Soft System Methodology in the Management of Agroecosystem Health and Sustainability Concerns of a Tropical Highlands Agroecosystem - Integrated Assessment of Health and Sustainability of Agroecosystems - page 136

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Key
Solid arrows = agreement; Dashed arrows = disagreement

fIGuRe 5.5 Differing perspectives on Gitangu water project in Gitangu village. NGO,
nongovernmental organization. See CD for color image.

was that the extension system was inefficient, with the extension agents spending
time doing other things or providing the services to those villages and communities
that they favored (Figure 5.6).

5.3.1.4 community Inertia in Kiambu district

Participants in the workshop were asked why, given that they were aware of the
problems facing their village, they had not taken any action. There were two main
perspectives. The first was that the government was responsible, and that it deals
with issues at its own convenience. The second main perspective was that commu-
nity leaders were ineffective for various reasons, meaning that people tried to resolve
problems as individuals (Figure 5.7).

5.3.2 b u i l D i n g C o n s e n s u s A n D r o o t D e f i n i t i o n s
Figure 5.8 shows the change in perspectives of the various stakeholders on the flood-
ing and access road problem in Kiawamagira village after viewing the completed
rich picture of the problem situation. Similar changes in perspectives occurred in
all other problem situations in which the approach was used. Table 5.2 shows the
activities, measures of performance, and targets negotiated to resolve four of the
problem situations faced by communities in the six ISSs. In the situations, communi-
ties began the implementation process immediately after the first rich pictures were