Email this article 
Hide
Show all
Farmer responsibility and researcher learning: Two sides of the same coin? Reflecting on five years of involvement in participatory experimentation in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia
Abstract
Participatory experimentation involving farmers and researchers is often forwarded as a suitable approach for developing natural, human and social livelihood capital through technology, learning and empowerment, contributing in this way to resilience and sustainability. Learning in such processes takes place through interaction of farmers and researchers. Aspects like momentum, scientific rigor and farmer responsibility are, however, often at odds. This study explored how distribution of responsibilities affected outcomes for farmers and researchers. In a research project on participatory experimentation 16 farmer groups involved in five consecutive research cycles with the objective to increase crop yield. Essential control was handed over increasingly from the researchers to the farmer groups and in the course of their involvement responsibilities for farmers increased, whereas those of researchers decreased. Researchers included controls and replications and monitored different variables. In the course of their involvement responsibilities for farmers increased, whereas those of researchers decreased. Process of participatory experimentation, learning of farmers and change of attitude were documented systematically. Farmers’ and researchers’ involvement was analysed to reflect on their respective roles, the experimentation process and the outcomes achieved. Purposive involvement of farmers in all phases of the research resulted in relevant interventions, acquiring experimental skills, trust and commitment. Consequently, farmers’ natural, human and social capital increased. Researchers obtained insight in livelihood complexity, learned how to involve with farmers and to trust farmers’ competence and potential as co-researchers. The study concluded that delegating responsibilities to farmers in main stages of participatory experimentation is important to meet its objectives. At the same time, researchers involved in participatory experimentation should be sensitive to acknowledge farmers’ livelihood complexity. In this way both stakeholders will learn. Farmers, for example, by becoming more autonomous. Researchers by learning about, for example, general agronomic trends and social processes taking place. Exploiting the whole potential of participatory experimentation, therefore, requires a deliberate focus on farmer involvement.
Keywords
References
Abate, T., Shiferaw, B., Gebeyehu, S., Amsalu, B., Negash, K., Assefa, K., Hagmann, J. (2011). A systems and partnership approach to agricultural research for development: Lessons from Ethiopia. Outlook on Agriculture, 40(3), 213-220.
Abegaz, A. (2005). Farm management in mixed crop-livestock systems in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia. Tropical Resource Management Papers 70. (PhD), Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
African-Development-Bank. (2016). Feed Africa: Strategy for Agricultural Transformation in Africa 2016-2025. Available under: www.afdb.org/. Accessed: 21-12-2016.
Ajakaiye, O., & de Janvry, A. (2010). Agricultural sector performance & a green revolution in Africa: An overview. Journal of African Economies, 19 2),
Almekinders, C., Beukema, L., & Tromp, C. (2009). Research in Action. Theories and practices for innovation and social change. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers.
Anderson, W., Johansen, C., & Siddique, K. H. M. (2016). Addressing the yield gap: a review. Agronomy and Sustainable Development, 36:18. doi: 10.1007/s13593-015-0341-y
Arévalo, K., & Ljung, M. (2006). Action Research on Land Management in the Western Amazon, Peru – A Research Process, Its Outcomes and the Researcher’s Role. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 19(4), 309-324.
Argyris, C., & Schon, D. A. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.
Ashby, J., & Pretty, J. (2006). Commentary: Participatory research for sustainable agricultural research and development. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 4(2), 97-98.
Baskerville, R. L., & Wood-Harper, A. T. (1996). A critical perspective on action research as a method for information systems research. Journal of Information Technology, 11(3), 235-246.
Biggs, S. (1989). Resource-poor farmer participation in research: A synthesis of experiences from nine national agricultural research systems. OFCOR Comparative Study. The Hague, Netherlands: 3ISNAR.
Biggs, S. (2007). Building on the positive: An actor innovation systems approach to finding and promoting pro poor natural resources institutional and technical innovations. International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology. 6(2), 144-164.
