Development of more effective conservation farming systems through participatory on-farm research

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 98-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.B. Wuest ◽  
D.K. McCool ◽  
B.C. Miller ◽  
R.J. Veseth
Keyword(s):  
Participatory Research ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Conservation Farming ◽  
Working Together ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Current Emphasis

AbstractResearch aimed at advancing conservation farming practices is typically performed using traditional scientific approaches, which have been highly successful in increasing agricultural output and efficiency. With the current emphasis on environmental and economic sustainability of agriculture, there is a need for a more integrated approach to applied agricultural research. Participatory research helps to bring scientific methods and the integrated production needs of farmers together to develop practical, effective, and carefully tested farming methods. The strength of participatory research is in the synergism of scientists and farmers working together to design, implement, and evaluate research. The development of new technologies for farming systems large or small, conventional or organic, can be greatly enhanced through more extensive use of participatory research.

Participatory organic research in the USA and Italy: Across a continuum of farmer–researcher partnerships

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 331-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Delate ◽  
Stefano Canali ◽  
Robert Turnbull ◽  
Rachel Tan ◽  
Luca Colombo
Keyword(s):  
Participatory Research ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
The Us ◽  
Organic Farmers ◽  
The Usa ◽  
On Farm ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Organic Research

AbstractOrganic agriculture continues to expand in the USA and in the European Union (EU), particularly in Italy, which had 48,650 organic farms in 2014 compared with 19,474 in the USA. Additionally, EU support for organic research is nearly double than that of the USA. Along with increased support for organic research, the EU organic community has achieved recognition at the European Commission policy level for a dedicated innovation platform, advocating the practice of farmer-first models for participatory research. The US land-grant universities have a long history of on-farm research, primarily through the Extension Service, but the need exists for more inclusive, second-loop, co-research with organic farmers. A survey was conducted of organic farmers and researchers in Italy and in the USA to ascertain the extent of participatory organic research activities and experiences, and explore the vision each group had for the future of co-innovation between organic farmers and researchers. Results indicated that, despite the higher level of organic research support in the EU, the percentage of researchers involved in on-farm/participatory organic research was equivalent in Italy and the USA, presumably due to the more recent emphasis in Italian/EU agricultural research agendas on the importance of farmer knowledge and participation in organic research. Overall, 60% of surveyed organic researchers in both countries cited involvement in on-farm/participatory organic research, with ‘farming systems’ and ‘nutrient/pest management’ the main research focus in the USA, compared with ‘farming systems’ and ‘equipment’ in Italy. Both countries’ researchers expressed their vision of participatory research as helping to improve communication between researchers and farmers, to enable work on relevant research, and to allow farmers to adapt technologies to their own conditions. Organic farmers in Italy completed survey questionnaires as part of a field day activity, leading to more Italian farmers responding to the survey, compared with USA counterparts who were queried via e-mail. Organic farmers in Italy identified ‘knowledge-sharing’ as a critical value of participatory research, and were conducting on-farm research with less compensation than US farmers. The ‘lack of time’ was cited as the most important constraint limiting participatory research by Italian and US farmers, although the ‘lack of common language’ also was rated as potentially impairing full participation. Lessons shared between EU and US organic researchers as a result of this project included methods to institute policies aimed at increasing support for organic research and co-innovations with organic farming communities, and connecting experienced on-farm researchers in the US with Italian colleagues to enhance collaborative activities with organic farmers.

scholarly journals Working together: reflections on building 'knowledge partnerships' between researchers, farmers and advisors

2006 ◽  
pp. 243-247
Author(s):  
Sean Kenny ◽  
Carolyn Kaboré
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Research Development ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Knowledge Types ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Farming Systems Research ◽  
Key Industry ◽  
Feeding Systems

In agricultural research, development and extension (RD&E) the importance of building partnerships between technology collaborators (e.g. farmers, researchers, extension, industry) is widely accepted. The FutureDairy project has formalised relationships and interactions between farmers, researchers and advisors to 'co-develop' knowledge and technologies that address key industry challenges. Separate industry partnerships have been established to study opportunities in forages, feeding and labour saving innovations. Reflections on these partnerships, and their performance to date, suggests there may be benefit in knowledge partners having a better understanding of expectations for the partnership. Also highlighted is the way in which a technology codevelopment approach, though suited to developing guidelines for managing new technologies, may not be suited to systems questions. Issues that require multiple technologies and knowledge types to be addressed appear, from our experience, to require a different form of partnership than those used for developing new technologies. Without an understanding of these principles, RD&E organisations may still fail to deliver on industry expectations even while they are encouraging greater industry participation. Keywords: knowledge partnerships, co-development, feeding systems, complementary forage rotations, multidisciplinarity, partner farms, farming systems research project.

