Conventional Agricultural Research Research Articles

Experience with participatory video proposals: assisting community organisations with innovation project planning

ABSTRACTIn conventional agricultural research for development (AR4D) projects, decisions about rural innovation activities often rest with scientists. In transdisciplinary AR4D projects in Kenya and Tanzania, we designed a methodology aiming to give key decision-making rights to the farmer groups involved. Five collaborating groups were facilitated to explore different innovation possibilities and they then put forward ideas that they wished to implement. Next, the groups were invited to apply for a small grant using a video proposal. This practical note provides information on the participatory video proposal process and highlights some benefits and challenges experienced by farmers and scientists.

A new professionalism for agricultural research for development

ABSTRACTThere have been repeated calls for a ‘new professionalism’ for carrying out agricultural research for development since the 1990s. At the centre of these calls is a recognition that for agricultural research to support the capacities required to face global patterns of change and their implications on rural livelihoods, requires a more systemic, learning focused and reflexive practice that bridges epistemologies and methodologies. In this paper, we share learning from efforts to mainstream such an approach through a large, multi-partner CGIAR research program working in aquatic agricultural systems. We reflect on four years of implementing research in development (RinD), the program’s approach to the new professionalism. We highlight successes and challenges and describe the key characteristics that define the approach. We conclude it is possible to build a program on a broader approach that embraces multidisciplinarity and engages with stakeholders in social-ecological systems. Our experience also suggests caution is required to ensure there is the time, space and appropriate evaluation methodologies in place to appreciate outcomes different to those to which conventional agricultural research aspires.

The impact of integrated agricultural research for development on food security among smallholder farmers of southern Africa

ABSTRACTThis article addresses the impact of Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) on food security among smallholder farmers in three countries of southern Africa (Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi). Southern Africa has suffered continued hunger despite a myriad of technological interventions that have been introduced in agriculture to address issues of food security, as well as poverty alleviation. IAR4D is a new approach that was recently introduced by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa through the sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme as an alternative strategy to address the challenges that the conventional Agricultural Research and Development (ARD) approach has been facing. Data for this article has been derived from two sources: baseline and endline surveys of the sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme that were implemented in southern Africa.The findings of the study showed reduced food insecurity in the intervention sites when compared with counterfactual (clean and conventional) sites. This is a clear evidence that IAR4D has had some impact, as food insecurity has been reduced in the intervention villages where the programme was implemented, unlike the control villages where the programme was not implemented. The results also show that IAR4D has improved the quality of food dietary diversity and smallholders’ coping strategies when compared with control sites. However, these results are not robust across sites. Given the positive impact, this article recommends the adoption of IAR4D over ARD as an alternative approach to addressing household food security by increasing agricultural production.

Estimating the impact of innovation systems on maize yields: the case of Iar4d in southern Africa

ABSTRACT Markets are known to have a great potential to unlock agricultural growth in developing countries. The conventional agricultural research and development approaches used hitherto have not yielded much success in stimulating farmer participation in markets. New agricultural development approaches, such as the Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D), view developmental challenges as multi-dimensional and as such require multi-pronged and integrated initiatives – better known as innovation systems – to overcome. Using data from IAR4D trials in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique, the study evaluates the efficacy of IAR4D in stimulating market integration and crop intensification. The impact of IAR4D on maize yield, estimated using the local average treatment effect (LATE) is significant in all the countries. Yields improved by margins ranging 107–149 kgha-1, which is quite substantial in a region where yields average around 1000kgha-1. These findings give credence to the proposition that innovation systems such as IAR4D are more effective in stimulating agricultural growth.

Developing Country Experience with Bt Cotton: Institutional Constraints in the Diffusion of Transgenic Crops

Results from a recent study that examined the performance of transgenic, insect-resistant cotton in four countries (China, India, Colombia and South Africa) are used to examine the adequacy of the institutions required to support the development and delivery of transgenic crops for resource-poor farmers. These institutions include the formal seed sector, the basic regulations that support it, conventional agricultural research and the provision of information to farmers. The paper argues that inadequacies in these institutions in many developing countries represent significant barriers to the hopes for a rapid uptake of transgenic crops.

