Resistance to traditional agroecological knowledge erosion in industrialized contexts: A study in La Plana de Vic (Catalonia)

ABSTRACT

This work explores the actors and reasons behind Traditional Agroecological Knowledge (TAeK) conservation initiatives in industrialized contexts. Results come from interviews to key informants and social network analyses of TAeK conservation projects conducted in central Catalonia. Actors used contrasting discourses to refer to TAeK conservation, but with a strong potential to generate alliances between different types of projects. The existing parallelisms between resistances to TAeK erosion and resistances to industrialized agri-food systems could become the seed for common collective action to counterweight the loss of TAeK.

KEYWORDS:

• Agroecology
• lexicometry
• discourse
• social network analysis
• traditional knowledge conservation

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the people in La Plana de Vic that dedicates so much care, time, and energy to halt TAeK erosion in their territory. The research leading to this article received funding through the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, both through the project CSO2014-59704-P and through P. Benyei’s pre-doctoral grant (BES-2015-072155). This work contributes to the “María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence” (MdM-2015-0552).

Notes

1. Many terms have been used to describe this concept. In this article, the term “Traditional Agroecological Knowledge” is used mirroring the term “Traditional Ecological Knowledge”, a term widely used in the research and policy arena. The use of the word ‘traditional’ (rather than ‘local’ or ‘folk’) emphasizes the long-term historical continuity of these bodies of knowledge and the importance of social processes in their transmission and maintenance. The word ‘traditional’ does not imply knowledge being archaic or pre-modern, as traditional knowledge systems are highly dynamic and adaptive and co-exist and interact with other forms of agricultural knowledge (Reyes-García et al. 2014).

2. Note that the actor referred to men when talking about the TAeK holders while several studies have proven that a large number of TAeK are held by women (Díaz-Reviriego et al. 2016).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad [BES-2015-072155,CSO2014-59704-P].