Transformative learning in farmer research networks: insights from Eastern and Southern Africa

Farmer research networks are collaborative platforms where farmers, researchers, extension workers, and NGOs co-create knowledge, experiment with innovations, and tackle local challenges through joint learning and action. Although interest in these networks is growing, there remains a limited understanding of how learning occurs within them. This study draws on qualitative data from nine networks active between 2015 and 2024 in Kenya, Malawi and Uganda. It reveals that these networks foster individual and collective transformation. The process is dynamic, multi-dimensional, technical, relational, and emotional, shaped by diverse knowledge systems and social interactions. Emotional engagement , enhanced motivation, deepened reflection, and prompted identity shifts. Networks function not only as sites of knowledge co-creation and learning but also as cultural and emotional spaces where agricultural visions and identities are negotiated and reshaped. Farmers assumed roles as researchers and educators, adapting agroecological innovations and experimenting with solutions to ecological and livelihood challenges. The key enabling factors were trust among members, inclusive facilitation, institutional memory, and strong local leadership. Progress was constrained by entrenched gender norms, hierarchical extension practices, and rigid social structures. Sustaining transformative learning calls for continued investment in facilitation capacity, inclusive leadership and institutional structures that embed networks within broader innovation systems.