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Lessons for farmer-oriented research: Experiences from a West African soil fertility management project

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  • E. Nederlof
  • Constant Dangbégnon

Abstract

Donors, scientists and farmers all benefit when research and development projects have high impact. However, potential benefits are sometimes not realized. Our objective in this study is to determine why resource-poor farmers in Togo (declined to) adopt recommended practices that were promoted through a multi-organizational project on soil fertility management. We examine the processes and outcomes related to the adoption process. The project was undertaken in three villages in the Central Region of Togo in West Africa. The development and research processes that took place during the implementation of the project were critically analyzed using a conceptual framework that may be useful for improving the impact of future participatory projects. At the macro level, opportunities for innovation were not deliberately explored with participating farmers and other village members; consequently “pre-analytical choices” made during the planning phase resulted in practices that resource-poor farmers were, for a variety of reasons, unable or unwilling to adopt. From the outset, donors and scientists focused on soil fertility management, but failed to take into account the wider economic context within which soil fertility management took place. This was a major obstacle to the subsequent adoption of recommended management strategies. Scientists and donor partners measured the success of the Project in terms of crop productivity, but farmers’ choices were influenced by a complex mix of socio-economic, political and technical factors. We also illustrate the importance of selecting appropriate categories of farmers for a particular experiment. We conclude that for participatory research and development projects to be successful, it is not enough to develop technologies that “work” in a technical sense. In order to be scaled up and widely implemented, such technologies must also meet a variety of needs of resource-poor farmers and be acceptable from a socio-cultural point of view. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2007

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  • E. Nederlof & Constant Dangbégnon, 2007. "Lessons for farmer-oriented research: Experiences from a West African soil fertility management project," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 24(3), pages 369-387, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:24:y:2007:i:3:p:369-387
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-007-9066-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Elske van de Fliert & Ann Braun, 2002. "Conceptualizing integrative, farmer participatory research for sustainable agriculture: From opportunities to impact," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 19(1), pages 25-38, March.
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    2. Nicolas Faysse & Mostafa Errahj & Catherine Dumora & Hassan Kemmoun & Marcel Kuper, 2012. "Linking research and public engagement: weaving an alternative narrative of Moroccan family farmers’ collective action," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(3), pages 413-426, September.
    3. Stoop, Willem A. & Adam, Abdoulaye & Kassam, Amir, 2009. "Comparing rice production systems: A challenge for agronomic research and for the dissemination of knowledge-intensive farming practices," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(11), pages 1491-1501, November.
    4. Lauren Pincus & Heidi Ballard & Emily Harris & Kate Scow, 2018. "Seeing below the surface: making soil processes visible to Ugandan smallholder farmers through a constructivist and experiential extension approach," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(2), pages 425-440, June.
    5. AHMED, Musa H. & MELESSE, Kumilachew A. & TEREFE, Aemro T., 2015. "Valuing Soil Conservation Practices Using Contingent Valuation Technique: Evidence From The Central Rift Valley Of Ethiopia," Review of Agricultural and Applied Economics (RAAE), Faculty of Economics and Management, Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra, vol. 18(2), pages 1-11, October.
    6. Tim Hart, 2011. "The significance of African vegetables in ensuring food security for South Africa’s rural poor," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(3), pages 321-333, September.
    7. Périnelle, Anne & Meynard, Jean-Marc & Scopel, Eric, 2021. "Combining on-farm innovation tracking and participatory prototyping trials to develop legume-based cropping systems in West Africa," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    8. Fred A. Yamoah & James S. Kaba & David Botchie & Joseph Amankwah-Amoah, 2021. "Working towards Sustainable Innovation for Green Waste Benefits: The Role of Awareness of Consequences in the Adoption of Shaded Cocoa Agroforestry in Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-14, January.

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