Cymraeg A project to fund and support farmers and landworkers to conduct research and trials on their farms and in their woodlands.
‘Experts in Your Field’ is a UKRI-funded initiative that recognises that small-scale farmers and landworkers are leading innovation in farming and land-work, but are rarely rewarded for this or acknowledged by formal research.
It seeks to fund, support and provide equipment for small-scale farmers and landworkers to undertake research that is important to them. The findings of this research will be shared with other farmers, landworkers and policymakers to drive innovation, promote a transition to more sustainable agricultural and other land practices, and provide vital evidence to support change at a policy level.
PHASE ONE
Phase 1 engaged 40 landworkers from across a wide variety of sectors who actively designed the project. Of these participants 22 went on to develop it further, carrying out research on their own farms, sharing their knowledge and findings with each other and forming a strong peer-to-peer network.
- Participants designed and coordinated on-farm research trials during the busy growing season, demonstrating a strong commitment to innovation even amidst production demands.
- The project created space for knowledge sharing and camaraderie amongst practitioners, revealing the depth of experiential insights within this community.
- Testing phase generated compelling data illuminating biodiversity outcomes, while also highlighting barriers that farmers face in conducting their own research independently.
- Securing access to specialised research equipment and providing financial stipends to participants ensured broader involvement, demonstrating that community-based expertise thrives when we value farmers’ time and labour appropriately.
PHASE TWO
With Phase 1 confirming practitioners’ enthusiasm for research and applied knowledge exchange, Phase 2 of “Experts in Their Field” expanded the cohort to include more landworkers.
Phase 2 focused on:
- Strengthening peer learning networks for sharing ideas and troubleshooting through the project duration
- Co-designing unified data collection tools for comparability
- Compiling findings in a Community Journal and at the ‘Cultivating Wisdom’ conference (more information below) to inform policymakers and research institutions about the value of agroecology
Over 75 landworkers engaged in Phase 2 of the Experts In Your Field project, with 40 going on to carry out research projects covering various aspects of agroecology. Their work spanned crucial areas including biodiversity, soil health and social aspects of agroecology.
Cultivating Wisdom Conference
In 2024 we held our ‘Cultivating Wisdom’ research conference which tok place from the 21st – 22nd October at Birch Community Centre, Manchester.
The event was designed to be of interest to farmers seeking to know what research can offer, researchers aiming to connect with farmers or social scientists and economists who wish to better understand to wider societal and financial consequences of the adoption of agroecological practices.
Research Journal
To coincide with the Cultivating Wisdom conference we were proud to release our ‘Cultivating Wisdom’ research journal; a groundbreaking collection of research summaries from Phase 2 of the Experts in Your Field project.
This publication represents two years of innovative, farmer-led research that’s transforming our understanding of agroecology in the UK, with every study representing real-world applications and innovations emerging directly from working farms and woodlands.
‘Cultivating Wisdom: Agroecology Research and Innovation from Experts in Their Field’ is available to access online here.
Stay tuned as we move forward, leading the way in community-driven agroecological knowledge creation!
If you would like to hear more about this project and how you can get involved then please sign up for the upcoming free webinar on Monday the 11th of November. If you can’t make it to the webinar, you can also register your interest here.
CONTACT US
Project officers
Isobel Talks: isobel.talks@landworkersalliance.org.uk
Tara Wight: tara.wight@landworkersalliance.org.uk
