more about what the future of sustainable agriculture could look like,’ says Rebecca Leigh Rutt.

FEAST will map views and experiences of sustainability in the Danish agricultural education and food sector through observations, curriculum review, interviews, and a stakeholder survey. ‘We lack knowledge about how agricultural schools tackle the challenges of the green transition and sustainability, and in particular what notions of sustainability they work with and how it fits into the role of agriculture in the green transition,’ explains Christian Gamborg.

Agricultural schools with different sustainability paradigms will act as learning laboratories to improve the embedding of sustainability throughout the agricultural education sector. Mickey Gjerris points out the importance of diversity in participating institutions: ‘It is important that we have several different agricultural schools involved - from conventional, to organic, to regenerative agriculture - to get a comprehensive understanding - and to pave the way for dialogue between different views on how we should cultivate the land.’ 

It's great that everyone wants the green transition and sustainable agriculture, but we're not necessarily talking about the same future. It's about uncovering how differently ‘sustainability’ is understood and creating a dialogue about possible common goals with respect for the different understandings.

Through the project, the results will be disseminated nationally and internationally to relevant stakeholders through reports, conferences, articles, social media and podcasts.

‘We will not only look at and involve the agricultural schools but also some of the different actors in the value chain, because innovation and green transition require collaboration throughout the chain and across sustainability ideas,’ says Christian Gamborg and continues: ‘We are lucky to have a number of talented partners in this project who will also help anchor the results in the different agri-food environments.’

The expected outcome of FEAST, in addition to increasing knowledge of sustainability practices across the agricultural sector, is to help bridge the gap between different sustainability paradigms.

Wants to support educators' green ambitions

Rebecca Leigh Rutt points out: ’Schools are already teaching sustainability through their education programmes. We want to map these as a step towards more meaningful engagement with sustainability practices within, and across, different types of schools. We also want to gain a better understanding of schools' current sustainability ambitions and what challenges educators face today, so we can better support them to fulfil these. "

The project will provide Denmark's agricultural educators and future farmers with tools to collaborate across paradigms and integrate sustainability as a dynamic concept that shapes their ambitions and thus enables their role as green change agents. ‘The FEAST project will help future farmers to recognize sustainability as a “living” concept that will necessarily evolve alongside societal and ecological change,’ says Rebecca Leigh Rutt, emphasising that ‘FEAST will be an important contribution to engaging future farmers in a lasting green transition.’

Constructive dialogue as a key element

Therefore, it is also crucial to create space for constructive dialogue. Christian Gamborg explains: "It's great that everyone wants the green transition and sustainable agriculture, but we're not necessarily talking about the same future. It's about uncovering how differently ‘sustainability’ is understood and creating a dialogue about possible common goals with respect for the different understandings."

This is where the ethical dimension becomes important, as Mickey Gjerris explains: "Ethical thinking cannot solve problems and disagreements and make them go away. But ethics can help us understand the value basis of our discussions, uncover a common platform that can get lost in day-to-day discussions and help establish a respectful dialogue that can take us forward."

A concrete example of this dialogical focus is the collaboration with the many partners in the project, including the think tank Frej, which Mickey Gjerris explains plays a central role in the project's workshop format: "We very much look forward to working with Frej on the dialogue workshops that are a central part of the project. Their many years of experience in creating objective dialogue between different sustainability paradigms in the agricultural sector will be invaluable."