Institutionalizing the Farming Systems Perspective in Multi-commodity Research Institutes: The Role of Systems-based Research Groups

1991 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dunstan S. C. Spencer
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
International Institute ◽  
Small Farmers ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Research Institutes ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
Farming Systems Research ◽  
Research Centres

SUMMARYResearch institutes in Africa have had limited success in producing new technologies appropriate to the needs of small farmers because of an inadequate understanding of small farmers' goals and resource limitations and over-reliance on the transfer of technologies from other regions. Farming systems research (FSR) is an effective way of improving the focus of scientists on the problems farmers face. Vertically segmented thematic research programmes make institutionalization of FSR difficult within multi-commodity research centres, particularly the International Agricultural Research Centres. The Farming Systems Research Group has proved effective at overcoming such difficulties at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. Its organization, operation and effects on the performance of the research programmes are described.

scholarly journals An integrated approach to improving rural livelihoods: examples from India and Bangladesh

2018 ◽  
Vol 376 ◽  
pp. 45-50
Author(s):  
Barry Croke ◽  
Wendy Merritt ◽  
Peter Cornish ◽  
Geoffrey J. Syme ◽  
Christian H. Roth
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This paper presents an overview of work in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and SW Bangladesh through a series of projects from 2005 to the present, considering the impact of farming systems, water shed development and/or agricultural intensification on livelihoods in selected rural areas of India and Bangladesh. The projects spanned a range of scales spanning from the village scale (∼  1 km2) to the meso-scale (∼  100 km2), and considered social as well as biophysical aspects. They focused mainly on the food and water part of the food-water-energy nexus. These projects were in collaboration with a range of organisations in India and Bangladesh, including NGOs, universities, and government research organisations and departments. The projects were part funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, and built on other projects that have been undertaken within the region. An element of each of these projects was to understand how the hydrological cycle could be managed sustainably to improve agricultural systems and livelihoods of marginal groups. As such, they evaluated appropriate technology that is generally not dependent on high-energy inputs (mechanisation). This includes assessing the availability of water, and identifying potential water resources that have not been developed; understanding current agricultural systems and investigating ways of improving water use efficiency; and understanding social dynamics of the affected communities including the potential opportunities and negative impacts of watershed development and agricultural development.

COMMENT ON ‘DE ROO ET AL. (2019). ON-FARM TRIALS FOR DEVELOPMENT IMPACT? THE ORGANIZATION OF RESEARCH AND THE SCALING OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES’

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
PATRICK C. WALL ◽  
CHRISTIAN L. THIERFELDER ◽  
ISAIAH NYAGUMBO ◽  
LEONARD RUSINAMHODZI ◽  
WALTER MUPANGWA
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Successful Development ◽  
Agricultural Technologies ◽  
Eastern And Southern Africa ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Scaling Out

SUMMARYIn their recent paper ‘On-farm trials for development impact? The organization of research and the scaling of agricultural technologies’, de Roo, Andersson and Krupnik report on three case studies, each undertaken by one of the authors, of projects conducting on-farm research. They reach conclusions on the limitations of the projects themselves and the effects of ‘donor dependency’, and propose a strategy to overcome these issues. However, the description of the philosophy, strategies and conduct of the projects reviewed in the southern African case study is incomplete and misleading, and shows that the case study author did not understand or overlooked important project components. Due to this the conclusions reached, insofar as this case study is concerned, are largely either invalid or already contemplated in the project activities. Here, we describe more fully the philosophy and strategies followed by the series of projects on which the case study was conducted, which were designed to facilitate, through the upscaling of project methodologies, the eventual outscaling and widespread adoption of more sustainable farming systems by smallholder farmers in eastern and southern Africa. We propose these methodologies as a valid comprehensive approach to the organization of agricultural research for development for the successful development, scaling-up and scaling-out of agricultural technologies.

The Impact of Regular Research Field Hearings (RRFH) in On-farm Trials in Northeast Brazil

1988 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg Baker ◽  
Hendrik C. Knipscheer ◽  
Jose De Souza Neto
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Northeast Brazil ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
On Farm ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Farming Systems Research

SUMMARYThe study of livestock in farming systems research presents several challenges. Factors such as the small number of observations, high statistical variability in measurements, and the difficulty in valuing non-market inputs and outputs make it difficult to evaluate on-farm research. Regular Research Field Hearings (RRFH) can improve communication between scientists and farmers, thereby increasing mutual understanding, willingness to collaborate in evaluation, potential technologies, and also improving test results. Of three groups of sheep and goat farmers involved in on-farm testing in northeast Brazil, the group which participated in RRFH experienced a significantly higher level of success with the technology as measured according to performance criteria such as weight gains and farmers' perceptions of their animals' performance. The results confirm the importance of farmers' participation in agricultural research.

scholarly journals Over the fence: understanding what people do and how they might change

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
A.P. Rhodes ◽  
M.J. Casey ◽  
T.A. Payne ◽  
M. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Practice Change ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Complex Ecosystem ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Environmental Demands ◽  
Agricultural Production Systems

