Stakeholders' Mental Models of Soil Management Relating to Food Security in India.

In 2015, there were 795 million people who were undernourished with a majority located in developing countries. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations expects agricultural production will need to be increased by 70% to meet the global food demand in 2050 with a population of 9.1 billion. Past solutions to global food security had unintentional consequences such as the dust bowl, dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, lost of traditional farming systems and lost of biodiversity. Local knowledge held by farmers is more specific to the local ecosystem and can predict consequences of change in soil management. Understanding farmer, scientist, and extension agents beliefs is essential to increasing food security by limiting unintentional consequences and improving communication between the stakeholders. This study uses the cultural models theory from cognitive anthropology to understand the belief systems of soil management relating to food security of stakeholders in six villages facing urbanization in Telangana, India. The Integrated Farmer Participatory Watershed Management Model (IFPWM) was development by ICRISAT and was first implemented in these communities starting in 2014 as part of a five year project. Interviews, observations, soil data, and trace measures were used to collect data on the belief systems of IFPWM stakeholders. The results of this study are multiple mental models of the IFPWM stakeholders. A mental model for each stakeholder shows the perceived impact of various soil management techniques have on food security.  The resulting contradiction of the mental models shows areas where improved communication needs to occur. The results can also be used to focus future soil science research to meet global food demand.