Exposure visit methodologies for facilitating cross-regional farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchange

Abstract

When farmers from one region visit successful operations in another, something happens that no manual can replicate—they see that a different approach works. This research evaluated exposure visit methodologies for cross-regional knowledge exchange across four Polish voivodeships. A total of 196 farmers participating in structured visits between January and October 2023 were surveyed before and after, with six-month follow-up. Post-visit knowledge increased by 27.4 points (p<0.001). Farmers in visits with interactive components showed 41.3% higher practice adoption than observation-only visits. Six methodological elements distinguish effective visits from agricultural tourism.