Landholders in New Zealand hill country are being challenged in the future to provide the resource for increasing agricultural productivity while balancing social and environmental demands. This will lead to an increasingly complex ecosystem which challenges simple approaches to achieving change on farm. This paper discusses principles such as degree of complexity, systems thinking in farming systems, knowledge, and barriers to decision making and adoption in relation to agricultural production systems. These concepts are often little considered or understood where there is an expectation of uptake of new technologies or an increased rate of practice change. Better understanding and consideration of these concepts could help in the development and design of more effective extension programmes. Keywords: behaviour change, adoption, extension, farming systems, complexity, barriers, knowledge

scholarly journals Genetically Modified Crops and Food Security in Nigeria; Facts and Myths

2020 ◽  
pp. 54-63
Author(s):  
B. O. Ehirim ◽  
M. Bashir ◽  
M. N. Ishaq ◽  
A. S. Gana ◽  
B. Z. Salihu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Genetically Modified Crops ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Agricultural Producers ◽  
Global Food

Biotechnology per se is not a panacea for the world’s problems of hunger and poverty. However, genetic engineering in particular offers outstanding potentials to increase the efficiency of crop improvement. Thus, biotechnology could enhance global food production and availability in a sustainable way. Studies have shown that transgenic crops are very appropriate for agricultural producers and consumers in developing countries as the entire technology can be packaged into the seed. It can easily be integrated into traditional smallholder farming systems through proper stewardship. Except for a few innovative transfer projects, the application of biotechnology until now remains concentrated in the industrialized world. However due to insufficient owned scientific and regulatory capacities, the increase in privatized international agricultural research and the strengthening of intellectual property rights of these organizations complicate the access of developing countries to biotechnology. Therefore, profound government and Institutional adjustments that cuts across new technologies and regulations are essential to ensuring that biotechnology does not bypass the resource poor, smallholder farmers in Africa and Nigeria in particular.

A Short Review of Farming Systems Research in the Tropics

1986 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. W. Simmonds
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farming Systems Research

SUMMARYFarming systems research (FSR) has come to prominence as a part of tropical agricultural research in the past decade or so. The main stimulus was the growing realization that small farmers are ‘economically rational’ and agricultural economists have been the leading agents in developing FSR ideas. Three broad aspects are distinguished: (1) FSR sensu stricto, the deep analysis of farming systems as they exist, which is essentially an academic activity, (2) OFR/FSP (‘on farm research with farming systems perspective’), a practical adjunct to research which seeks to test the socio-economic suitability of research ideas on-farm before recommending extension and (3) NFSD (‘new farming systems development’) which seeks to develop complex, radical change rather than the stepwise change characteristic of OFR/FSP. The technical components of NFSD are probably mostly available but the necessary transdisciplinary, synthetic thinking is not. Research on perennial plants in tropical agriculture has been rather neglected but there are signs of growing concern; they must be an important feature of any NFSD for the wetter areas.

scholarly journals Response of Peanut Varieties to Phosphorus and Rhizobium Inoculant Rates on Haplic Lixisols of Guinea Savanna Zone of Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Naabe Yaro ◽  
Ahmed Rufai Mahama ◽  
Joseph Xorse Kugbe ◽  
Albert Berdjour
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Nodule Number ◽  
Combined Application ◽  
Need To Evaluate ◽  
P Fertilizer ◽  
Seed Increase ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Pod Number

Peanut forms a major component of the predominantly cereal-based farming systems in Northern Ghana. However, yields are low, prompting the need to evaluate the effects of phosphorus (PR) and rhizobium inoculant (IR) rates on growth, nodulation, and yield of peanut varieties. On-station and on-farm experiments were conducted to determine the interaction effects of three P rates (0, 30, and 60 kg P2O5/ha), three IR rates (0, 3, and 6 g/kg seed), and two peanut varieties [Chinese and Nkatie Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI)] on growth, nodulation, and yield of peanut on Haplic Lixisols of Northern Ghana. Both experiments were conducted using a split-split plot design replicated three times for the on-station experiment and on six farmer's fields (on-farm experiment). In both experiments, combined application of 60 kg P2O5/ha and IR at 6 g/kg seed increased pod number in the Nkatie SARI and Chinese varieties compared to their control counterparts. PR × V interaction influenced growth, effective nodule number, and podding capacity with 60 kg P2O5/ha combined with Nkatie SARI to produce significantly higher values. The interaction of IR × V improved pod number, nodule number, and harvest index, such that inoculant at 6 g/kg seed combined with Nkatie SARI gave the best performance. PR × IR also had a significant interactive influence on peanut grain yield. Higher grain yields were recorded from 60 kg P2O5/ha in combination with 6 g/kg seed of rhizobium inoculant. Therefore, these results suggest that the use of P fertilizer at 60 kg/ha and rhizobium inoculant at 6 g/kg seed increase peanut productivity on Haplic Lixisols in Northern Ghana. However, it was prudent not to suggest any recommendations from the P rates in interaction with IR, since the result between the on-station and on-farm experiments appeared not consistent.

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