IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agrhuv/v24y2007i3p355-368.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Farmers and researchers: How can collaborative advantages be created in participatory research and technology development?

Author

Listed:
  • Volker Hoffmann
  • Kirsten Probst
  • Anja Christinck

Abstract

This article examines differences in the research approaches of farmers and scientists and analyzes how these differences are related to the conditions under which both groups engage in experimental work. Theoretical considerations as well as practical experiences are presented to emphasize the great potential of farmer–researcher collaboration for rural innovation. In the first part of the article, the innovative power of farmer research and experimentation is acknowledged by presenting examples such as crop and animal breeding, development of new production systems, farm equipment, and social innovations. Considering the respective comparative advantages of farmers and scientists, and inspired by theoretical concepts in the fields of knowledge management and innovation processes, we discuss five topics for optimizing the collaboration between farmers and scientists in the field of technological innovation: user orientation, decentralization, informal modes of experimentation, externalization of tacit knowledge, and economic considerations. A better understanding of such issues could help researchers to define their own role in the research process, acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of their own and farmers’ research approaches, overcome communication gaps, and find creative solutions for problems that typically occur in the process of participatory technology development. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2007

Suggested Citation

  • Volker Hoffmann & Kirsten Probst & Anja Christinck, 2007. "Farmers and researchers: How can collaborative advantages be created in participatory research and technology development?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 24(3), pages 355-368, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:24:y:2007:i:3:p:355-368
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-007-9072-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10460-007-9072-2
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10460-007-9072-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Biggs, Stephen D. & Clay, Edward J., 1981. "Sources of innovation in agricultural technology," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 321-336, April.
    2. Fergus Lyon, 1996. "How farmers research and learn: The case of arable farmers of East Anglia, UK," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 13(4), pages 39-47, September.
    3. Brij Kothari, 2002. "Theoretical streams in Marginalized Peoples' Knowledge(s): Systems, asystems, and Subaltern Knowledge(s)," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 19(3), pages 225-237, September.
    4. Jeffery Bentley, 1994. "Facts, fantasies, and failures of farmer participatory research," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 11(2), pages 140-150, March.
    5. Jeffery Bentley, 1989. "What farmers don't know can't help them: The strengths and weaknesses of indigenous technical knowledge in Honduras," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 6(3), pages 25-31, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Misiko, M., 2013. "Dilemma in participatory selection of varieties," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 35-42.
    2. Tambo, Justice A. & Wünscher, Tobias, 2016. "Beyond adoption: welfare effects of farmer innovation behavior in Ghana," Discussion Papers 235297, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    3. Letty, Brigid & Shezi, Zanele & Mudhara, Maxwell, 2012. "An exploration of agricultural grassroots innovation in South Africa and implications for innovation indicator development," MERIT Working Papers 2012-023, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    4. Lisa Price, 2001. "Demystifying farmers' entomological and pest management knowledge: A methodology for assessing the impacts on knowledge from IPM-FFS and NES interventions," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 18(2), pages 153-176, June.
    5. Hudson, Darren & Jones, Tom, 2001. "Willingness to Plant Identity Preserved Crops: The Case of Mississippi Soybeans," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 33(3), pages 475-485, December.
    6. Raina, Rajeswari S., 2003. "Disciplines, institutions and organizations: impact assessments in context," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 185-211, November.
    7. Hall, Andy, 2007. "The origins and implications of using innovation systems perspectives in the design and implementation of agricultural research projects: Some personal observations," MERIT Working Papers 2007-013, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    8. Alyson Warhurst, 1985. "Biotechnology for Mining: The Potential of an Emerging Technology, the Andean Pact Copper Project and Some Policy Implications," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 16(1), pages 93-121, January.
    9. Lori Thrupp & Bruce Cabarle & Aaron Zazueta, 1994. "Participatory methods in planning & political processes: Linking the grassroots & policies for sustainable development," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 11(2), pages 77-84, March.
    10. Michael Misiko & Pablo Tittonell & Ken Giller & Paul Richards, 2011. "Strengthening understanding and perceptions of mineral fertilizer use among smallholder farmers: evidence from collective trials in western Kenya," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(1), pages 27-38, February.
    11. Diana Córdoba, 2017. "Politization, participation, and innovation:Socializing agricultural research in Bolivia," Apuntes. Revista de ciencias sociales, Fondo Editorial, Universidad del Pacífico, vol. 44(81), pages 123-150.
    12. Tambo, Justice A. & Wünscher, Tobias, 2014. "Building farmers’ capacity for innovation generation: what are the determining factors?," 88th Annual Conference, April 9-11, 2014, AgroParisTech, Paris, France 170351, Agricultural Economics Society.
    13. Daniel Coq-Huelva & Bolier Torres-Navarrete & Carlos Bueno-Suárez, 2018. "Indigenous worldviews and Western conventions: Sumak Kawsay and cocoa production in Ecuadorian Amazonia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(1), pages 163-179, March.
    14. Brij Kothari, 2002. "Theoretical streams in Marginalized Peoples' Knowledge(s): Systems, asystems, and Subaltern Knowledge(s)," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 19(3), pages 225-237, September.
    15. Tambo, Justice & Wunscher, Tobias, 2015. "Beyond adoption: the welfare effects of farmer innovation in rural Ghana," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211682, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Tambo, Justice A. & Wünscher, Tobias, 2014. "Building Farmers’ Capacity For Innovation Generation: What Are The Determining Factors?," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182810, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Murray Bruges & Willie Smith, 2008. "Participatory approaches for sustainable agriculture: A contradiction in terms?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 25(1), pages 13-23, January.
    18. Jeffery Bentley, 2006. "Folk experiments," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 23(4), pages 451-462, December.
    19. Clark, Norman, 2001. "Innovation Systems, Institutional Change and the New Knowledge Market: Implications for Third World Agricultural Development," UNU-INTECH Discussion Paper Series 2001-10, United Nations University - INTECH.
    20. Sumberg, James & Okali, Christine & Reece, David, 2003. "Agricultural research in the face of diversity, local knowledge and the participation imperative: theoretical considerations," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 739-753, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:24:y:2007:i:3:p:355-368. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.