Harnessing the Power of Citizen Science for Agroecological Transitions: The Case of the One Million Voices of Agroecology Initiative and Digital Platform
The One Million Voices (OMV) citizen science initiative seeks to harness citizen science to accelerate agroecological transitions globally. Its primary objective is to co-develop a participatory platform that enables farmers, producer organizations, and consumers worldwide to engage in agroecology movements, adoption efforts, and collaborative knowledge-sharing on agroecological performance. The initiative employs a facilitated co-design process, incorporating a global review, regional partnerships, and structured dialogues across four regions to collectively shape the platform’s scope and features. In alignment with recommendations to leverage existing networks, OMV collaborated with Agroecology Map to create the OMV of Agroecology platform. The platform addresses the key research question: What agroecological practices are being implemented globally, by whom, and with what effects? It facilitates participatory mapping of innovative agroecological practices, their characterization and evaluation, and fosters connectivity among stakeholders. Users can access mapped locations and practices, engage with peers, and analyze personalized summary data, providing scientific insights into geographic trends, actor preferences, and context-specific agroecology performance. This study illustrates how a co-created citizen science process can be effectively structured and leveraged transdisciplinarily. The success of the OMV platform in advancing agroecological transitions hinges on broad, diverse, and decisive participation.
Authors
Fuchs, L.E.,van Dien, L.C.,Mondardini, M.R.R.,Penunia, M.E.E.,Baguilat, I.,Macías, S.I.L.,Souza, M.S.,Formighieri, E.F.,Gonçalves, M.G.,Westphalen, R.B.,Pimentel, V.,Ricci, F.,Levina, D.,Geck, M.
Publication year
2025
