THE TRANSFORMATIVE POTENTIAL OF AGROECOLOGY: INTEGRATING POLICIES, PRACTICES, POWER, AND PHILOSOPHIES FOR LIVIN WELL by Dana James B.Sc., The Pennsylvania State University, 2013 MPhil, Newcastle University, 2015 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Resources, Environment and Sustainability) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. (Vancouver) February 2022 © Dana James, 2022‘The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: The Transformative Potential of Agroecology: Integrating Policies, Practices, Power, and Philosophies for Living Well submitted by _Dana James in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability Examining Committee: Dr. Hannah Wittman, Professor, IRES, UBC ‘Supervisor Dr. Navin Ramankutty, Professor, IRES, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Jennifer Blesh, Associate Professor, SEAS, University of Michigan ‘Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Shannon Hagerman, Associate Professor, Forest Resources Management, UBC University Examiner Dr. Janette Bulkan, Associate Professor, Forest Resources Management, UBC University ExaminerAppendix: Interview Guide Part 1: Background 1, Farmer name 2. Farmer age 3. Owner-operator of the farm? Shared owner-operator responsibilities? 4, Farm location 5. For farming purposes, do you: © own land rent land out rent from anyone else use common land 200 6. Farm size © Total area: o Total garden area: © Total productive area used for farming: © Total area certified: 7. In general, how would you describe the land? Are you in transition or certified with an agroccology or organic program? 9, Income © Total farm income? © What is the main source of income’? = Farming activities = On-farm value-added activities = Off-farm activities 10, How many people work here? o Family members: = On average, how many hours do you estimate each family member works per week on your farm? Off-farm? © Nonefamily members: = How many non-family workers do you hire and for how much time in a year? = For what purpose do you hire additional labor? © Do you have sufficient access to labor for your needs? 11. How would you describe your education level? 12, What’s the story of this place/property? 204Part 2: Production and management 13, Number of crop species grown: © How did you decide what to grow? © Where and how do you access seeds? 14, Number of livestock species raised: © (If applicable) Do you utilize rotational grazing practice 15. Could you describe the types of management practices you use on your farm? © Biological control Flowering borders Mixed cropping (intereropping, relay cropping) Crop rotation Conservation tillage Soil cover (cover cropping, mulching) Locally-adapted varieties Fallow fields Agroforestry (alley crop) Integrated crops-livestock On-farm nutrient/energy recycling © Riparian buffers 16, How do you access your water? 17. Can you deseribe your input use for pest control and soil fertility? 18, What machinery, if any, do you use during production/processing? ing, hedgerows) 0000000000 Part 3: Access to markets and resources 19, Are you a member of other cooperatives? If so, which cooperatives, and for what purpose? 20, Are you or were you a participant in government-led family farm programming? (i.e., PNAE, PAA, PLANPO, etc.) © How beneficial were these programs to you, and why? © How easy were these government programs to access? 21, How would you describe your access to credit? 22. Have you accessed extension support for your farm? ©. Ifso. = Who provides/provided the support? = With what frequency? = Does or did this extension service provide support for agroccological production? 20523. Do you participate in farmer-to-farmer meetings, field schools, or other learning exchanges? © Ifso... = Who provides/provided the support? = With what frequency? = Does or did this experience provide support for agroecological production? 24, Do you participate in other formalized education activities (short courses, academic workshops)? © Ifso. = Who provides/provided the support? = With what frequency? = Does or did this experience provide support for agroecological production? 25, What is your greatest expense, and what proportion of your expenditures goes to this expense? 26, Are markets for agroecological products easy to access for you? 27. What proportion of what you grow do you keepisell to markets/sell to the government? Part 4: Motivations 28. Do you consider yourself to be an agroecological farmer? © Why or why not? What does agroecological farming mean to you? © Who decided to start producingyliving in this way and why? 29, What is an agroecological transition? What does it involve/look like? What would a global transition to agroecology look like and what would it take? 30. Would you be able to farm agroecologically if you expanded your farm? © Isit possible to be a large agroecological farmer? Why or why not? 31. IF CERTIFIED © Why did you decide to certify? What motivates you to use ecological/sustainable management practices? © Do you or did you encounter any problems with = Becoming certified? = Maintaining your cettification? © What were the biggest barriers you experienced during the tra agroecological farming? © What is your overall greatest challenge on your farm and why? What would help you overcome this challenge? 32. IF NOT CERTIFIED © Have you been certified in the past? 206= Ifso.. + Forhow long? * Why did you give up certification? © Are you interested in. = Transitioning to agroecology? = Becoming certified? © What would motivate or help you to: = Transition toward agroecological management practices? = Become cettified? © What is your greatest challenge on your farm and why? What would help you overcome this challenge? Part 5: Wrap-up 33. Is there anything we haven’t discussed but that you think is important and would like to share? 34, Who would you like the findings from this research project to be shared with? 35. How would you like the findings from this project to be shared with you? 207