Participative Technology Development
This ILEIA edition discuss about the technology development and the approach which farmers can play an active role. And it should integrate the complimentary domains of knowledge, indigenous and formal knowledge.
Thousands of West African women earning cash income by making daddawa(local "maggi" or stock made from locust bean) at low capital input, small scale enterprises and selling it at local markets. Probably, because it solds locally and traded via traditional markets, it has receive less attention in economic statistic.
The locust bean it self has been neglected in the research of agricultural extension. In recent year, the daddawa that has been sold is not anymore produce from locust bean but instead from soyabean. This innovation credited to the women at nigerian farm who have developed the soybean processing technique and its become more efficient in terms of time and input compare to locust bean.
Table of contents:
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3 - 7In most tropical regions farmers are confronted more and more with the urgent need to adapt their farming system to the changing circumstances under which they have to produce. Technological and institutional change is necessary to cope with: population growth, decreasing soil fertility, changing climates, markets, prices, demands and needs. Formal Research and Development, based on Transfer-Of-Technology, gives to a certain extent an answer to this need for new technology. Yet, this approach has not been able to formulate adequate answers to the need for the creation of sustainable agricultural systems and for 'low resource' areas it also has not been able to contribute to a substantial increase of the production levels.
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8 - 10written by Ann Waters-BayerThroughout the West African savannah, daddawa (a Hausa word, also dawadawa) or 'local maggi' is eaten regularly in soups and stews, usually together with dumplings and porridge made of sorghum or millet. Daddawa is a tasty and protein-rich seasoning which is used like stock cubes or cheese in European and North American cooking. It is known as soumbara in French-speaking countries of West Africa, and has countless local names as well.
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11 - 14written by Peter GubbelsIn West Africa, there presently exists a large gap between what agricultural research and extension have to offer, and the needs of the majority of small-scale peasant farmers. There seems to be increasing recognition that if this gap is ever to be bridged, peasant farmers must participate much more actively in agricultural research and development. Rather than attempting to solve the problems for the peasant farmer, research and extension services and NGO’s should re-orient their approach so as to help peasant farmers learn to be more effective solving their agricultural problems on their own
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15 - 17written by Maria FernandezOne of the most challenging tasks facing agricultural research and extension efforts in Third World countries is that of developing appropriate agricultural technology based on the experience of the peasant farmer.
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18 - 19written by Clive Lightfoot , Francisco OcadoThis paper describes the different stages of a participatory method of the Farming Systems Development Project-Eastern Visayas to identify farmers' priority problems, diagnose farming systems, elaborate farmers' hypotheses and implement farmer-led experiments.
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20 - 21written by Ueli ScheuermeierIn Approach Development (AD), research priorities are determined by the farmers' needs, problems, perceptions and environment. The process of scientist and farming families learning together is crucial. 'Farmers' become 'farming families' and they are a 'team' working together with the AD Worker. Farming families and the AD Worker define the problems and conduct tests and trials together.
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22 - 23The small, resource-poor farmer in the third world is not the only one who is experimenting with agricultural technology. An increasing number of farmers in the western countries is developing alternatives to conventional agriculture, aiming to produce in a sustainable way. They are closely followed by increasingly interested scientists.
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24 - 24written by Berthold Schrimpf , Rainer WiertzFrom your personal experience: What are the traditional or local ways of fighting against pests and diseases in your area for crops and storage? This question was put in an inquiry and sent together with a crop protection booklet to farmers in the North-West and South-West Provinces of the Cameroons.
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