Lack of stakeholder awareness as barriers in the transition to agroecological food systems: an analytical case study of mountain farming in Uttarakhand, India

Lack of awareness and widespread ignorance regarding the principles, benefits, and practical application of agroecology acts as a foundational barrier to transforming food systems, creating, as indicated by research, a significant knowledge-gap across various stakeholders. This knowledge gap is not uniform; different groups exhibit distinct forms of ignorance that hinder the transition from conventional to agroecological farming. In mountain farming of Uttarakhand, India, farmers often lack comprehension of particular agroecological practices and the economic uncertainties that accompany them. Policymakers may fail to adopt a systems approach, focusing instead on isolated components rather than the broader interactions within the food chain. Consumers may lack awareness of agroecological products, even though they acknowledge their positive public perception. Tackling these forms of ignorance requires the strengthening of social capital, the implementation of policy reforms, the enhancement of market access for agroecological products, and the encouragement of multi-stakeholder platforms that support the co-creation and sharing of knowledge. This article provides an examination of how ignorance manifests at different stakeholder levels and its impact on the agroecological transition in the mountain farming sector of Uttarakhand. Additionally, the study investigates the potential for collaborative knowledge creation to enhance agroecological food systems in hill farming, as well as the relationship between farmers’ experiential tacit knowledge and the agroecological food transition in this specific context.