Hypotheses of the ORM4Soil Project

ORM4Soil will assess and test the following hypotheses:

• The exchange of experiences between farmers, researchers, and advisors on the reasons for insufficient up- 
take of sustainable SFM leads to new ideas for and the identification of easily adoptable management options.
• Early participation of farmers in research on innovations in SFM techniques, duly considering gender issues, 
experiences, and points of view, leads to increased adoption into farming practice.
• The institutional setting (social values, legal regulations) plays an important role in the adoption of SFM techniques. Social sciences theory is required to understand the behaviour of functional systems such as the 
complexity of the food and agriculture system.
• A mix of media information with content and quality, tailored to farmers’ needs, and complementary inter- 
personal communication from extension services leads to a better understanding and adoption of SFM techniques.