A ‘short’ list of methods we could discuss…

A ‘short’ list of methods we could discuss…•Agroecosystems Analysis (AEA), Beneficiary Assessment, Development Education Leadership Teams (DELTA), Diagnosis and Design (D&D), Diagnostico Rural Participativo (DRP), Farmer Participatory Research (FPR), Groupe de Recherche et d’Appui pour l’Auto-promotion Paysanne (GRAAP), Methode Active de Recherche et de Planification Participative (MARP), Participatory Analysis and Learning Methods (PALM), Participatory Action Research (PAR), Participatory Research Methodology (PRM), Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Participatory Rural Appraisal and Planning (PRAP), Participatory Technology Development (PTD), Participatory Urban Appraisal (PUA), Planning for Real, Process Documentation, Rapid Appraisal (RA), Rapid Assessment for Agricultural Knowledge Systems (RAAKS), Rapid Assessment Procedure (RAP), Rapid Assessment Techniques (RAT), Rapid Catchment Analysis (RCA), Rapid Ethnographic Assessment (REA), Rapid Food Security Assessment (RFSA), Rapid Multi-perspective Appraisal (RMA), Rapid Organisational Assessment (ROA), Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), Samuhik Brahman (Joint Trek), Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), Story Methodology (SM), Theatre for Development, Training for Transformation, Visualisation in Participatory Programmes (VIPP), ZOPP…

More is not necessarily better!

The Forages and Livestock Systems

Project (FLSP)

Laos

Process of Working with Farmers

1. The Conceptual Process

Participatory diagnosis

Active Farmer Participation

Evaluatetechnologies

Test technologies

Identify technologies to test and plan

the field trials

Formal experimentation

Expansion(Adaptation &

Adoption)

2. The Process in Practice

Selecting villages Agreeing on issues

Sharing with other villagesReaching other farmers

in the village

Select a focus-group Searching for options to test

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Focus group MeetingVillage PlanningIntegrating solutions on farms

Agreeing on issues


in the village

Select a focus-group Searching for options to test

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Selecting villages

Many projects have had problemsMany projects have had problems because they chose villages for because they chose villages for their convenience rather than their convenience rather than considering which villages have the best considering which villages have the best chance for successchance for success

Three questions will help you select villages Three questions will help you select villages and farmers for doing your research:and farmers for doing your research:

What do I have to offer?What do I have to offer?

What are my social goals?What are my social goals?

Where am I likely to have most impact?Where am I likely to have most impact?

Participatory diagnosis

Active Farmer Participation

Evaluatetechnologies

Test technologies

Identify technologies to test and plan

the field trials

Expansion(Adaptation &

Adoption)

Formal experimentation

Selecting villages


in the village

Searching for options to test

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Agreeing on issues

Once you have selected places to work you Once you have selected places to work you need to confirm that there is real potential need to confirm that there is real potential for your research.for your research.

You need to know if the farmers have You need to know if the farmers have problems that could benefit from your your problems that could benefit from your your researchresearch

To find out, conduct Participatory DiagnosisTo find out, conduct Participatory Diagnosis

Select a focus-group

– is usually the ‘entry point’ for participatory research

– is one or two meetings with the village in which farmers and researchers discuss the problems (and opportunities) they are facing AND the farmers prioritise thoseproblems they would like to try to solve now

Participatory diagnosis...

an agreement between the community and the development workers on which problems to solve (or opportunities to develop) and

who in the communitywill be responsible for testing promising technology options (selecting a focus group)

The outputs of participatory diagnosis are...

Some tools to use:

• Resource Mapping

• Calendars (seasonal, historical)

• Social Equity analysis

• Prioritise Problems


Useful Tool

Resource Mapping will help you start to understand village resources and the broad problems the farmers are facing

Resource Mapping

Mapping helps us start to understand village resources and the problems the farmers are facing

Mapping

• encourage all the farmers to participate in the mapping exercise.

• ask questions about some of the issues that the farmers raise.

In mapping…

• the boundary of all their land

• the village features

• the production areas (agriculture, livestock, forestry…)

• any other features important to them

In mapping, ask the farmers to draw…

• Can be used to understand resource flows and social divisions in the community

• Will take at least 1 hour

Mapping…

Some tools to use:






Useful Tool

Calendars help us understand:

• when activities and problems (such as high labour demand, food shortages and disease) happen throughout the year (seasonal) and

• how the farming systems and problems are

changing with time (historical)

Calendars

• list their main farming activities throughout the year

• list the main problems they have that vary

throughout the year (you can also add some)

In preparing calendars, ask the farmers to…

• draw on the calendar when each activity occurs

• describe who is responsible for each activity (men or women)

• to rank or weight when each problem is important

In preparing calendars, ask the farmers to…

Some tools to use:






Useful Tool

In every community there are differencesbetween people such as wealth andgender. Some people are poor and other people are relatively better off.