Biggs, S., & Matsaert, H. (1999). An actor-oriented approach for strengthening research and development capabilities in natural resource systems. Public Administration and Development, 19(3), 231-262.
Boillat, S., & Berkes, F. (2013). Perception and interpretation of climate change among quechua farmers of bolivia: Indigenous knowledge as a resource for adaptive capacity. Ecology and Society, 18(4). doi: 10.5751/es-05894-180421
Braun, A. R., Thiele, G., & Fernández, M. (2000). Farmer field schools and local agricultural research committees: complementary platforms for integrated decision-making in sustainable agriculture. London: Overseas Development Institute
Chambers, R., & Jiggins, J. (1987a). Agricultural research for resource-poor farmers. Part I: Transfer-of-technology and farming systems research. Agricultural Administration and Extension, 27(1), 35-52.
Chambers, R., & Jiggins, J. (1987b). Agricultural research for resource-poor farmers. Part II: A parsimonious paradigm. Agricultural Administration and Extension, 27(2), 109-128.
Chambers, R., Pacey, A., & Thrupp, L. A. (1989). Farmers first? London: ITP.
Checkland, P., & Holwell, S. (1998). Action Research: Its Nature and Validity. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 11(1), 9-21.
Chioncel, N. E., Van der Veen, R. G. W., Wildemeersch, D., & Jarvis, P. (2003). The validity and reliability of focus groups as a research method in adult education. International Journal of Lifelong Learning, 22(5), 495-517. doi: 10.1080/0260137032000102850
Choudhary, A. K., & Surf, V. K. (2013). On-Farm Participatory Technology Development Effects on Resource Conservation Technologies in Rainfed Upland Paddy in Himsachal Pradesh, India. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 44, 2605-2617. doi: 10.1080/00103624.2013.811521
Ciampalini, R., Billi, P., Ferrari, G., Borselli, L., & Follain, S. (2012). Soil erosion induced by land use changes as determined by plough marks and field evidence in the Aksum area (Ethiopia). Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 146, 197-208. doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2011.11.006
Corbeels, M., Shiferaw, A., & Haile, M. (2000). Farmers' knowledge of soil fertility and local management strategies in Tigray, Ethiopia. London: IIED.
Cornish, P. S., Choudhary, A., Kumar, A., Das, S., Kukumbakhar, K., Norish, S., & Kumar, S. (2015). Improving crop production for food security and improved livelihoods on the East India Plateau II Crop options, alternative cropping systems and capacity building. Agricultural Systems, 137, 180-190. doi: 10.1016/j.agsy.2015.02.011
Dalal-Clayton, B., & Dent, D. (2001). Knowledge of the land: land resources information and its use in rural development. Oxford University Press.
Darr, D., & Pretzsch, J. (2008). Mechanisms of Innovation Diffusion Under Information Abundance and Information Scarcity - On the Contribution of Social Networks in Group Vs. Individual Extension Approaches in Semi-Arid Kenya. Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 14(3), 231-248. doi: 10.1080/13892240802207676
de Souza, H. N., Cardoso, I. M., de Sá Mendonça, E., Carvalho, A. F., de Oliveira, G. B., Gjorup, D. F., & Bonfim, V. R. (2012). Learning by doing: A participatory methodology for systematization of experiments with agroforestry systems, with an example of its application. Agroforestry Systems, 85(2), 247-262. doi: 10.1007/s10457-012-9498-4
Dea, D., & Scoones, I. (2003). Networks of knowledge: How farmers and scientists understand soils and their fertility. A case study from Ethiopia. Oxford Development Studies, 31(4), 461-478. doi: 10.1080/1360081032000146636
Douthwaite, B., Kuby, T., Van De Fliert, E., & Schulz, S. (2003). Impact pathway evaluation: An approach for achieving and attributing impact in complex systems. Agricultural Systems, 78(2), 243-265. doi: 10.1016/s0308-521x(03)00128-8
Dugué, P., Djamen Nana, P., Faure, G., & Le Gal, P.-Y. (2015). Dynamiques d’adoption de l’agriculture de conservation dans les exploitations familiales: de la technique aux processus d’innovation. Cahiers Agriculture, 24(2), 60-68. doi: 10.1684/agr.2015.0748
Duraiappah, A. K., Roddy, P., & Parry, J.-E. (2005). Have participatory approaches increased capabilities? Winnipeg, Canada: International Institute for Sustainable Development.
