Agricultural interactive knowledge models: researchers’ perceptions about farmers’ knowledges and information sources in Spain

ABSTRACT Purpose Agricultural innovation implies sharing information between researchers and farmers. Acknowledging the value of the other partner’s knowledge is a preliminary step to facilitate agricultural interactive models. Traditionally, researchers’ knowledges have been dominant, and farmers’ knowledges have been underestimated. A large number of innovation papers pay attention to farmers’ attitudes, interests, perceptions, barriers or drivers to change their practices. However, there is not so much information about researchers’ point of view. The present paper analyses researchers’ perceptions about farmers’ knowledges and information sources. Design It is based on a survey of 156 agricultural researchers mostly from public institutions in Spain. Methodology/approach Descriptive statistics and principal component analysis (PCA) focused on researchers’ perceptions of farmers’ knowledges and information sources. Findings This paper finds that there are two distinct profiles of researchers according to their perceptions on the relevance of knowledges and information sources for farmers. However, both profiles shared the view of ‘own experience’ as a highly relevant source for farmers’ knowledges. Practical implications It advises how to promote knowledge sharing according to different researchers’ perceptions of farmers’ knowledges and information sources. Theoretical implications This paper classifies agricultural researchers according to their perceptions of farmers’ knowledges and information sources. This classification enriches the discussion about agricultural interactive knowledge models. Originality/value This paper pays attention to researchers’ perceptions of farmers’ knowledges and information sources. It particularly focuses on multi-actor approaches and the integration of farmers’ and researchers’ knowledges.