Agriculture Reference
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ogy generation prioritize problems and opportunities and convert them into
options or treatments. Third, options are tested in experiments and studies.
Formal data and informal observations are collected and evaluated. Finally,
participants review the results and plan further steps for the generation of
technology and information. To understand who participates in agricultural
technology generation, those who make decisions and influence outcomes at
each phase must be identified (Nelson, 1994).
Biggs (1989) proposed four categories of researcher-farmer cooperation in
technology generation,depending on who makes the decisions in each step.In
a contractual relationship, researchers make all the decisions, but conduct the
research on-farm, primarily to gain access to a wider range of soil and climatic
conditions than is generally available on research stations. In a consultative
relationship, researchers consult farmers about their problems and their
views, but prioritize, design, and implement the research and interpret the
results themselves. In a collaborative relationship, researchers and farmers
work together to define problems and possible options for testing, share
responsibilities for plot implementation and evaluations, and plan together
further actions. In a collegial relationship, researchers support the farmer or
farmers' group in implementing their own technology development efforts.
Figure 3.3, a matrix of the steps in technology generation, contrasts two of
these cases, scientist-run on-farm trials and farmers'experiments.
Participatory learning for action, also shown in Figure 3.3, is collaborative
and collegial in its decision-making.In this approach,scientists and extension
agents do not act as experts,even though they possess a wealth of information
about weeds. Neither are they the only ones who know about weeds nor those
solely responsible for solutions to weed problems. In the context of participa-
tory learning, scientists and extensionists take on two new roles. First, they
are facilitators of group inquiry and decision-making. This means they
promote the development of learning within the group, insure that decision-
making is participatory, and keep the process focused on a time frame and
spatial scale relevant to farmers. Second, instead of acting as lecturers,
researchers and extension staff employ their technical resources and analyti-
cal skills to promote group inquiry. Diagnostic field tours to visualize weed
problems, reconstruction of recent weed trends in different fields to evaluate
decision-making, and field exercises that reveal cause and effect can promote
group analysis and plans for action.Scientists and extensionists provide infor-
mation in the form of suggestions rather than recommendations. These sug-
gestions may come from scientists' personal experience, the results of
experiments, and technical literature.
Farmer-extensionist-researcher learning can be more effective with a
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