“More attention and space is needed for people in transition”

Recently I was at a meeting where a talk was given on transition and chaos. A transition is a fundamental and far-reaching change that addresses a social theme.

A transition theory focuses on the process of arriving at a new reality, a major system change in which everyone should participate. Systems that are large and complex and have dependencies. Chaos needed to go through system change.

In any case, it was an interesting conference, peppered with humor and many examples. About shifts, undercurrents, overcurrents and the future of the planet and our world. A conference that also provoked the necessary resistance from at least some of those present. Because sometimes it’s a matter of choosing words and changing farmers.

Lately, I’ve been studying transitions and transition theories. And not without reason. After all, it is often about “agricultural transition”. A huge change to make agriculture more sustainable.

Inclusive agriculture, biodiversity, new crops and new concepts such as community farms are cited as components that fit well into agricultural transition and the agriculture of the future. New ways of producing food and different consumption patterns. And of course, it is also the earning capacity that is linked to these changes.

However, a transition is not just about products and systems. About right or wrong. Huge changes also take a long time, you can’t achieve such big changes in a few years. The changes also evoke resistance and mistrust. Sometimes the word transition itself is enough for resistance.

When it comes to an agricultural transition, something else is happening that is sometimes overlooked too quickly. And that is the identity as a farmer. It’s not just a job. It’s more than that. Who you are, what you do and how you grew up. As part of a family farm, a place that has been exploited for several generations. Too quickly and too quickly without taking into account this unique identity. And it does something to people.

As far as I am concerned, there will be more room in the transitions to better take into account an identity and enhance it. Make way for dialogue, for a good balance between different interests. Hopefully we will go beyond the systems and there will be room for the living world. Space for people in transition.