Different groups have different problems and opportunities

Wealth Analysis

• define these ‘wealth’ groups in a village

• understand the main characteristics of each group,

• understand why some people are poor while others are relatively better off, and

• identify who in the community belongs to each group.

Wealth Analysisis an approach that helps you…

• describe the different ‘wealth’ groups

• describe the main characteristics of each group,

• discuss why some people are poor while others are relatively better off, and

• identify who in the community belongs to each group.

Ask the farmers to…

1.Enough food (16 farmers)• surplus rice every year

• have both lowland and upland fields

• raise pigs, chickens, ducks and buffalo or cattle for sale

• can purchase replacement if animals die

• nice house

• have money/capital

• have education

• know how to utilize resources well

• settled earlier in the village

2. Food shortages sometimes (35 farmers)• sufficient/surplus rice in some years

• less land than the sufficient food group

• less livestock than the sufficient food group (sold only in times of need)

• can purchase replacement if animals die

• less nice house than food sufficient group

• have many different activities for income and livelihood

• weave for sale

• exchange labor

3. Food shortages each year (18 farmers) • rice shortage every year

• no lowland area

• have only chickens and ducks (not for sale)

• can not purchase replacement if animals die

• house not nice

• lack money to invest

• no education

• settled in the village after 1975

• You may need to work with women and men separately

• At all stages of your research, you need to keep asking yourself: – who is participating?, – who is making the decisions?, – who is doing the work?, – who has controls the resources?, – what are their opportunities, constraints, responsibilities, perceptions & interests? And– who is benefiting from your work?

Gender Analysis

Some tools to use:




• Prioritise Problems• Prioritise Problems

Useful Tool

In this first village meeting you need toknow how important all their problemsare in agriculture…not just the ones youthink you can research.

Asking farmers to list and prioritise all their agricultural problems will help you understand how important are the problems that you think you may be able to help solve with your research.

Prioritise Problems

Agreeing on issues Select a focus-groupSelecting villages


in the village

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Now that you and the villagers Now that you and the villagers have agreed on the problems (orhave agreed on the problems (oropportunities) that you want to opportunities) that you want to research, you can now work with the focus research, you can now work with the focus group to understand these problems in more group to understand these problems in more detaildetail

Once you have done that you can then Once you have done that you can then discuss the technologies that could be discuss the technologies that could be tested and the farmers select which ones to tested and the farmers select which ones to testtest

Searching for options to test

A good tool to use:

• Problem Analysis

Useful Tool

• helps the focus group to define their problems and opportunities in detail

• helps them identify which are the high priority problems for research

• builds on the understanding you already gained in the maps and calendars

Problem Analysis…

1. to identify the causes of their main problems

In Problem Analysis, ask the farmers…

Lack of feeds in the dry season

Poor animalnutrition

Limited areafor grazing

Drought

Overworkedanimals

Parasites and disease

Lack ofinformation

Thin animals

Few calvesThin calves

Perceived problems


2. to prioritise these causes


Perceived problems



Thin animals

OverworkedanimalsLimited area

for grazing

Drought


Lack ofinformation


Selected by farmers as the highest

priority


2. to prioritise these causes

3. to identify which causes contribute to other problems





Drought

Thin animals

Perceived problems

Lack ofinformation


Overworkedanimals


4. what have they done to deal with these problems in the past?



Drought Lack of feeds in the dry season


Thin animals

Past strategies

Overworkedanimals


Lack ofinformation


Reduce the number of animals

Seek veterinary

advice

Hire labour

Provide feed supplements

4. what have they done to deal with these problems in the past?

5. what would they like to solve now?