Duveskog, D., Friis-Hansen, E., & Taylor, E. W. (2011). Farmer field schools in rural Kenya: A transformative learning experience. Journal of Development Studies, 47(10), 1529-1544. doi: 10.1080/00220388.2011.561328
Ehui, S., & Pender, J. (2005). Resource degradation, low agricultural productivity, and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa: Pathways out of the spiral. Agricultural Economics, 32(SUPPL. 1), 225-242. doi: 10.1111/j.0169-5150.2004.00026.x
FARA. (2014). Science Agenda for Agriculture in Africa: "Connecting Science” to transform agriculture in Africa. Available under: www.faraafrica.org/programs/frameworks/science-agenda/. Accessed: 21-12-2016.
Farrington, J. (1995). The changing public role in agricultural extension. Food Policy, 20(6), 537-544. doi: 10.1016/0306-9192(95)00046-1
Farrington, J. (1997). Farmers' participation in agricultural research and extension: Lessons from last decade. Biotechnology and Development Monitor (30), 12-15.
Farrington, J. (1998). Organisational roles in farmer participatory research and extension: lessons from the last decade. Natural Resource Perspectives, 27.
Farrington, J., & Martin, A. M. (1988). Farmer participatory research: A review of concepts and recent fieldwork. Agricultural Administration and Extension, 29(4), 247-264. doi: 10.1016/0269-7475(88)90107-9
Farrington, J., & Nelson, J. (1997). Using logframes to monitor and review farmer participatory research. Network Paper No. 73. London: ODI.
Faure, G., Gasselin, P., Triomphe, B., Temple, L., & Hocdé, H. (2014). Innovating with rural stakeholders in the developing world: Action research in partnership. Wageningen, The Netherlands: CTA LM Publishers / Presses Agronomiques de Gembloux.
Fazey, I. (2010). Resilience and Higher Order Thinking. Ecology and Society, 15(3).
Flora, C. B. (2010). Food security in the context of energy and resource depletion: Sustainable agriculture in developing countries. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 25(2), 118-128. doi: 10.1017/s1742170510000177
Frankema, E. (2014). Africa and the green revolution a global historical perspective. NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 70, 17-24. doi: 10.1016/j.njas.2014.01.003
Frankl, A., Jacob, M., Haile, M., Poesen, J., Deckers, J., & Nyssen, J. (2013). The effect of rainfall on spatio-temporal variability in cropping systems and duration of crop cover in the Northern Ethiopian Highlands. Soil Use and Management, 29(3), 374-383. doi: 10.1111/sum.12041
Gebregziaher, K., Mathijs, E., Deckers, J., Gebrehiwot, K., Bauer, h., & Maertens, M. (2013). The Economic Impact of a New Rural Extension Approach in Northern Ethiopia. Bioeconomics Working Paper Series. Leuven, Belgium: University of Leuven.
Gebrehiwot, T., & van der Veen, A. (2015). Farmers Prone to Drought Risk: Why Some Farmers Undertake Farm-Level Risk-Reduction Measures While Others Not? Environmental Management, 55(3), 588-602. doi: 10.1007/s00267-014-0415-7
George, T. (2014). Why crop yields in developing countries have not kept pace with advances in agronomy. Global Food Security, 3, 49-58. doi: 10.1016/j.gfs.2013.10.002
Giller, K. E., Leeuwis, C., Andersson, J. A., Andriesse, W., Brouwer, A., Frost, P., . . . Windmeijer, P. (2008). Competing claims on natural resources: What role for science? Ecology and Society, 13(2).
