Investigation

Farmer Interview
23
Background
Farmers—the hands-on managers of agroecosystems—have enormous stores of knowledge about what
works and what does not and why. They understand the locality in which they farm, the variations and
extremes in its weather, the pests that must be contended with, the crops that respond best, the soil and what
it needs to remain productive. Regardless of how sustainable an individual farmer’s practices are, his or her
knowledge is an important resource, and his or her concerns and point of view are something the agroecolo-
gist must take into account. For these reasons, a central tenet of agroecology is that local, farmer-based
knowledge is a key starting point in the movement toward sustainability.
A farmer’s knowledge and practices, however, must also be understood within the larger context of the
food system. Farming is an economic activity, and so a farm’s place in the web of food production, distri-
bution, and consumption relationships affects everything a farmer does on the farm. It matters who buys a
farm’s products, what price the farmer gets, and how far the food travels to get to the consumer’s table.
Many farmers feel helpless in the face of globalization and the increasing power of the food processing,
transporting, marketing, and retailing “middlemen.” Some farmers, however, are shifting their marketing
strategies in ways that let them retain control over their economic fates. Many farmers moving in this direc-
tion are making their farms the primary building blocks of alternative food systems that eschew globaliza-
tion and work to re-create more direct connections between the growers and consumers of food.

Textbook Correlation
Chapter 19: Sustainability and Its Assessment
Chapter 21: Bringing Farmers and Consumers Closer Together

Synopsis
A farmer (or farming team) is interviewed to learn about the farming practices, knowledge, motivations,
major challenges, role in the food system, and goals for the future. The information gained from the inter-
view may be used for later collaborative problem solving.
Objectives
• Learn interviewing techniques.
• Understand the human element of agriculture.
• Investigate farming as “ethnoscience.”
• Gain a baseline of local knowledge.
• Explore the role that local farmers play as components of regional and global food systems.
• Take steps toward transforming the relationship between farmers and agroecological researchers into one that
is more participatory, with information flowing in both directions.

Procedure Summary and Timeline

Prior to week 1
• Contact interview candidates and arrange interview times.
Week 1 (2, 3)
• Conduct interviews.
After interviews
• Transcribe interviews and write up reports.

Timing Factors
This investigation can be completed in a relatively short amount of time, with little preparation. It can be
done any time of the year, but it may be best to avoid times that would be especially busy for local farmers.

Coordination with Other Investigations

This investigation may be combined with Investigation 18. If the two are combined, however, the mapping
exercise should be carried out first, before the investigators receive much input from the farmer.

Materials, Equipment, and Facilities

Several willing farmers
Audio recorders (optional)

Advance Preparation
• Contact local farmers and ascertain their interest in being interviewed. When you talk to a farmer, make it clear
you value his or her knowledge and point of view and want to learn from them. Try to represent a variety of
farm sizes, types of practices, types of crops, and geographic areas in your choice of initial contacts. Attempt to
obtain commitments from as many farmers as there are teams.
• Arrange times for interviews. Make it clear that an interview may take an hour or more. Obtain permission from
each interviewee to record the interview.
Ongoing Maintenance
No maintenance is required.

Investigation Teams
Form two-person interview teams, each of which will interview a different farmer. If the number of willing
farmers is limited, team size can be increased to three; teams larger than three persons may have greater
difficulty establishing rapport with the interviewee.

Procedure
Data Collection

1. Before the interview, learn as much as possible about the farmer being interviewed: crops grown, farm size,
market conditions, problems related to the geographic area, and so on. This knowledge will help you form more
intelligent questions.
2. Make a list of questions to ask. Keep in mind the following:
a. The questions should be adapted to the individual you are interviewing (the questions you would ask a
small-scale organic farmer, e.g., are somewhat different from those you would ask a larger-scale conven-
tional farmer).
b. Many farmers are used to being treated by researchers and extension agents as receivers of information, not
sources.
c. The interview has two basic objectives: (1) learning about the farmer’s practices, problems, motivations,
marketing strategies, and farming history at a descriptive level and (2) understanding the logic and knowl-
edge that underlies the farmer’s practices and goals. These dual objectives mean that for every practice
listed in “Areas to Investigate,” you should learn what the farmer does and how and why he or she does it.
d. You will get more interesting information and establish better rapport if you let the farmer’s point of view
control the agenda. It may be best to find out about certain practices or rationales with indirect questions,
rather than direct ones. A direct question such as “Do you use integrated pest management?” can be inter-
preted as “Do you control pests the right way or the wrong way?” and is best avoided.
e. As the interviewee gets to know and trust you during the interview, you may be able to ask more probing or
potentially sensitive questions.

