Addressing barriers of culture, mindset and institutions through effective co-creation forums and networking, in North-east Scotland, UK

<p>Culture and mindset can be barriers to transitions to agro-ecological farming systems. Farmers, institutions, authorities, businesses and other actors in value chains often rely on familiarity with existing approaches and experience-based outputs. Resistance to change, unproven approaches, or inertia in changing position, inhibits uptake of new ideas and practices.</p>\n\n<p>Findings from the H2020 UNISECO project show the benefits of partnerships of public, private, research and civil society sectors in sharing knowledge and addressing barriers to agro-ecological transition of culture and mindset. An example of an effective forum that facilitates effective sharing of knowledge is the North-East Scotland Agriculture Advisory Group (NESAAG), UK. </p>\n\n<p>A long-term outcome of the operation of such forums can be the acceptance of their benefits as actors in their own right in which participants co-construct approaches that are recognised as taking account of the interests of all sectors.  </p>