Giller, K. E., Tittonell, P., Rufino, M. C., van Wijk, M. T., Zingore, S., Mapfumo, P., . . . Vanlauwe, B. (2011). Communicating complexity: Integrated assessment of trade-offs concerning soil fertility management within African farming systems to support innovation and development. Agricultural Systems, 104(2), 191-203. doi: 10.1016/j.agsy.2010.07.002
Giller, K. E., Witter, E., Corbeels, M., & Tittonell, P. (2009). Conservation agriculture and smallholder farming in Africa: The heretics' view. Field Crops Research, 114(1), 23-34. doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2009.06.017
Guijt, I. M. (2008). Seeking Surprise: Rethinking monitoring for collective learning in rural resource management. (PhD), Wageningen University, Wageningen.
Hellin, J., Bellon, M. R., Badstue, L., Dixon, J., & La Rovere, R. (2008). Increasing the impacts of participatory research. Experimental Agriculture, 44(1), 81-95. doi: 10.1017/s0014479707005935
Hengsdijk, H., Meijerink, G. W., & Mosugu, M. E. (2005). Modeling the effect of three soil and water conservation practices in Tigray, Ethiopia. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 105(1-2), 29-40. doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2004.06.002
Hoffmann, V., Probst, K., & Christinck, A. (2007). Farmers and researchers: How can collaborative advantages be created in participatory research and technology development? Agriculture and Human Values, 24(3), 355-368. doi: 10.1007/s10460-007-9072-2
Holden, S., & Shiferaw, B. (2004). Land degradation, drought and food security in a less-favoured area in the Ethiopian highlands: A bio-economic model with market imperfections. Agricultural Economics, 30(1), 31-49.
Islam, M. M., Gray, D., Reid, J., & Kemp, P. (2011). Developing Sustainable Farmer-led Extension Groups: Lessons from a Bangladeshi Case Study. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 17(5), 425-443. doi: 10.1080/1389224x.2011.596658
Kaplowitz, M. D., & Hoehn, J. P. (2001). Do focus groups and individual interviews reveal the same information for natural resource valuation? Ecological Economics, 36(2), 237-247. doi: 10.1016/s0921-8009(00)00226-3
Kebede, E., Duncan, A., Klerkx, L., de Boer, I. J. M., & Oosting, S. J. (2015). Understanding socio-economic and policy constraints to dairy development in Ethiopia: A coupled functional-structural innovation systems analysis. Agricultural Systems, 141, 69-78. doi: 10.1016/j.agsy.2015.09.007
Kidd, P. S., & Parshall, M. B. (2000). Getting the focus and the group: Enhancing analytical rigor in focus group research. Qualitative Health Research, 10(3), 293-308.
Kraaijvanger, R., Sonneveld, M., Almekinders, C., & Veldkamp, T. (2015). Comparison of methods to identify crop productivity constraints in developing countries. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 35(2), 625-637. doi: 10.1007/s13593-014-0254-1
Kraaijvanger, R., & Veldkamp, A. (2015). The importance of local factors and management in determining wheat yield variability in on-farm experimentation in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 214, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2015.08.003
Kraaijvanger, R., Veldkamp, T., & Almekinders, C. (2016). Considering change: Evaluating four years of participatory experimentation with farmers in Tigray (Ethiopia) highlighting both functional and human–social aspects. Agricultural Systems, 147, 38-50. doi: 10.1016/j.agsy.2016.05.001
Kraaijvanger, R. G., & Veldkamp, T. (2017). Four years of farmer experimentation on soil fertility in Tigray, northern Ethiopia: trends in research strategies. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 1-19. doi: 10.1080/1389224x.2017.1289962
Leitgeb, F., Kummer, S., Funes-Monzote, F. R., & Vogl, C. R. (2014). Farmers' experiments in Cuba. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 29(1), 48-64. doi: 10.1017/s1742170512000336
Martin, A., & Sherington, J. (1997). Participatory Research Methods-Implementation, Effectiveness and Institutional Context. Agricultural Systems, 55(2), 195-216.
