Participatory Technology Development

Bharat S. Sontakki (bharatss@naarm.ernet.in)

 Session Outline
 Concepts and Importance of PTD
 Evolution of PTD
 Key Features
 PTD Process
 Comparison with Other Concepts
 Degrees of Stakeholder Participation
 Benefits and Obstacles
 Institutionalization of PTD
 Case Reviews
 “The word ‘participation’ is kaleidoscopic; it
changes its colour and shape at the will of the hands
in which it is held.

And, just like the momentary image in the

kaleidoscope, it can be very fragile and elusive,
changing from one moment to another”.
Shirley A. White (1994)
 Technology Development Process
 Research problem perception/identification

 Problem analysis (causes and solutions)

 Prioritization of options

 Project selection and resource allocation,

 Planning and implementation of research activities,

 Monitoring and review of the results

 Field testing

 Recommendation and follow up

Technology Development & Transfer Continuum
Stakeholders in Agricultural Research

Farmers
Credit
Government
Institutions

Research
Institution Inputs
s Agencies

Extension
Agencies Market
Storage,
Processing &
Industries
 Post-Green Revolution Agricultural R&D
Gonsalves et. al. ( 2005)

 Pro-poor targeting
 Conservation and sustainable use of natural resources
 Development of less-favored areas
 Equity for women & other marginalized socio-economic groups
 Trade globalization and supply chains
 Migration and rural-urban dynamics
 Agriculture and human health
 Multi-stakeholder partnerships
 Local capacity development
 Institutional learning and change

PTD holds promise ….

 What is PTD?

A creative process of joint experimentation and

research by farmers and development agents in
discovering ways of improving farmers' livelihoods.

A process of creative interaction within rural communities in

which indigenous and scientific knowledge are combined in
order to find solutions to farmers’ problems and to take
fullest possible advantage of local opportunities.

A strategic action and a purposeful process by which

scientists sponsored technology is tested, suitably modified
and refined by farmers in their fields leading to its, viability and
acceptability in their farming situations.
 Definitions of PTD
 A method in which the major emphasis is on production
research, planned and carried out by and with the farmers
on their own fields (Harwood, 1979).
 A systematic approach of evolving or adapting technology
among the people of a community (Tan, 1985).
 A process where "the farmer acts as a subject who
investigates, measures, and studies in collaboration with
researchers" (Ashby et al., 1987).
 A practical process for bringing together the knowledge
and research capacities of the local farming communities
with that of the commercial and scientific institutions in
an interactive way (Haverkort et al., 1988).
In its purest form, PTD is a process in which

 problems for which solutions have been sought are

identified and prioritized by farmers,
 alternative solutions to be tested are defined by
farmers
 design of experiment is decided by farmers,
 the implementation is done by farmers,
 monitoring is decided and executed by farmers and
 evaluation is done by farmers
 Importance of PTD
 Vital to achieve impact which benefits poor people
 PTD enables development of appropriate, demand driven
technologies that readily fit into the agro-climatic and
socioeconomic conditions of farmers
 Farmers’ knowledge and creativity are harnessed to design
technology
 It helps in speedy transfer of technologies and adoption by the
farming communities
 PTD ensures user participation in technology development and
diffusion
 PTD is more client accountable

Growing number of documented examples in recent years reveal that PTD is

now accepted as a research approach to agriculture and natural resource
management (NRM). It has been recognized that research is effective in
improving farmers' livelihoods if farmers play a vital role in the process.
 Salient Features of PTD
 Client-based as it focuses on client-led experimentation
 Relevant problem solving measures are tested
 Based on local knowledge and resource base of clients
 Decentralized research/technology development
 Devolution of more responsibility to clients for adaptive testing
 Accountability and cost sharing
 Sustainable productivity focused
 Considerable gap exists between theory and practice as the
concept is relatively new and practice is complex
 Requires constant analysis and application
 A prescribed methodology does not exist
 Evolution of PTD
FSR Farming System Research (Mellor, 1966; Collison, 1972; Norman,
1974)
ITK Indigenous Technical Knowledge (IDS, 1979; Brokesha et al. 1980)
OFT On-farm Trials (Tripp, 1982)
FBTF Farmer Back to Farmer (Rhodes and Booth, 1982)
FFL Farmer First and Last (Chambers and Gildyal, 1985)
FPR Farmers Participatory Research (Farrington and Martin, 1988)
OFCOR On Farm Client Oriented Research (Merill-Sands and Kaimowitz, 1990)
IBA Interactive Bottom-up Approach (Bunders et al. 1990)
RRA Rapid Rural Appraisal (IIED, 1991)
PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal (IIED, 1991)
PTD Participatory Technology Development (Reintjes et al. 1992)
Objectives of PTD

