Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
This chapter describes the process used to implement an integrated and adaptive
approach to agroecosystem health and sustainability management in a smallholder-
dominated tropical highlands agroecosystem. Participatory and action research meth-
ods were used to generate system descriptions and to generate local theory (Elden
and Levin, 1991) on the management of agroecosystem. Soft system methodologies
were used as a tool for creating mutual understanding and for negotiation among
the stakeholders so that action plans can be made and implemented. Conventional
research methods were used to carry out measurements on selected indicators.
2.2 ReseaRcH stRateGy and metHods
Kiambu district, a geopolitically defined region within the Kenyan highlands, was
chosen as the study area for two reasons: (1) its proximity to the University of Nai-
robi (cost considerations) and (2) the fact that it is a district with high agricultural
potential and with a preponderance of smallholder farms. The district is relatively
more endowed with resources, while agricultural production is more intense than in
many other districts. Questions of ecosystem sustainability and health are therefore
of greater concern in this district. There are relatively more management options for
self-sustenance in Kiambu, therefore providing a suitable venue for testing methods
of implementing health and sustainability.
The project involved three groups of actors: (1) communities in six study sites
distributed across the district, (2) resource persons comprising extension and techni-
cal staff from divisional administrative offices, and (3) researchers. The last group
a multidisciplinary team of agronomists, economists, engineers, medical personnel,
sociologists, and veterinarians. Additional personnel, including district staff, and
experts from governmental and nongovernmental organizations were included when
need arose. All people living within each respective intensive study site (ISS) were
invited to participate in the village workshops. However, communities decided to
elect a committee, referred to as the village AESH committee, to serve as the focal
point for action plan implementation and for communication between the community
and other actors. There was a resource persons' team in each division of the district.
Each team served as the main link between the research team and the communities.
A group of six to eight people were selected from a divisional team to be facilitators
in participatory workshops organized in study sites within their jurisdiction.
Table 2.1 shows a chronology of the main activities carried out in the project.
Initial activities included (1) collection and collation of background information,
(2) training of researchers and their assistants in participatory methods, and (3) initial
village workshops. Subsequently, the multidisciplinary team attempted to analyze
the village systems using loop (influence or spaghetti) diagrams (Puccia and Levins,
1985). It was then proposed that each community should be requested to make simi-
lar diagrams to show how they perceived the relationships among factors influencing
the health and sustainability of their agroecosystems. A list of potential indicators
was then generated and used to carry out a baseline assessment. Concurrently, com-
munities were facilitated to develop their own suite of indicators and to use them
to monitor and assess their agroecosystem in a separate process. The researcher-
developed suite of indicators was refined using correspondence analysis. The initial
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