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Second-order cybernetics as a tool to understand why pastoralists do what they do

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  • Kaufmann, Brigitte A.

Abstract

The notion that pastoralists are irrational managers due to strong adherence to tradition and culture is still common in livestock production sciences. Researchers and development practitioners tend to fall back on this notion when target groups do not adopt their proposed innovations without any obvious reason. It is however difficult to identify innovations that fit into resource-poor systems, and often this lack of fit is the reason why innovations are not taken up. Understanding why pastoralists do what they do, and learning about the constraints they face when regulating production processes, is a prerequisite for identifying viable improvement possibilities.

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  • Kaufmann, Brigitte A., 2011. "Second-order cybernetics as a tool to understand why pastoralists do what they do," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 104(9), pages 655-665.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:104:y:2011:i:9:p:655-665
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2011.07.006
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    Cited by:

    1. Pamela Richardson-Ngwenya & Maria Höhne & Brigitte Kaufmann, 2018. "Participatory problem analysis of crop activities in rural Tanzania with attention to gender and wealth: ‘setting the scene’ to enhance relevance and avoid exclusion in pro-poor innovation projects," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(4), pages 859-880, August.
    2. Maria J. Restrepo & Margareta A. Lelea & Brigitte Kaufmann, 2016. "Second-Order Cybernetic Analysis to Re-construct Farmers’ Rationale When Regulating Milk Production," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 29(5), pages 449-468, October.

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