By Eliisa Malin and Toni Ryynänen
This Plain Language Summary is published in advance of the paper discussed. Please check back soon for a link to the full paper.
Protecting agricultural plants is not only about preventing weeds, pests, and diseases. Our results show that plant protection also carries deep personal and social meaning for farmers and farm advisors who support farmers with production planning and management. Understanding these meanings can help better support the people who produce our food and encourage more sustainable farming practices.
Farmers around the world face challenges, including economic uncertainty, environmental pressures, changing regulations, and a feeling that society does not always appreciate their work. These challenges are well known, but people pay less attention to how farmers perceive farming and certain work tasks, such as plant protection. We explored the deeper meanings connected to plant protection, which is one of the most important and often debated parts of food production.
To do this, we conducted four group interviews with Finnish farmers and farm advisors. We were interested in their experiences, values, identities, and decision-making related to plant protection. Then we looked for common themes across the discussions.
Our findings show that plant protection is much more than a technical farming task. Interview participants described it as something closely connected to their identity, professional pride, and reputation. Decisions about plant protection were linked not only to yields and income but also to ideas about what it means to be a responsible and competent farmer. Interview participants often felt that their choices carried important consequences for their farms, livelihoods, and standing within the farming community.
Based on these findings, we introduce the concept of a “deep task”. A deep task is a type of work with high personal and social stakes, shaped by a strong sense of responsibility. For the farmers and advisors, plant protection formed part of a larger mission: producing food and caring for the land while navigating difficult and sometimes conflicting expectations.
Our study suggests that people should understand food production not only as an economic or technical activity but also as a deeply meaningful social practice. Recognising this can help policymakers, advisors, and society better support farmers in the work they do to provide for life.
