Farmer perspectives on collaborative approaches to governance for water

Collective approaches are being used in rural areas in the western world to deal with a host of environmental problems. Agri-environmental measures designed to reduce environmental impacts at the farm scale are one common example. Also increasingly important are collaborative approaches to governance that engage diverse mixes of state and non-state actors, including farmers. Outcomes from these processes can place new costs and restrictions on farmers. At the same time, because of the extensive nature of agriculture, the success or failure of these processes can depend strongly on the extent to which farmers are willing participants. This paper explores the perspectives of farmers on collaborative processes for addressing water quality and quantity problems in Canada. Using a policy Delphi survey of 25 Canadian farmers who had experience with various kinds of collaborative processes, we reveal benefits and challenges for individual farmers, and for the agriculture sector as a whole. Study participants explicitly viewed the collaborative processes in which they had participated as a way to reduce the risk of government intervention and regulation. They also saw collaboration as an important way to educate other, non-farming participants about agriculture. Actor-specific insights such as the ones revealed through this work are needed to ensure the success of collaborative governance.