Mayoux, L., & Chambers, R. (2005). Reversing the paradigm: quantification, participatory methods and pro-poor impact assessment. Journal of International Development, 17(2), 271-298. doi: 10.1002/jid.1214
Misiko, M. (2009). Collective experimentation: Lessons from the field. Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 15(4), 401-416. doi: 10.1080/13892240903309660
Misiko, M., Tittonell, P., Giller, K. E., & Richards, P. (2011). Strenghtening understanding and perceptions of mineral fertilizer use among smallholder farmers: evidence from collective trials in western kenya. Agriculture and Human Values, 28, 27-38. doi: 10.1007/s10460-010-9264-z
Morris, M. L., & Bellon, M. R. (2004). Participatory plant breeding research: Opportunities and challenges for the international crop improvement system. Euphytica, 136(1), 21-35.
Musvoto, C., Mason, N., Jovanovic, N., Froebrich, J., Tshovhote, J., Nemakhavhani, M., & Khabe, T. (2015). Applying a transdisciplinary process to define a research agenda in a smallholder irrigated farming system in South Africa. Agricultural Systems, 137, 39-50. doi: 10.1016/j.agsy.2015.03.008
Nederlof, E. S., Tossou, R., Sakyi-Dawson, O., & Kossou, D. K. (2004). Grounding agricultural research in resource-poor farmers' needs: A comparative analysis of diagnostic studies in Ghana and Benin. NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 52(3-4), 421-442.
Nyssen, J., Govaerts, B., Araya, T., Cornelis, W., Bauer, H., Haile, M., . . . Deckers, J. (2011). The use of the marasha ard plough for conservation agriculture in Northern Ethiopia. Agronomy and Sustainable Development, 31(2), 287-297. doi: 10.1051/agro/2010014.
Nyssen, J., Poesen, J., Moeyersons, J., Deckers, J., Haile, M., & Lang, A. (2004). Human impact on the environment in the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands - A state of the art. Earth-Science Reviews, 64(3-4), 273-320. doi: 10.1016/S0012-8252(03)00078-3
Okali, C., Sumberg, J., & Farrington, J. (1994). Farmer participatory research: rhetoric and reality. London: Intermediate Technology Publications.
Pretty, J. N. (1995). Participatory learning for sustainable agriculture. World Development, 23(8), 1247-1263.
Price, L. L. (2001). Demystifying farmers' entomological and pest management knowledge: A methodology for assessing the impacts on knowledge from IPM-FFS and NES interventions. Agriculture and Human Values, 18(2), 153-176.
Probst, K. (2002). Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation: A promising Concept in Participatory Research? Weikersheim: Margraf Verlag.
Ramisch, J. (2012). This field is our church. The social and agronomic challenges of knowledge generation in a participatory soil fertility management project. In J. Sumberg and J. Thompson (Ed.), Contested agronomy: agricultural research in a changing world. New York: Earthscan, Routledge.
Ramisch, J. J. (2014). 'They don't know what they are talking about': Learning from the dissonances in dialogue about soil fertility knowledge and experimental practice in western Kenya. Geoforum, 55, 120-132. doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2014.05.009
Raymond, C. M., Fazey, I., Reed, M. S., Stringer, L. C., Robinson, G. M., & Evely, A. C. (2010). Integrating local and scientific knowledge for environmental management. Journal of Environmental Management, 91(8), 1766-1777.
Richards, P. (1986). Coping with hunger. Hazard and experiment in an African rice-farming system. London: Allen & Unwin.
Rigolot, C., de Voil, P., Douxchamps, S., Prestwidge, D., Van Wijk, M., Thornton, P., . . . Herrero, M. (2017). Interactions between intervention packages, climatic risk, climatic change and food security in mixed crop-livestock systems in Burkina Faso. Agricultural Systems, 151, 217-224. doi: 10.1016/j.agsy.2015.12.017.
