Transforming agroecology perceptions: enhancing awareness, knowledge and involvement through a multistakeholder forum

The focus of this research was to examine how participation in a multistakeholder forum (MSF) could: (1) modify stakeholders’ perceptions concerning agroecology, (2) foster the emergence of a new network and (3) enhance horizontal co-learning processes among a range of stakeholders. We designed a 2-day forum offering multiple activities based on experiential and co-learning processes on agroecology. Participants included farmers, associations, consumers, policymakers, researchers and students, as well as value chain actors from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and France. Ante- and post-forum questionnaires were drawn up to assess how this event could impact stakeholders’ perceptions regarding agroecology and their social networks. The participants claimed that the forum helped them gain a more comprehensive and holistic understanding of various agroecology themes – including environmental, social and economic aspects – thereby highlighting the forum’s effectiveness in knowledge sharing and enhancement. The forum also enabled participants to establish a network for ongoing agroecology knowledge exchange. Although this multi-actor forum proved beneficial for knowledge exchange and skill improvement, it should also be nested in a broader transformative process. An overall transformative process, including experiential learning, as promoted in this forum, could effectively meet current agroecological transition challenges.