1. The role of informal social networks in
agroforestry adoption and management
Marney E. Isaac
University of Toronto
World Congress on Agroforestry, Feb. 2014
Collaborators:
Forestry Research Institute of Ghana
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science
and Technology
Funding:
International Development Research Centre
Social Science and Humanities Research
Council of Canada

2. Agroforestry management under
environmental and economic change
– Continuously changing biophysical interactions operate
in diverse agroforestry systems
– Producers require access to specialized information in
order to appropriately manage productive and
persistent systems

3. Agroforestry and networks
• Agroforestry management prescriptions are based on informed
diagnosis and manipulation of an agroecosystem
• To do this, producers may seek information from formal
sources [e.g. organizations or institutions] or informal sources
[e.g. neighbours]
• Reposition our understanding of adoption of sustainable
practices relative to relational data = social networks

4. Theoretical considerations
• Network theory suggests both information and transfer via
personal network ties (Granovetter 1973; Coleman 1991; Burt
1992; Rogers 1995)
– Information related to a particular practice is frequently
embedded in social transactions
• Social network configurations differentially impact diffusion
and durability of ideas:
– Understanding barriers to access and identifying key
actors in the development and transfer of critical
information

5. Information networks of agroforestry systems
• 1) what is the structure, and environmental consequence, of
informal information networks?
• 2) how do heterogeneous actors impact network structures
and agroforestry practices?
• 3) do distinct information network topologies coincide with
predictable patterns of land use change to and from
agroforestry?

7. Whole network structure
Isaac et al (2007) Ecology and Society

8. How do organizational ties affect the structure of
these networks?

9. Are these networks correlated to adoption of
agroforestry?
7
r = 0.41; P = 0.043
r = 0.35; P < 0.100
6
Species richness
5
4
3
2
1
0
0
Individual network efficiency
•
•
20
40
60
80
Individual network density
Individuals in diffuse but diverse networks with few redundant ties are more likely
to report trees on farm
Dense, homophilous networks, which often promote collective action, may be less
effective in innovation driven agricultural systems
Isaac (2012) Agricultural Systems

10. Source: Van Geest 2011 International Migration

11. Agroforestry information networks exposed
to new members

12. Agroforestry information networks exposed
to new members

13. Agroforestry information networks exposed
to new members
o
o
o
Isaac et al (2014) Ecology and Society
Migrant farmers in brokerage roles
Tend to use pro-environmental management
regimes including agroforestry practices
Positioned to transfer environmentally-adapted
agroforestry management

14. Socio-spatial dynamics of agroforestry management
• Do network topologies correlate with land use change to and
from agroforestry systems?

15. Dynamic land cover
• Manage three types of land use:
• Crop cultivation
• Timber plantations
• Cocoa agroforestry systems

16. Land use distribution
= institution
= NGO active
= land use types

17. o Centrally positioned and NGO active farmers
overrepresent those with multiple land use types
o Diverse, but not necessarily more, network ties
correlate to land diversification and the
emergence of agroforestry land use

18. Implications
• Network metrics relate to agroforestry management strategies
• Couple social networks and actor position to land use outcomes
• Social network diversity appears as a strong structural indicator
for the persistence of agricultural landscapes with high
environmental services
• A social networks approach elucidates the flow and
coordination of information on suitable but innovative
agroforestry management

19. 2012
2013

20. 2012
2013

21. Collaborator
Coordinator
Gatekeeper
Liaison
Are network topologies related to
land use change to and from
agroforestry systems?

22. Environmental change and networks
Source: Van Geest 2011 International Migration

23. Brokerage roles
Collaborator
Coordinator
Gatekeeper
Liaison
Adapted from Hanneman and Riddle 2005