Opportunities and barriers in diversified farming and the use of agroecological principles in the Global North – The experiences of Danish biodynamic farmers
Ane Kirstine Aare, Jonas Egmose, Søren Lund, and Henrik Hauggaard-Nielsen
ABSTRACT
Diversification through agroecological principles may maintain and stabilize yields in an increasingly more unpredictable climate, including market price fluctuations, as well as preserve and enhance the threatened natural resource base and the environment. Based on a participatory interview process this article identifies the barriers encountered by a group of Danish biodynamic farmers striving for self-sufficient farm systems with no or very little dependency on imported materials by developing biologically, economically and socially diverse farms.
Through an iterative interview process the study found that barriers outside farm management are hindering the transition toward diverse farming and that a further exploration of the need for and implications of food sovereignty in the Global North might generate the discussions needed to support implementation of more agroecological farming system practises.