Participatory research and learning: two sides of the same coin?

Farmers’ field schools (FFSs) and local agricultural research committees (Comités de Investigación Agrícola Local, or CIALs) are participatory platforms for improving decision-making capacities and stimulating local innovation for sustainable agriculture. What are their basic objectives and what problems do they address? How can agricultural research and development (R & D) support these platforms?

Research by the Agricultural Research and Extension Network (AgREN) suggests that FFSs and CIALs promote a closer relationship between agricultural research and extension and rural society, building local institutional structures and processes for agricultural development. FFSs and CIALs offer platforms for promoting integrated decision-making and innovation for sustainable agriculture by farmers.

Although the FFSs and CIALs were initiated for different reasons and have different objectives, both focus on identifying concrete solutions for local problems, yet they apply different styles of experimentation and analysis. CIALs are a permanent agricultural research service staffed by a team of four or more volunteer farmers elected by the community. The committees create a link between local and formal research. FFSs provide an opportunity for learning-by-doing, based on principles of non-formal education.

Recently there has been a trend towards convergence between the two. Similarities include:

• Both stimulate local innovation and emphasise principles and processes rather than recipes or technology packages.
• Both consider farmers as experts, stress respect for local values and knowledge, and build capacity based on practical experience.
• Both recognise the risk associated with learning and research, and have mechanisms to ensure that the risk is shared and not carried individually.

Yet key differences remain, including:

• In CIALs, farmers learn to conduct relatively formal experiments while in the FFS approach, experiments are largely conducted to demonstrate principles and solve problems.
• FFSs are made up of 25 farmers from one community while CIALs comprise small groups of farmer-researchers from the community.
• FFS experimentation is an analysis of agro-ecosystem structure, patterns and context while CIALs are controlled comparisons.

Outcomes common to both approaches include:

• farmers’ increased capacity for research, innovation and informed decision-making
• the development of farmers to become facilitators of their own research agendas in CIALs and as part of FFS follow-up activities
• increased responsiveness to farmer-clients’ demands and needs by organisations in national research, extension and development systems.

Developing the capacity to support platforms like FFS and CIALs implies that agricultural R&D systems must:

• construct general theories of the structure and dynamics of specific agroecosystems required for the development of FFS curricula
• involve farmers in the testing and adaptation of technological options
• simultaneously build the human resources required for facilitating farmer research and discovery-based learning.

Source(s):
‘Farmer Field Schools and Local Agricultural Research Committees: Complementary Platforms for Integrated Decision-Making in Sustainable Agriculture’, AgREN Network Working Paper #105 by A. R. Braun et al, July 2000 Full document.
‘La escuela de campo para MIP y el comité de investigación agrícola local: plataformas complementarias para fomentar desisiones integrales en agricultura sostenible’, Manejo Integrado de Plagas (CATIE, Costa Rica) No. 53, by A. R. Braun et al, 1999 Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 17 February 2003

Further Information:
Ann R. Braun
Paideia Resources
P.O. Box 462
Nelson
New Zealand

Tel: +64 3 5442597
Fax: +64 3 5442503
Contact the contributor: a.braun@tasman.net

Paideia Resources, New Zealand

Graham Thiele

Contact the contributor: g.thiele@cgiar.org

María Fernández

Contact the contributor: mefernandez@lamolina.edu.pe

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'Growing competition. Allocating funds to improve agricultural research'

'Getting the message through: information pathways for Kenyan agriculture'

Eldis provides a portal to further participation research