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Comparison of farmers' mental models of the present and the future: a case study of pesticide use

Schöll, R; Binder, C R (2010). Comparison of farmers' mental models of the present and the future: a case study of pesticide use. Futures, 42(6):593 - 603.

Abstract

Farmers in developing countries will in the future be confronted with major changes. The ability to cope with these challenges rests on their capability to relate future problems to current behavior. Our approach investigates this capability and consists in comparing mental models of the present and future. The approach moreover enables us to explore whether and how farmers are able to imagine a future differing from the perceived present. Data from previous studies investigating present and future pesticide application were used. In the datasets the mental models of farmers' livelihood were structured into livelihood capitals (human, health, natural and financial capital), causal relations among the livelihood capitals were derived, and present and future causal relations were compared. The comparison of these causal relations led to six cases, each representing a different degree of dependence of future on present causal relations. The dependence was found to vary among farmers and analyzed livelihood capital. Three types of farmers with differing dependence patterns were identified. The differences found lead to new insights for policy recommendations, depending on farmers focus in their causal relations. We therefore expect that interventions focusing either more on the causes or effects of causal relations will result in a better uptake of knowledge by farmers.

Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:07 Faculty of Science > Institute of Geography
Dewey Decimal Classification:910 Geography & travel
Scopus Subject Areas:Social Sciences & Humanities > Business and International Management
Social Sciences & Humanities > Development
Social Sciences & Humanities > Sociology and Political Science
Language:English
Date:2010
Deposited On:11 Feb 2011 13:10
Last Modified:14 Jan 2025 04:39
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:0016-3287
Additional Information:Special Issue: Futures for Multiple Civilizations
OA Status:Closed
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2010.04.030

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