Innovating together: outcomes from an integrated technical-experiential-social agricultural climate adaptation education program

Abstract

Agricultural advising services are called to support farmers in their adaptation to a changing climate. This area is under rapid development, yet there is still an unmet need. To lay a foundation for this work, we need a thorough understanding of how farmers learn, how advisors and farmers interact, and what influences behavioral change. To address these needs, we utilized the 2020–21 Climate Adaptation Fellowship (CAF) Vegetable and Small Fruit Program, which supported farmers and advisors in the Northeast United States. Here, we report on the results that emerged from the fellowship’s learning model. The model included technical, experiential, and social learning pathways as well as space for farmers and advisors to learn and experiment together. We term this an Integrated Technical-Experiential-Social Model. Data from a 3-year period, including two years post-program, shows that the social learning pathway contributed extensive synergistic drivers for participants’ behavior change. Technical and experiential components provided essential complementary influences, and the three pathways together led to near universal adaptation-related behavior change. While no single behavior can be attributed to the program, participants describe a range of adaptive practices and iterative experimentation, and a desire to continue learning and collaborating. Participants noted increases in perceived self-efficacy, specifically efficacy to innovate. The program also facilitated collective efficacy, accountability and social norms. The most interactive participants experienced a reinforcing cycle that further increased learning and efficacy. This research highlights the role of integrated educational programs in facilitating adaptation and suggests strategies to foster learning within and outside organized programming.