Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Demonstration sites and expert farmers
in conservation of biodiversity
Edwin A. Gyasi
Introduction
The idea of demonstration sites where biodiversity management systems are
developed and demonstrated, primarily on the basis of smallholder farmer knowl-
edge, is central to the PLEC mission of finding optimal paths towards
conservation and, ultimately, improvements in farmer livelihoods. Demonstration
sites developed on the basis of expert farmer knowledge have a special signifi-
cance because they provide a cost-effective complement to the essentially top-
down conventional research, extension, and development approaches, especially
in the rural areas of developing countries.
This chapter elucidates the notion of a farmer-based demonstration site and
how it is being developed through PLEC work with special reference to Ghana.
The expert farmer concept
The many smallholder farmers who manage a substantial proportion of global
biodiversity display varying degrees of understanding of and adaptation to the
variable ecological, economic, and socio-cultural forces shaping that diversity.
To this extent, all of them may be said to be farmer experts or biodiversity experts
in their own right.
However, some farmers excel in their knowledge of biodiversity and, on top of this,
use that knowledge effectively to solve production problems and maintain livelihoods
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