ABSTRACT

In this study, a cross-cultural analysis was undertaken to compare the knowledge of organic producers and agricultural experts in Iran concerning the concepts of good farming, good farmer, and organic farming in the field of sustainable agriculture. We put concepts of good farming, good farmer, and organic farming in conversation with Bourdieu’s concepts of cultural capital, identity, and the dynamics of the ‘rules of the game’ to determine the knowledge gaps between experts and farmers in the sustainable agricultural field. Data are derived from interviews with 45 organic producers and 52 agricultural experts. The findings showed that farmers had knowledge of the key concepts discussed by experts but differed in the emphasis placed on these ideas. Results reveal tensions between how farmers and experts think about and understand how farmers ought to practice organic farming. The paper concludes with some arguments on the knowledge asymmetries and offers a few participatory approaches for negotiation to overcome the asymmetry in supporting more sustainable management practices.

摘要

在这项研究中，进行了跨文化分析，以比较伊朗有机生产者和农业专家对可持续农业领域中良好农业、良好农民和有机农业概念的了解。我们将良好农业、良好农民和有机农业的概念与布迪厄的文化资本、身份和“游戏规则”的动态概念进行对话，以确定可持续农业领域专家和农民之间的知识差距。数据来自对 45 位有机生产者和 52 位农业专家的采访。调查结果表明，农民了解专家讨论的关键概念，但对这些概念的重视程度不同。结果揭示了农民和专家如何思考和理解农民应该如何进行有机农业之间的紧张关系。本文最后就知识不对称提出了一些论点，并提供了一些参与式谈判方法，以克服支持更可持续管理实践的不对称性。