 Develop appropriate agricultural technologies suited

to the farm holdings
 Improve functional efficiency of formal research
 Empower clients to develop and use agricultural
technologies
 Empower stakeholders, especially the marginalized
ones, on their own decision making so that their
capacity to make effective demands on research and
extension organizations is strengthened
 Steps in PTD Process
Steps
1. Getting started in field
2. Understanding problems
and potentials
3. Looking for readiness to try
4. Designing Experiments
5. Trying out
Activities
 Building relationship/rapport
 Preliminary situation analysis
 Awareness mobilization
 Analyzing driving/restraining forces
 Identifying scientific and local knowledge
farmers
 Identifying priorities
 Screening options, choosing selection
criteria
 Developing ‘agreed’ research agenda
 Review existing practice
 Planning & designing experiments
 Designing evaluations protocols
 Implementation of farmer experiments
 Measurement/observation of research
 Developing structure for dissemination of
experiences
 Steps in PTD Process
Steps
6. Evaluation of the
experiments
7. Sharing results with others
8. Sustaining the PTD process
9. Scaling up/ Phasing out
Activities
 Analyzing the results
 Farmer extension-conduct of field days
 Communication of principles and
results of PTD process
 Training in skills and use of
experimental methods
 Creation of favorable conditions for
continuing experiments
 Developing self management capacity
of farmers
 Farmer consolidation
 Gradual withdrawal of the organization
 Dissemination to more farmers
Comparison of PTD
with other known concepts
 Extension

 Demonstration

 Farmer managed trials

 Comparisons

• Research stations Vs Farm holdings

• Scientists’ research Vs Farmers’ research

 Research Station vs. Farm Holdings
Criteria Research Station Farm Holdings
Resources Abundant, Assured Limited, Uncertain
Seed High quality ?
Capital Not a constraint Limiting factor
Irrigation Own control Under others’ control
Labour Not a constraint Limiting factor
Price Not a critical factor High input cost &
Low output price
Technical Always available Limited availability
Skills
 Scientists’ Research vs. Farmers’ Research
Scientists’ Research Farmers’ Research
Use capital intensive inputs Use local and less
expensive inputs
Long-term perspective Short-term perspective
Complicated design and Simple farmer decided
analysis design
Standard procedures Flexible and ad-hoc
Focus on commodity / Integrated approach
subject
Controlled conditions Natural and real-life
Depends on methodological Farmers’ experience,
rigour wisdom and logic
 Assumptions to Rationalize PTD

 All the three systems in technology transfer (Research,

Extension & Farmers) will be able to articulate their
perception of problems

 Problem identification by the farmers leads to their

personal involvement in the solution of problems

 The process of identifying problems and solutions is in

itself a most vital and relevant act of technology
development, particularly when solutions are
implemented by the farmers
 A number of conditions are to be fulfilled to make
an activity suitable as ‘entry point’ for PTD

 Attract the attention of the poor farmers and respond

more to their interest than to those of resource-rich
farmers.
 Be relatively simple, should not require many inputs or
knowledge from outside to be carried out.
 Limit the technology.
 Use small scale experiments
 Bring positive results to those who participate
 Produce good possibilities to follow activities
 Result should be clearly visible and significant
 Develop a multiplier effect
Types of Participatory Technology Development
Typology of Participation

 Contractual Participation

 Consultative Participation

 Collaborative Participation

 Collegiate Participation
 The Choice of Degree of Participation
 type of research
 risk involved
 suitability for farmers’ circumstances and preferences
Need for Participation Likelihood of Participation
High High

