Overcoming barriers to agri-environmental management at landscape scale: Balancing farmer coordination and collaboration with the aid of facilitators and pioneers

Policy instruments that integrate the actions of multiple farmers are of growing interest for improving landscape scale environmental sustainability of agriculture. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with farmers in south-east England and applied thematic analysis to the responses to perform a qualitative investigation into the combined role of economic, social, and cultural barriers to cooperative environmental management, and identify possible solutions for these barriers. Interviewees recognised environmental benefits of cooperative management, but this was a low priority compared to other management activities, being seen as complex and time-consuming, with uncertainty over direct benefits to participants. External coordination could address this by overseeing information sharing on cooperation benefits and minimising the logistical burden for participants, but given farmer mistrust of outside intervention, these projects will be more successful when collaborating farmers feel they are in control. The efforts of both pioneering farmers able to initiate projects with their peers, and respected facilitators who embody local knowledge and experience, will be vital for balancing coordination and collaboration. Finding the optimal balance between these different elements will vary with local circumstances: policy should have the flexibility to accommodate this. Farmers were wary of connecting with others possessing different farming ideals and thus having to compromise on their management approach. Some respondents sought to bridge these gaps by focusing on aspects of farming identities they shared with their peers, raising the possibility that support targeting these individuals will help develop relationships that foster lasting cultural change for farmer cooperative environmental management.