Co-production of sustainability indicators in a vulnerable South American agricultural frontier

Abstract

Deforestation linked to agricultural activities is a major sustainability concern. Planning towards sustainable agriculturallandscapes in the (sub-)tropics requires indicators that capture the many aspects of social-ecological cost and benefit ofagriculture. Agricultural production strategies are developed using the best available data and knowledge such as highyieldlocations, distance to storage facilities, or certification bonuses. However, there is often a divide between sustainableproduction data generated by the scientific community and current data that are of interest to actors, such as those in theagribusiness sector. Here, we describe how the harmonization of crop production, conservation, and social data used byscientists and agribusiness is possible using a participatory exercise based on knowledge co-production (i.e., generation ofknowledge in a collaborative way) of socio-economic and environmental indicators (such as agricultural production, logistics,or the location of indigenous communities). This was made available through an online decision support platform thatfacilitated the generation of sustainable entrepreneurial strategies. We tested this exercise for the social-environmentallyvulnerable Argentine Chaco dry forest, subject to some of the highest rates of deforestation globally, mainly due to soybeanproduction. The cooperation between participants of this exercise built a knowledge exchange network that was key forinforming decision-makers and highlighted information gaps including agricultural productivity, accessibility of regions,and the vulnerability of rural communities. Our exercise may be applicable to other agricultural commodity frontiers andshowcases the value of including actors’ priorities in the design of indicators to ensure their policy impact and to achievefood systems’ sustainability.