Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
demands on the relevance and proactive perspective of research relative to the changing goals,
intentions and values of society and agriculture. These demands are not restricted to agricul-
tural research. They are part of a more general change in the conception of science and its role
in society, from that of science as an independent source of objective knowledge to that of
science as special learning process within society.
Agriculture is an area undergoing rapid development, both in terms of technological devel-
opment and the development of alternative production systems, and agricultural research is
inf luential in these developments. In this sense, agricultural science is a 'systemic' science, a
science that inf luences its own subject area (Alrøe and Kristensen 2002). Furthermore, agri-
cultural practice involves both social and ecological systems, and research into these socioeco-
logical systems faces the dual challenge of understanding complex agroecosystem interactions
and the practices of people in social systems. Agricultural systems research is, therefore, inher-
ently framed in a social context, and necessarily involves questions concerning different inter-
ests and values in society as well as different structures of rationality and meaning (Kristensen
and Halberg 1997).
There is, therefore, a need to explicitly address how values in the form of intentions and
social interests feature in agricultural research. This is in terms of where and how values enter
into the research process, and also in terms of what the systemic nature of agricultural research
means in relation to the conventional scientific criteria of quality. This need applies generally
to agricultural research. Moreover, the role of values is particularly evident with regard to
organic farming, because special values and goals are obvious and decisive and because these
values are clearly different from the values of mainstream agriculture.
The special values of organic agriculture are summarised and what this obvious and
manifest value basis means for organic research, how is to be performed, and how it is to be
evaluated is brief ly considered. Sound research approaches and appropriate methodologies for
organic research are described and the relationship between organic and conventional research
is discussed.
Ethics, principles and standards
Organic farming has differentiated itself from conventional agriculture by way of alternative
agricultural practices, world views and values. Most notably, the organic movement has explic-
itly formulated basic principles and standards for organic production and processing. The
principles are based on a perception of humans and human society as an integrated part of
nature and a holistic conception of health. Understanding the ecological processes that drive
productivity and environmental impact through soil biology, vegetation dynamics, pest popu-
lation dynamics, disease epidemiology and so on, is a key to improved organic systems. This
does not imply that they are unimportant in conventional farming. Organic farming does,
however, not have access to all the technological means for overcoming natural and ecological
insufficiencies and problems (notably artificial pesticides, fertilisers, preventive medicine)
that conventional farming has, and it therefore relies on cooperation with natural ecological
systems to a greater extent. Values of animal welfare, biodiversity and livelihood are also an
integral feature of organic farming. This comprehensive, integrated view of nature and ethics
is evident in one of the original key ideas of organic agriculture that 'the health of soil, plant,
animal and man is one and indivisible' (Lady Eve Balfour in Woodward
et
al
. 1996).
In the existing IFOAM Basic Standards (IFOAM 2002), there are 15 principal aims plus
general principles for each area in the standards, and the principles are thus quite complex to
overview. There is, however, a process going on within IFOAM to rewrite the principles of
organic agriculture. The process is expected to result in a set of basic ethical principles to be
decided upon in the General Assembly 2005 in Adelaide. In the draft of May 2005, there are