Rocheleau, D. E. (1994). Participatory research and the race to save the planet: Questions, critique, and lessons from the field. Agriculture and Human Values, 11(2), 4-25. doi: 10.1007/bf01530443
Sachs, J. D. (2012). From Millenium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals. The Lancet, 379, 2206-2211.
Smajgl, A., & Ward, J. (2015). Evaluating participatory research: Framework, methods and implementation results. Journal of Environmental Management, 157, 311-319. doi: 10.1016/j.envman.2015.04.014
Somarriba, E., Beer, J., & Muschler, R. G. (2001). Research methods for multistrata agroforestry systems with coffee and cacao: recommendations from two decades of research at CATIE. Agroforestry Systems, 53, 195-203.
Spielman, D. J., Byerlee, D., Salemu, D., & Kelemework, D. (2010). Policies to promote cereal intensification in Ethiopia: The search for appropriate public and private roles. Food Policy, 35, 185-194.
Spielman, D. J., Ekboir, J., Davis, K., & Ochieng, C. M. O. (2008). An innovation system perspective on strengtening agricultural education and training in sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultural Systems, 98, 1-9.
Sumberg, J., Okali, C., & Reece, D. (2003). Agricultural research in the face of diversity, local knowledge and the participation imperative: Theoretical considerations. Agricultural Systems, 76(2), 739-753.
Tittonell, P., & Giller, K. E. (2013). When yield gaps are poverty traps: The paradigm of ecological intensification in African smallholder agriculture. Field Crops Research, 143, 76-90.
Totin, E., van Mierlo, B., Mongbo, R., & Leeuwis, C. (2015). Diversity in success: Interaction between external interventions and local actions in three rice farming areas in Benin. Agricultural Systems, 133, 119-130.
Trouche, G., Lançon, J., Aguirre Acuna, S., Castro Briones, B., & Thomas, G. (2012). Compoaring decentralized participatory breeding with on-station conventional sorghum breeding in Nicaragua: II Farmer acceptance and index of global value. Fields Crop Research, 126, 70-78. doi: 10.1016/j.fcr2011.09.024.
Tumbo, S. D., Mutabazi, K. D., Byakugila, M. M., & Mahoo, H. F. M. (2011). An empirical framework for scaling-out of water system innovations: Lessons from diffusion of water system innovations in the Makanya catchment in Northern Tanzania. Agricultural Water Management, 98(11), 1761-1773. doi: 10.1016/j.agwat.2010.03.010.
Van Asten, P. J. A., Kaaria, S., Fermont, A. M., & Delve, R. J. (2009). Challenges and lessons when using farmer knowledge in agricultural research and development projects in Africa. Experimental Agriculture, 45(1), 1-14. doi: 10.1017/s0014479708006984.
Van De Fliert, E. (2003). Recognising a climate for sustainability: Extension beyond transfer of technology. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 43(1), 29-36.
Van der Veen, A., & Tagel, G. (2011). Effect of Policy Interventions on Food Security in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Ecology and Society, 16(1).
Van Mele, P. (2008). The importance of ecological and socio-technological literacy in R&D priority setting: The case of a fruit innovation system in Guinea, West Africa. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 6(3), 183-194.
Wood, B. A., Blair, H. T., Gray, D. I., Kemp, P. D., Kenyon, P. R., Morris, S. T., & Sewell, A. M. (2014). Agricultural science in the wild: A social network analysis of farmer knowledge exchange. PLoS ONE, 9(8).
Worldbank. (2007). World development report 2008: Agriculture for development. Washington DC: The Worldbank.
Yami, M. (2016). Irrigation projects in Ethiopia: what can be done to enhance effectiveness under 'challenging contexts'? International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 23(2), 132-142
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2018 Richard G. Kraaijvanger, Loes Witteveen
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
