Sustainable Intensification (SI) has been popularised in recent years as an approach seeking to balance the potentially conflicting demands of enhancing agricultural outputs with reducing the negative impacts arising from the current food system. Proponents have argued that SI can benefit from collaboration between farmers, but understanding is limited by a lack of data on current collaborative practices. Questions have also been raised as to whether the SI agenda pays sufficient attention to social sustainability as part of a fully integrated conception of SI. Tackling these issues, this paper reports on mixed methods data collection from seven case areas across the UK, with a particular focus on the experience of upland livestock farmers in north Wales. We evidence: (1) The extent, forms and preferences associated with farmers’ collaboration; with findings demonstrating higher levels of collaboration than anticipated and a preference for informal forms of co‐working. (2) The underpinning and mutually reinforcing role of social interconnectedness in the delivery of diverse outcomes from collaboration. (3) How SI is perceived to threaten social sustainability, and thus work against a more integrated model of delivery. The paper concludes by arguing for a genuinely integrative model of SI to secure collaborations going forwards.

中文翻译：

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可持续集约化合作：社会可持续发展的基本作用

近年来，可持续集约化（SI）已得到普及，它是一种寻求在增加农业产出的潜在矛盾需求与减少当前粮食系统带来的负面影响之间取得平衡的方法。支持者认为，SI可以从农民之间的合作中受益，但由于缺乏有关当前合作实践的数据，人们的理解受到了限制。对于SI议程是否作为SI完全集成的概念的一部分，是否充分重视社会可持续性提出了疑问。为了解决这些问题，本文报告了从英国七个案例地区收集的混合方法数据，特别是北威尔士的旱地畜牧者的经验。我们证明：（1）与农民合作有关的程度，形式和偏好；研究结果表明协作水平高于预期，并且倾向于非正式的合作形式。（2）社会相互联系在提供协作产生的各种成果方面的基础和相互促进的作用。（3）如何看待SI威胁到社会可持续性，从而与更综合的交付模式背道而驰。本文最后提出了一种SI的真正集成模型，以确保未来的协作。从而与更集成的交付模型相对立。本文最后提出了一种SI的真正集成模型，以确保未来的协作。从而与更集成的交付模型相对立。本文最后提出了一种SI的真正集成模型，以确保未来的协作。