Drought Lack of feeds in the dry season


Thin animals

Future plans

Overworkedanimals


Lack ofinformation


Reduce the number of animals

Seek veterinary

advice

Hire labour

Provide feed supplements

Try new ways of feeding animals

Seek information and advice

Cattle are thin and weak



CAUSES

Drought

Too many cattle in the village

Area of grazing land getting

smallerDiseases and parasites

No longer allowed to graze

in forest

Expanding area of crop land



CAUSES

EFFECTS

Drought



smaller

More disease problems

Diseases and parasites

Fewer calves

Thin calves

Less income

Ploughing takes longer

Need to hire labour for extra

ploughing


in forest




CAUSES

EFFECTS

Drought



smaller



Fewer calves

Thin calves

Less income



ploughing


in forest


Used traditional medicines

Provide extra cut feed

Sold some cattle



CAUSES

EFFECTS

Drought



smaller



Fewer calves

Thin calves

Less income



ploughing


in forest


Used traditional medicines

Provide extra cut feed

Sold some cattle

Try new ways of feeding animals

Need help with animal diseases

Searching for options to testAgreeing on issues Select a focus-groupSelecting villages


in the village


Once the focus-group farmers Once the focus-group farmers and the researchers have agreed and the researchers have agreed on which technologies to test on which technologies to test and how to test them, you are and how to test them, you are ready to start field experimentsready to start field experiments

Three important principles will Three important principles will help you at the beginning:help you at the beginning:

• Start small!Start small!• Keep the experiments as simple as Keep the experiments as simple as

possible!possible!• Encourage farmers to innovate!Encourage farmers to innovate!

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Testingtechnologies...

Farmers will need time to test the technology options before they areready to commit their opinions.

They need to be able to see it working on their own fields to be able to assess benefits and risks

Controlled experiments or farmer-run non-replicated trials?

It depends on your goals! Probably BOTH.

– Controlled experiments are really the only way to get accurate, reliable, rigorous data

– Farmer trials are really the only way to get good farmer feedback



How to deal withcomplexity in the field?

– Search for robust technologies

– Do careful site and farmer selection to understandthe niches where your technology works

– Do evaluations with many farmers across the variability

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Searching for options to testAgreeing on issues Select a focus-groupSelecting villages


in the village

Integrating solutions on farms

As you start experiments with farmers, you As you start experiments with farmers, you want to understand which options they want to understand which options they prefer and why. prefer and why.

You can do this through:You can do this through:• Regular monitoringRegular monitoring• Technical measurementsTechnical measurements• Measure each farmer’s preferences and criteriaMeasure each farmer’s preferences and criteria• Focus-group meetingFocus-group meeting• Village feedback meetingVillage feedback meeting

Focus group MeetingVillage Planning

A good tool to use:

• Preference Analysis

Useful Tool

Some lessons we have learned…

1. This is a learning process. We need regular action followed by reflection

2. The key to successful use of the approach is active, decision-making involvement of farmers at ALL stages

3. At the beginning, try to offer a broad range of robust technical options with some ‘entry point’ technologies that give quick benefits

Some lessons we have learned…

4. It is an important role of researchers to clearly describe the technical limits of the options

5. work with the ‘right’ farmers

6. Start small – small successes are better than big failures

7. You can rarely “photocopy” technologies from one place to another

8. If you have ‘good’ technologies be prepared for expansion!

Two notes on ‘tools’ and ‘methods’…

A ‘short’ list of methods we could discuss…•Agroecosystems Analysis (AEA), Beneficiary Assessment, Development Education Leadership Teams (DELTA), Diagnosis and Design (D&D), Diagnostico Rural Participativo (DRP), Farmer Participatory Research (FPR), Groupe de Recherche et d’Appui pour l’Auto-promotion Paysanne (GRAAP), Methode Active de Recherche et de Planification Participative (MARP), Participatory Analysis and Learning Methods (PALM), Participatory Action Research (PAR), Participatory Research Methodology (PRM), Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Participatory Rural Appraisal and Planning (PRAP), Participatory Technology Development (PTD), Participatory Urban Appraisal (PUA), Planning for Real, Process Documentation, Rapid Appraisal (RA), Rapid Assessment for Agricultural Knowledge Systems (RAAKS), Rapid Assessment Procedure (RAP), Rapid Assessment Techniques (RAT), Rapid Catchment Analysis (RCA), Rapid Ethnographic Assessment (REA), Rapid Food Security Assessment (RFSA), Rapid Multi-perspective Appraisal (RMA), Rapid Organisational Assessment (ROA), Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), Samuhik Brahman (Joint Trek), Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), Story Methodology (SM), Theatre for Development, Training for Transformation, Visualisation in Participatory Programmes (VIPP), ZOPP…

More is not necessarily better!

Also, take note that…

The tools are NOT the output!

Better understanding of farmers’ opportunities, constraints and goals is the output

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Documents

A ‘short’ list of methods we could discuss…