Areas to Investigate
• Pest management
• Maintenance of soil health and organic matter management
• Cultivation
• Weed management and use of “good weeds”
• Cover cropping and use of fallow cycle
• Crop combining and polyculture
• Farm diversity and integration with natural vegetation
• Use of animals
• Erosion control
• Use of energy
 • Soil moisture management and irrigation
• Use of trees and other perennials
• Connection with the local community
• Marketing and economics of the farming enterprise

Possible Interview Questions

• How long have you been farming? What led you into farming?
• Why is farming important to you? What is your greatest source of satisfaction?
• What do you grow? Why?
• What is the most difficult aspect of farming for you?
• How do you manage pests? What is your biggest pest problem?
• How often do you cultivate?
• How do you fertilize your soil?
• Where do you get your seeds?
• How has your soil changed during the period you have farmed here? How do you keep your soil healthy?
• Do you plant cover crops?
• What do you see as your biggest challenge in the coming year?
• What are you doing to keep your land productive over the long term?
• What role do you see the natural or less disturbed areas of your farm playing?
• Have you tried any new techniques in the past few years? What are they? Have they worked or not? Why?
• Is your farm significantly different from others in the area? In what ways?
• Have you shifted, or considered changing, your marketing strategy in recent years?
• What do you see as the underlying cause of recent changes in the economics of agriculture?
• What do you see yourself doing on your farm in 10 years?
• To whom do you sell your crops? What proportion of your farm’s produce remains in the local region?
• Have you heard of community-supported agriculture (CSA)? Have you considered creating or joining
a CSA?
3. Discuss how you, as a team, will conduct the interview. Will you take turns asking questions? Will you each
have responsibility for different areas of questioning?
4. Conduct the interview, using an audio recorder if possible (if the interview is not recorded, take careful notes).
The questions you have listed are only a starting point; they are only tools for prompting the interviewee to
disclose the information you seek. Be flexible; do not mechanically march through the list of questions.
5. If the interview was recorded and time allows, transcribe the interview.
6. Summarize the most important information in the transcript (or interview notes).

Write-Up and Presentation of Data

A suggested approach is to divide the report into two parts. In the first part, present what you have learned
from the interviewed farmer, using a descriptive mode. In the second part, shift to an analytical mode.
Discuss the farmer’s practices, strategies, and problems from an agroecological perspective, using the fol-
lowing questions as guidelines:
• Why is it important to take into account the local-farming-knowledge base of an area?
• How sustainable are the farmer’s practices?
 • What role could agroecological researchers play in helping the farmer shift to more sustainable practices?
• What might agroecological researchers learn from the farmer’s knowledge or practices? Could some of the
practices be adopted more widely in the area? What elements of the farmer’s knowledge should be verified or
documented by agroecological research?
• How might the problems and challenges identified by the farmer be solved?
• What would have to change (in the local market, in government policy, etc.) for farmers in the area to be moti-
vated to shift to more sustainable practices?
• What opportunities are available for the farmer to become part of an alternative food network?

Either before or after reports are written, it may be instructive to hold an informal roundtable discussion in
which interview teams share their experiences and findings. Consider the possibility of delivering copies of
the completed reports—after instructor critique and revision—to the farmers.

Variations and Further Study

1. Combine each team’s report into a larger and more comprehensive regional report. Such an undertaking could
be the basis of a senior thesis project.
2. Return for a second round of interviews with each farmer. Investigators may have built some trust during the
first interview, allowing more in-depth questions and follow-ups during a second interview.
3. Use the interviews as a basis for constructing an “oral history” of each farmer, farming family, or farming com-
munity. Focus the interview questions on such matters as intergenerational transfer of knowledge and technique,
change over time on the farm and in the community, and how new methods are learned and shared.
4. Focus the interview around identifying the farmer’s major challenges and problems. Learn how the farmer per-
ceives the causes of and potential solutions to these problems.
5. Focus the interview around the economics of the farming enterprise and the farm’s role in the food system.