Is conventional agricultural research fit for the purpose of supporting ecological agriculture? A case study of an attempted transition in Sweden

AbstractIn order to increase ecological horticulture in Sweden, it is necessary to increase productivity while reducing working hours. To improve the relevance of research results as a base for such transitions, a Participatory Learning and Action Research (PLAR) group was added to a conventional research project that aimed to find options for using green manure as a multifunctional tool in vegetable production. The project consisted of four work packages looking at different aspects of a system of interest defined by researchers. The PLAR group sought to evaluate the agronomic outcome of the conventional research outputs but came to add qualitative experience of using the different manuring methods tried. The article reports on the evaluation of the PLAR activities as well as on issues of cooperation and understanding The difficulties and constrains that arose revealed the limitations of conventional research as a means for supporting ecological horticulture transitions, but using PLAR as an ‘add on method’ is also shown to be inadequate for helping producers effect the transitions required. Discussion on the robustness of the data generated and the stability of the approach show the importance of using approaches that are fit for practice when extending research to develop ecological horticulture to include participation with practitioners. Moving from conventional research approaches to trans-disciplinary approaches is not easy and includes the need to relate the contextual knowledge of farmers to the abstract knowledge of scientists.

Integrating participatory elements into conventional research projects: measuring the costs and benefits

Until recently, participatory and conventional approaches to agricultural research have been regarded as more or less antagonistic. This article presents evidence from three sub-projects of a Thai–Vietnamese–German collaborative research programme on ‘Sustainable Land Use and Rural Development in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia’, in which participatory elements were successfully integrated into conventional agricultural research as add-on activities. In all three sub-projects the costs of studying local knowledge or enhancing farmers' experimentation consisted of additional local personnel, opportunity costs of participating farmers' time, and travel costs. However, these participatory elements of the research projects constituted only a small fraction of the total costs. It may be concluded that conventional agricultural research can be complemented by participatory components in a cost-effective way, while producing meaningful benefits in terms of creating synergies by blending scientific and local knowledge, scaling up micro-level data, and highlighting farmers' constraints affecting technology adoption.

Agricultural biotechnology: risks and opportunities for developing country food security

Agricultural biotechnology presents opportunities for reducing poverty, food insecurity, child malnutrition, and natural resource degradation. Small farmers in developing countries are faced with many problems and constraints which biotechnology may assist. About 1.2 billion people, or one of every five humans, live in a state of absolute poverty, on the equivalent of US$1 a day or less. Modern biotechnology is not a silver bullet for achieving food security, but, used in conjunction with traditional knowledge and conventional agricultural research methods, it may be a powerful tool. Policies must expand and guide research and technology development to solve problems of importance to poor people. Research should focus on crops relevant to small farmers and poor consumers in developing countries, such as bananas, cassava, yams, sweet potatoes, rice, maize, wheat, and millet, along with livestock. Labelling may also be needed to identify content for cultural and religious reasons or simply because consumers want to know about the contents of their food and the processes used to produce it. It is also urgent that global biosafety standards and local regulatory capacity be strengthened within developing countries.

An International Initiative in Biotechnology: Priorities, Values, and Implementation of an A.I.D. Project

Biotechnology is a recent addition to international crop improvement. for its contribution to be effective, it must be fully integrated with conventional agricultural research. Based on recommendations contained in a National Research Council (NRC) report, the Agency for International Development (A.I.D.), in collaboration with the International Agricultural Research Centers (lARCs) and National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), prioritized biotechnology research relevant to agricultural problems of the developing world and identified those suitable for mutually beneficial research. A new plant biotechnology project was designed, awarded, and implemented to address these priorities while complementing other international programs. The Agricultural Biotechnology for Sustainable Productivity (ABSP) project supports separate public and commercially oriented research efforts by providing multiple routes for the development and release of germplasm. These efforts are implemented through collaborative research agreements which include support for regulatory review, field testing, and legal/contractual agreements for protection of intellectual property rights (IPR). Efforts to determine the research priorities, innovative modalities for collaborative agreements, and value decisions on which these are based are reviewed as an example of ongoing international biotechnology initiatives.

THE NEW MISSION OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION IN AFRICAN AGRICULTURE

Recent evaluations of rural development projects in Africa revealed a disappointingly low degree of adoption of the proposed messages or technology packages. This apparent ineffectiveness of the conventional agricultural research and extension system is due to the lack of innovations adapted to specific constraints of the different farming systems of resource-poor farmers, as well as to outmoded concepts of rural development. To overcome this bottleneck the authors propose new roles for agricultural research and extension in Africa: the search for viable innovations should not be left to conventional agricultural research alone. The latter should focus on the development of sustainable strategies, answering those problems (macro-economic, social, ecologic) which would be neglected, if one merely attempted to meet short-term individual interests. Indigenous agricultural systems of knowledge would have to be revitalized as well. One of the main tasks of research and extension services should be to support farmers' experimentation in providing viable options, limiting risk, and analysing and developing indigenous knowledge. The communication of solutions should be left to more efficient external channels, either of the peasantry itself or of professional organizations. Published as: Kohnert, Dirk / Weber, Paul (1991): A new Mission of Agricultural Research and Extension in West-African Agriculture. Sociologia Ruralis, 31 (1991) 2/3:162-68.