Participation In Technology Development Research Articles

The Sustainable Niche for Vegetable Production within the Contentious Sustainable Agriculture Discourse: Barriers, Opportunities and Future Approaches

Agricultural productivity impacts the environment and natural resources in various ways. The severity of these impacts has triggered the emergence of natural resource management and the related, highly criticized science of agroecology. Vegetable production has known environmental impacts. However, the extent of its participation in sustainable production has not been adequately explored. This review sought to explore the spaciotemporal position of vegetables in a suite of existing sustainable agricultural practices, explore regional variations and discover lessons that can guide the future of vegetable production. There are regional differences regarding sustainable production practices and the associated barriers to their adoption. Generally, sustainable agricultural practices with a societal history in a region tend to be successful, unlike when they are “new” innovations. The major barriers to sustainable agricultural practices in vegetable production are economy-related (total investment cost) and crop-related and are also related to the technology transmission approaches. Unfulfilled expectations and a lack of community participation in technology development are noted challenges, which have led to dis-adoption. A farmer-centered approach to technology promotion could help. Comparatively, southern Africa has the most challenges in the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. From the lessons learned from other regions, agroecology in vegetable cultivation is not unachievable in Africa. The projected challenges mean that sustainable vegetable production is inevitable.

Collectively Reimagining Technology

This article explores the use of participatory art and technology workshops as an approach to create more diverse and inclusive modes of engagement in the design of digital technologies. Taking the starting point in diverse works of science fiction, we draw on the concept of critical making and Ursula Le Guin’s disdain for the distinction between hard and soft technology to discuss the role of collaborative reimagining in the creation of technological futures. Such an approach facilitates a nuanced and reflected understanding for how technologies come to be designed and can empower more open and diverse participation in technology development.

A social networks approach for strengthening participation in technology innovation: lessons learnt from the Mount Elgon region of Kenya and Uganda

Participatory approaches to agricultural technology development have not yet fully lived up to their promise to incorporate farmer knowledge. This paper introduces a social networks approach (SNA) to improve participatory research processes for co-innovation. Drawing upon findings from a collaborative project developing conservation agricultural production systems for smallholders in western Kenya and eastern Uganda, the paper explores farmer support networks to improve participation in technological innovation and development. Key research themes include: identifying farmers’ agricultural production networks; the local articulation of agricultural production networks and mindsets; using networks to facilitate meaningful participation in technology development; and disadvantages and advantages of using a social network approach. The introduction of SNA improved participatory research by building external and internal legitimacy for determining who participates, discouraging participatory attrition, and providing a meaningful forum for participation of all stakeholders. As a result, the introduction of SNA is demonstrated to show strong promise for improving processes of participatory technology development in agriculture.

Female Participation in Information, Communication and Technological Development in Nigeria: Implications for Early Career Guidance

KEYWORDS Participation. Development. Communication. Information. Career Guidance ABSTRACT The issue of women and their participation in development has been on the international agenda since the Paris peace conference of 1919, sequel to the universal declaration of human rights in 1948 and international women's year in 1975. This study delved into the level of participation of women in the technological development of their country,Nigeria. A cross section of working class women in various establishments in Benin City, South-South Nigeria was sampled. Altogether, two hundred (200) women were randomly selected for the study. A questionnaire tagged Female Participation in Technological Development was administered to the women. Their responses were collated and analyzed using frequency count and simple percentages. In addition, focus group discussions were conducted with selected groups of working class women. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Data analysis showed that quite a large number of women (80%) were interested in ICT but only 60.67% had access to it. The constraints were time, gender roles, work-life imbalance and inadequate training and empowerment. There is need to develop a training program for the interested women and enlightenment seminars for other women and prospective working class females in the tertiary and secondary educational institutions. This is to ensure full participation of women in ICT, which will in turn ensure improved technological development in Nigeria as a country in a globalize world.

Promoting Sustainable Extension Approaches: Farmer Field School (FFS) and its role in sustainable agricultural development in Africa

This paper discusses the concept of Farmer Field School and its role in a multidisciplinary research agenda for sustainable agriculture in Africa. The FFS as a group learning approach builds knowledge and capacity among farmers to enable them diagnose their problems, identify solutions and develop plans and implement them with or without support from outside. The paper suggests that a multi-disciplinary research agenda that will not only aim at technology development but will also seek ways of stakeholder participation in technology development, validation and dissemination. It concludes that this approach will not only increase agricultural productivity, it will also lead to sustainable agriculture in Africa. [IJARD Vol.3 2002: 46-53]

The evolution of aquaculture in African rural and economic development

In Africa, aquaculture has developed only recently and so far has made only a small contribution to economic development and food security. We review developments and identify constraints to the expansion of aquaculture in economic and rural development at the continental, national and farm levels. Past development initiatives failed to achieve sustainable increases in production. In contrast, a growing number of smallholder farmers in many countries have been adopting and adapting pond aquaculture to their existing farming systems and slowly increasing their production efficiency. An evolutionary approach that builds on a fusion of local and outside participation in technology development and transfer appears more likely to produce fish production systems that are more productive and more environmentally and socially sustainable in the long term.

Training and visit extension and fertilizer use: the case of the Jos Plateau, Nigeria

The operation of the ‘Training and Visit’ (T&V) extension system is examined, with particular reference to knowledge of fertilizer use on the Jos Plateau, Nigeria. The potential role of the ‘farmer first’ paradigm in the reform of T&V is considered with respect to knowledge exchange between village extension agents and contact farmers. The findings suggest that the T&V system is not working as intended, because of the irregularity of visits, the preoccupation with the transfer of messages and the inability to solve input supply problems. The role of the village extension agents and the T&V extension system as a whole appears peripheral to the main concerns of the farmers. The contact farmers' ability to cooperate with the extension services indicates scope for their full and active participation in technology development. The findings suggest that T&V extension could usefully be reformed by the incorporation of the ‘farmer first’ paradigm. This implies revision of the extension system away from transfer-of-technology towards the provision of appropriate assistance and cooperation in farmer-led agricultural R&D, The study suggests that most of the problems associated with T&V could be overcome in this way. The role of the village extension agents would become one of catalyst and co-researcher rather than ‘bringer of messages’. Such revision of T&V represents acceptance of the overriding validity of the farmers' understanding of the circumstances and environments in which they operate.