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footprint. The reality is that due to the urgency of emerging climate crises, incremental changes in technology may not address the problems at their source. Given
the importance of agriculture in the context of climate change, rural livelihoods,
food security, and poverty reduction, meaningful climate resilient agriculture, also
known as climate-smart agriculture (CSA), has the potential to improve the livelihoods and resilience of millions of smallholder farmers in Africa. Our current framing of the agriculture- and climate-related problem is inadequate, both in the way
the problem is articulated and in the solutions that are proposed. People are separated practically, cognitively, and emotionally from their environment and may lack
an understanding of climate change and its impacts on agriculture. To counter this,
the concept of transformation is increasingly used to advocate individual and systemic change for wider implications, not just in response to environmental or climate change (O’Brien 2012). We need to shift our cognition of the problem and
increase global consciousness at large. The importance of transformation was
already acknowledged in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC 2007).
Transformation was included in a special report for managing the risks of extreme
events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation (IPCC 2012). In this
report, the IPCC defines transformation as ‘fundamental changes to the attributes of
a system, including value systems, regulatory, legislative or bureaucratic regimes,
financial institutions, technology and biophysical systems’ (p. 564).
In order to address climate change and agricultural sustainability in a changing
climate, mindfulness and an awareness of interdependence are needed. This transformative awareness should be applied to higher education and research relevant for
climate change adaptation and mitigation for sustainable agricultural development.
This implies an increasing need for reflective thinking on interdependence and the
linkages between agricultural and environmental problems deeply rooted in human
wants/greed and that manifest in various forms, such as unsustainable agriculture,
biodiversity losses, climate change, and land/soil degradation (Gisladottir and
Stocking 2005). We need to look at our own assumptions about the innovations we
make and have made (Jasanoff 2007) and transform our efforts to ‘science with
society’. Our present education system is mainly focused on what is known (as a
third-person experience or information that is available publicly) and much less on
the process of knowing or on who is the ‘knower’ (first-person experience). The
knower, who internalizes the knowledge, will develop different perceptions based
on their experiences, geographical location, cultural heritage, etc. In this regard,
how agriculture education is presented and the motivation of scientists involved will
influence transformation in individuals and in agriculture. Scientific work should be
conducted with creativity and compassion rather than as purely mechanical work. If
we believe that environmental and agricultural problems are largely a human construct, humans should then have the ability to deconstruct these problems. A human
construct can be deconstructed with proper education, training, and increased
understanding and awareness. We need to reflect on interdependence and explore
who we are, where we come from, and what our role in this world is in a transformative context. If we only have a materialistic perception or worldview based on consumerism in the modern age, we cannot expect significant changes to happen in a
Need for Personal Transformations in a Changing Climate: Reflections…
footprint. The reality is that due to the urgency of emerging climate crises, incremental changes in technology may not address the problems at their source. Given
the importance of agriculture in the context of climate change, rural livelihoods,
food security, and poverty reduction, meaningful climate resilient agriculture, also
known as climate-smart agriculture (CSA), has the potential to improve the livelihoods and resilience of millions of smallholder farmers in Africa. Our current framing of the agriculture- and climate-related problem is inadequate, both in the way
the problem is articulated and in the solutions that are proposed. People are separated practically, cognitively, and emotionally from their environment and may lack
an understanding of climate change and its impacts on agriculture. To counter this,
the concept of transformation is increasingly used to advocate individual and systemic change for wider implications, not just in response to environmental or climate change (O’Brien 2012). We need to shift our cognition of the problem and
increase global consciousness at large. The importance of transformation was
already acknowledged in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC 2007).
Transformation was included in a special report for managing the risks of extreme
events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation (IPCC 2012). In this
report, the IPCC defines transformation as ‘fundamental changes to the attributes of
a system, including value systems, regulatory, legislative or bureaucratic regimes,
financial institutions, technology and biophysical systems’ (p. 564).
In order to address climate change and agricultural sustainability in a changing
climate, mindfulness and an awareness of interdependence are needed. This transformative awareness should be applied to higher education and research relevant for
climate change adaptation and mitigation for sustainable agricultural development.
This implies an increasing need for reflective thinking on interdependence and the
linkages between agricultural and environmental problems deeply rooted in human
wants/greed and that manifest in various forms, such as unsustainable agriculture,
biodiversity losses, climate change, and land/soil degradation (Gisladottir and
Stocking 2005). We need to look at our own assumptions about the innovations we
make and have made (Jasanoff 2007) and transform our efforts to ‘science with
society’. Our present education system is mainly focused on what is known (as a
third-person experience or information that is available publicly) and much less on
the process of knowing or on who is the ‘knower’ (first-person experience). The
knower, who internalizes the knowledge, will develop different perceptions based
on their experiences, geographical location, cultural heritage, etc. In this regard,
how agriculture education is presented and the motivation of scientists involved will
influence transformation in individuals and in agriculture. Scientific work should be
conducted with creativity and compassion rather than as purely mechanical work. If
we believe that environmental and agricultural problems are largely a human construct, humans should then have the ability to deconstruct these problems. A human
construct can be deconstructed with proper education, training, and increased
understanding and awareness. We need to reflect on interdependence and explore
who we are, where we come from, and what our role in this world is in a transformative context. If we only have a materialistic perception or worldview based on consumerism in the modern age, we cannot expect significant changes to happen in a
Need for Personal Transformations in a Changing Climate: Reflections…