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Transdisciplinary Research: Collaborative Leadership and Empowerment Towards Sustainability of Push–Pull Technology

Author

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  • Isaac Mbeche Nyang’au

    (Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Genscherallee 3, D-53113 Bonn, Germany
    International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), P.O. Box 30772-0100 Nairobi, Kenya)

  • Girma Kelboro

    (Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Genscherallee 3, D-53113 Bonn, Germany)

  • Anna-Katharina Hornidge

    (Institute of Sociology, University of Bremen, 28334 Bremen, Germany
    Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Fahrenheitstr 6, 28359 Bremen, Germany)

  • Charles A. O. Midega

    (International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), P.O. Box 30772-0100 Nairobi, Kenya)

  • Christian Borgemeister

    (Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Genscherallee 3, D-53113 Bonn, Germany)

Abstract

A transdisciplinary research approach requires that different scientists with their discipline-specific theories, concepts and methods find ways to work together with other societal players to address a real-life problem. In this study, the push–pull technology (PPT) was used as a boundary object to enable interactions among stakeholders across science-practice boundaries engaged in the control of stemborer pest in maize crops in Bako Tibe, Jimma Arjo and Yayu Woredas in Ethiopia between August 2014 and April 2015. The PPT is a biological mechanism developed by researchers for the control of stemborer pests and Striga weed in maize crop. It involves inter-cropping maize with a stemborer moth-repellent silverleaf or greenleaf Desmodium (push), and planting an attractive trap crop, Napier or Brachiaria grass (pull), around it. The on-farm implementation of PPT was used to provide an opportunity for collaboration, interaction and learning among stakeholders including researchers from the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research and practitioners from the Ministry of Agriculture and smallholder farmers/traders. The research was implemented following the transdisciplinary action research and the data collected using mixed methods approach, including key informant interviews, focus group discussions, workshops, on-farm practical demonstrations and participant observations. The findings show that collaborative leadership provides a chance for the stakeholders to participate in the technology learning and decision making, by enabling them to jointly contribute skills towards development, refinement and adaptation of the PPT. In situations where there are conflicts, they are embraced and converted to opportunities for in-depth learning, finding solutions and adaptation of the innovation processes rather than being sources of contradictions or misunderstandings. The leadership roles of the farmers enabled them to reflect on their own practices and draw on scientific explanations from researchers. It also enabled them to take the lead in new technology implementation and information sharing with fellow farmers and other stakeholders in a free and easy manner. Although the perennial nature of the companion crops in the PPT provides opportunities for continuous stakeholder interaction and learning, it requires a personally committed leadership and formal institutional engagements for the sustainability of the activities, which span several cropping seasons. Market forces and the involvement of the private sector also play a role as shown from the involvement of individual farmers and traders in Desmodium and Brachiaria seed production, collection and distribution during the PPT implementation.

Suggested Citation

  • Isaac Mbeche Nyang’au & Girma Kelboro & Anna-Katharina Hornidge & Charles A. O. Midega & Christian Borgemeister, 2018. "Transdisciplinary Research: Collaborative Leadership and Empowerment Towards Sustainability of Push–Pull Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-26, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:7:p:2378-:d:156908
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ellinor Isgren & Yann Clough & Alice Murage & Elina Andersson, 2023. "Are agricultural extension systems ready to scale up ecological intensification in East Africa? A literature review with particular attention to the Push-Pull Technology (PPT)," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(5), pages 1399-1420, October.
    2. Till Stellmacher & Girma Kelboro, 2019. "Family Farms, Agricultural Productivity, and the Terrain of Food (In)security in Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-10, September.
    3. Zacharoula Andreopoulou & Christiana Koliouska, 2018. "Benchmarking Internet Promotion of Renewable Energy Enterprises: Is Sustainability Present?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-12, November.
    4. M. Manjula & R. Rengalakshmi, 2021. "Making Research Collaborations: Learning from Processes of Transdisciplinary Engagement in Agricultural Research," Review of Development and Change, , vol. 26(1), pages 25-39, June.
    5. Robert Axelsson & Magnus Ljung & Malgorzata Blicharska & Michael Frisk & Marianne Henningsson & Grzegorz Mikusiński & Lennart Folkeson & Görgen Göransson & Sofia Jönsson-Ekström & Anders Sjölund & Jan, 2020. "The Challenge of Transdisciplinary Research: A Case Study of Learning by Evaluation for Sustainable Transport Infrastructures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-24, August.
    6. Laurens K. Hessels & Stefan P.L. De Jong & Stijn Brouwer, 2018. "Collaboration between Heterogeneous Practitioners in Sustainability Research: A Comparative Analysis of Three Transdisciplinary Programmes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-16, December.

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