Abstract
AbstractA new generation of agricultural research programs are embracing use of participation as a vehicle for achieving greater impact and supporting transformative change in complex social-ecological systems. In this paper, we share learning from use of participatory action research in the Tonle Sap biosphere in Cambodia, as the main implementing methodology within a large multi-partner agricultural research program. We describe the program’s espoused approach to applying participatory methodologies focusing on co-ownership, equity and reflexivity with stakeholders throughout the research process. We then reflect upon our practice as we pursued initiatives to support increased income and nutrition outcomes for the poorest people in a diverse aquatic agricultural system characterized by inequality. We discuss the challenges and early successes of the process and share three enabling conditions that support a shift towards quality of participation in agricultural research: (1) focusing at the outset on a ...
Highlights
Aquatic agricultural systems are complex social-ecological systems characterized by high levels of uncertainty (Attwood et al, 2017)
We drew upon the analysis that was implemented at the local level with facilitation teams, to focus our own analysis on the following research question: “What are the critical factors that enable or inhibit a participatory action research (PAR) approach to agricultural research in aquatic agricultural systems to be implemented according to principles of co-ownership, equity and reflexivity?”
Implementation of PAR in the Tonle Sap Hub we describe the events of the PAR processes in the Tonle Sap that took place over two years
Summary
Aquatic agricultural systems are complex social-ecological systems characterized by high levels of uncertainty (Attwood et al, 2017). They appreciate participation as a process and not a set of tools, and more deliberately and critically engage with power and institutions They are often found within innovation and people-cantered approaches (Klerkx, van Mierlo, & Leeuwis, 2012; Scoones et al, 2009) in which agricultural research is understood to take place within a complex social-ecological system. Of particular concern is the exclusion of local people in decision-making processes (Keskinen & Varis, 2012) In this complex and multi-layered aquatic agricultural system, CRP AAS engaged both with a select number of local communities spread across various agro-ecological zones in the floodplain, and with a range of “system level” stakeholders (Apgar & Douthwaite, 2013) to support achievement of collective visions of success. We discuss them chronologically through a narrative to show how connections between the two engagement streams of PAR occurred in practice
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