CONTEXT

Conservation Agriculture (CA) usage, particularly in Southern Africa, has remained low with lower yield, higher weed pressure and lower soil quality cited as reasons for ‘disadoption’.

OBJECTIVE

Using a detailed case study of 50 farmers in two villages in Cabo Delgado (Northern Mozambique), this study seeks to test the hypothesis that farmers' perceptions of CA are associated with distinctly different ‘mental models’ and if these "ways of thinking" overlap with farmers' identified/self-identified groupings (e.g. CA users, ‘disadopters’ and conventional tillage users). Secondly, we examine whether these different mental models (perceptions) are associated with actual differences in on-farm measurements. Finally, we explore the hypothesis that ‘systems thinking’ (i.e., understanding nonlinear causal relationships and internal feedback loops that drive a complex system) and CA usage are positively associated.

METHODS

Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) was used to elicit representations of farmers' mental models. To explore the association between farmers' mental models of CA/conventional practices and on-farm measurements we evaluated cowpea aboveground biomass, yield, weed cover, and soil quality parameters from the farmer's main plot. We drew on network analysis to measure structural metrics of cognitive maps that provide important information about a person's mental model (perceptions) of causal interdependencies of farming dynamics.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

We find evidence of two data-driven distinct clusters of farmers' mental models that are in relative alignment with farmers' identified/self-identified groupings. Cluster 1 mainly consists of conventional users and cluster 2 mainly consists of CA users/disadopters. While no significant differences in socio-demographic variables were observed, clusters of mental models were associated with key differences in on-farm measurements. Importantly, cluster 1, who tended to be conventional users, had lower yields, lower soil cover, significantly lower carbon stock and higher weed coverage than cluster 2. Soil quality indicators were higher in cluster 2 as were farmers' overall revenue per hectare. Moreover, cluster 2 had significantly higher degrees of ‘systems thinking’ (measured through complex network analysis of graphical mental models) than cluster 1 which had higher forms of linear thinking. We argue that higher forms of experiential learning and practice of CA relate to higher degrees of systems thinking and stronger positive perceptions of CA, even among the CA ‘disadopters’.

SIGNIFICANCE

Our findings highlight the importance of systems thinking abilities and inclusion of biophysical, socio-economic and mental modelling variables rather than simple binary measurements which may have led to erroneous conclusions on CA and thus has implications for how CA is understood and promoted in future.

中文翻译：

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映射农民的看法，保护性农业实践和农场测量：系统思考在采用过程中的作用

语境

保护性农业（CA）的使用量一直很低，尤其是在南部非洲，产量较低，杂草压力较高和土壤质量较低，被认为是“不受欢迎”的原因。

客观的

该研究使用了莫桑比克北部卡波德尔加多两个村庄的50名农民的详细案例研究，旨在检验以下假设：农民对CA的看法与截然不同的“心理模式”有关，以及这些“思维方式”是否重叠与农民的识别/自我识别的分组（例如，CA用户，“后照者”和传统耕作用户）。其次，我们检查这些不同的心理模型（观念）是否与农场测量中的实际差异相关。最后，我们探索“系统思考”（即理解非线性因果关系和驱动复杂系统的内部反馈回路）与CA使用之间正相关的假设。

方法

模糊认知映射（FCM）用于得出农民心理模型的表示。为了探索农民的CA /常规做法的心理模型与农场测量之间的联系，我们从农民的主要田地评估了pea豆的地上生物量，产量，杂草覆盖率和土壤质量参数。我们利用网络分析来测量认知图的结构度量，该认知图可提供有关人的农业动态因果因果关系的心理模型（感知）的重要信息。

结果与结论

我们发现了两个数据驱动的农民心理模型的独特集群的证据，这些集群与农民的自我识别/自我识别的分组相对一致。群集1主要由常规用户组成，群集2主要由CA用户/后照者组成。虽然没有观察到社会人口统计学变量的显着差异，但心理模型的集群与农场测量中的关键差异相关。重要的是，集群1往往是常规用户，单产比集群2低，土壤覆盖率低，碳储量低，杂草覆盖率高。集群2中的土壤质量指标较高，农民的每公顷总收入也更高。而且，与具有较高线性思维形式的聚类1相比，聚类2的“系统思维”（通过对图形思维模型的复杂网络分析来衡量）的程度要高得多。我们认为，即使在CA“失范者”中，对CA的体验式学习和实践的较高形式也与更高程度的系统思维和对CA的更强积极感知有关。

意义

我们的发现凸显了系统思考能力以及包含生物物理，社会经济和心理模型变量的重要性，而不是简单的二进制测量，这可能导致对CA的错误结论，从而对CA的理解和未来推广产生了影响。