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Some policy-oriented concepts such as Ecosystem Services (ESS) remain widely utilized, despite obvious difficulties in operationalizing them. How does the concept persist? In a large EU Horizon 2020 project, researchers from different institutes worked together to develop an indicator of the environmental performance of agricultural practices, expressed in terms of ESS. Two observations of this project help to explain how ESS are progressively turned into a socially shared concept that may transform its environment and perpetuate itself. Firstly, the challenges of operationalizing ESS facilitated the formation of a group of researchers dedicated to the concept. As the project advanced, researchers progressively cut ties with the environmental sciences on which ESS are meant to be based. The interpretive flexibility of the ESS concept contributed to shaping the socially shared reality within which it was situated. Secondly, the legal obligations and procedures of the Horizon 2020 project were an essential factor for the constitutive strength of the ESS concept. As a straitjacket, the grant agreement ensured that the project maintained the researcher-indicator relationship. Thus, researchers were persistently oriented towards developing and expanding the ESS concept. This case illustrates how a research project can be formed and maintained around relatively ill-defined concepts in large consortia that are meant to produce policy-relevant science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses farmers' preferences for the adoption of grass strips as cropland conservation measures and explores the effects of information on their preferences. We further analyze these preferences for plots with varying levels of tenure security and erosion vulnerability. Using survey data from Southern Ethiopia, a plot‐level discrete choice experiment in two rounds that includes a video‐based information treatment in a within‐subject design is conducted. The findings show that farmers prefer to adopt grass strips with a high conservation potential, that can be used as feedstock and that help to stabilize physical structures or delineate plot boundaries. In addition, information transfer increases preferences for adopting grass strips with not only a high conservation potential but also a medium conservation potential. The effects of the information transfer on preferences are found to be heterogeneous and vary with plot characteristics. Under well‐defined property rights, farmers prefer to adopt the grass strips for stabilizing physical structures, conserving their cropland against environmental risk or boundary delineation. However, under weak tenure security, they prefer to plant grass strips only for boundary delineation to reduce the institutional risk of losing cropland, but this preference was only observed after information provision. These findings highlight the importance of designing and implementing context‐specific agricultural information dissemination systems and that well‐defined land rights increase the adoption of land conservation technology in the global south. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen science, where non-specialists collaborate with scientists, has surged in popularity. While it offers an innovative approach to research involvement, the domain of agri-environmental research participation, particularly in terms of citizen recruitment and retention, remains relatively unexplored. To investigate how what factors influence initial and sustained participation in an agronomic citizen science project, we performed a large survey during the case-study "Soy in 1000 Gardens". We obtained data on citizens motivations, general values, environmental concern, prior citizen science experience, and knowledge regarding sustainable food consumption and garden management and applied a two-step selection model to correct for potential self-selection bias on our participation outcomes. Initially, citizen scientists appear to be mostly motivated by gaining knowledge, having fun social interactions and environmental concern with regards to the effects on others, while the desire for enhancing or protecting their ego is less prominent. They also display higher knowledge and self-transcending values. Sustained participants however, are significantly older and share a stronger sense of moral obligation than their dropped-out counterparts. Moreover, prior experience seems to positively influence the length of their participation, while higher knowledge has a positive impact on the amount of data contributed. These insights offer strategies for tailored engagement that should emphasize collective impact, align with intrinsic values, and foster a sense of moral duty, with potential to enhance agri-environmental citizen science initiatives' effectiveness in addressing environmental challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal Impact Statement: To help save our planet, we need to shift to plant‐based protein food and enhance sustainable agricultural practices. Cultivation of legumes, including soybean, will be key because they produce protein‐rich beans without high applied fertilizer input. This complex challenge involves many stakeholders beyond the agricultural sector. In the 'Soy in 1000 Gardens' project, we engaged more than thousand citizens in a 6‐month gardening project aiming at facilitating sustainable soybean cultivation in Belgium. Our work shows that with the right approach, citizen science can provide insights to develop more sustainable agri‐food systems when integrated with fundamental and applied science. Summary: The global food system faces numerous challenges in its pursuit of sustainability. Shifting to more plant‐based protein sources as well as transitioning to self‐reliant agri‐food systems is one way to meet these challenges. This transition requires the involvement of multiple stakeholders beyond the agricultural sector such as the citizens themselves.In this study, we employed a citizen science approach through the 'Soy in 1000 Gardens' project, which engaged more than 1000 citizen scientists in a 6‐month gardening project during which citizens not only observed plant growth but also executed plant growth measurements that meet scientific standards. We aimed at increasing the awareness about the power of soybean and its symbionts for sustainable plant protein production and at isolating efficient nitrogen‐fixing rhizobia to be used by local farmers to produce protein‐rich soybeans.The results suggest that the success of citizen science projects depends on the level of engagement and the provision of adequate support, among other factors.This study thus highlights the potential of citizen science to address complex challenges and contribute to more sustainable agri‐food systems when properly integrated. Unique in its scope, the project provided important insights into the drivers of participation, attrition and data quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]