Low Low

Low High Low High

Diversity of preferences Delay of benefits
Diversity of environments Uncertainty of benefits
Technological complexity Social complexity
 Benefits of PTD
 Encourages farmer experimentation
 ITK of farmers can be gainfully tapped
 Farmers’ knowledge and creativity are harnessed to
develop appropriate technology
 Farmers are motivated when their views are respected
 Technologies are more rigorously tested under users’
conditions
 Technologies to suite diverse agro-ecological & socio-
economic situations
 Technologies are more likely to be adopted
 Technologies are in users hands more rapidly
 Complements station-based research
 Obstacles in PTD - Scientists’ Points of View

 Results could be spoiled by mismanagement of

factors outside the researchers’ control

 Failure of technologies in farmers’ fields may be

construed as inadequacies of scientists

 Risk of exposing farmers to too many uncertainties,

 Lack of skills and experience in participatory

research

 Lack of time, motivation and communication skills to

approach farmers
Obstacles in PTD - Farmers’ Points of View
 Research would take too much time
 Too great a risk in their production system
 Fear that they may be punished, if the technology
fails
 Lack of intention to experiment an option, which they
consider risky, insignificant, or having delayed
benefits
 Lack of communication link with scientists
 A general feeling that their problems are unimportant
to scientists
 Prerequisites for Institutionalizing PTD
 Institution policy

 Methodologies in the research project cycle

 Farmer representation and participant selection

 Clear links between problem identification & corresponding

project activity
 Well-defined activity follow-up

 Continued and integrated feedback

 Improved awareness, knowledge and skills through

training, constant practice and analysis
 Prerequisites for Institutionalizing PTD

 Strong and committed leadership and staff support

 Interdisciplinary team work

 Better systems of monitoring, evaluation and

accountability sharing

 Changes in the reward system

 Decentralized decision-making on administrative

and financial matters
 Case Reviews on PTD
 On-farm Research Methodology (CIMMYT)
 Farmer-back-to-Farmer Approach (CIP)
 Women and Rice Farming Network (IRRI)
 Women & People’s Participation in Development (FAO)
 On Farm Client Oriented Approaches - OFCOR (ISNAR)
 Farmer Participatory Research Work (CIAT)
 Institution Village Linkage Programme (IVLP)
 Strategic Research Extension Plan (NATP)
 Consortium Approach (NAIP)
 Participatory Plant Breeding
 The incorporation of participatory methods into plant
breeding began in the mid-1980s

 Farmers were involved in the evaluation of pre-release

materials

 The gap between users’ and breeders’ criteria for

acceptability of new plant types identified through
participatory research

 The effects of this are marked - some breeders perceive

participatory methods as very effective in opening up new
frontiers in breeding (Iglesias and Hernandez, 1994;
Cessarelli, et al 1995; Hordon, 1995; Kornegay, et al 1996;
Zimmerman, 1996)
 Participatory Plant Breeding

Thrusts

 Assessing participatory breeding methods

 User differentiation

 Decentralization

 Support Services
 APNL Biotechnology Project

Thrusts

 Based on IBA

 Involvement of farmers of different socio-

economic strata

 Participatory identification of critical parameters

for evaluation
IVLP – Technology Assessment and Refinement

Thrusts

 Participatory analysis and adaptation of

technology in farmers’ conditions

 Participatory assessment of technologies on

farmers’ fields

 Involvement of farmers in technology refinement

 SREP – ITD Component of NATP

Thrusts

 Participatory analysis of agro-eco situations for

identification and prioritization of problems

 SWOT analysis of farming situations

 Participatory planning of strategies and activities

 Farmer involvement through group mobilization

– FOs, SHGs, CGs, etc.
 Consortium Approach of NAIP
NAIP Charter
To facilitate the accelerated and sustainable transformation of
Indian agriculture for poverty alleviation and income
generation by collaborative development and application of
agriculture technologies by the public research organizations
in partnership with farmer’s groups, PRIs, private sector and
other stakeholders.

 Small number of large projects

 Integration of all stakeholders across the entire value chain
 Focus on disadvantaged areas for sustainable rural
livelihood security
 PTD in ATMA Model
ATMA
SREP RES.ISSUES TASK FORCE

TECH. BANK
P.R.T.

RAP

OFT RESULTS
FIGs
 and to sum up ...

 Involving stakeholders in agricultural research is a

strategic management issue

 PTD has immense potential to complement formal

research and thereby to develop appropriate need-
based technology

 It is essential to develop a few pilot cases of PTD to

standardize methodology

 Institutionalization of PTD necessitates functional

and structural changes in the NARS