Participatory technology development

Participatory technology development, or PTD, is an approach which involves farmers in developing agricultural technologies that are appropriate to their particular situation. It is a practical process: farmers, as "insiders", bring their knowledge and practical abilities to test technologies, and interact with researchers and extension workers—the "outsiders". In this way, farmers and the outside facilitators are able to identify, develop, test and apply new technologies and practices. PTD seeks to reinforce the existing creativity and experimental capacity of farmers, and to help them keep control over the process of generating innovations. It can be an integral part of community-based extension approaches (see also the sections on Participatory agricultural extension and Group extension in this manual).

Advantages

• PTD builds trust between farmers and outsiders. This helps to build the farmers' confidence, tapping their potential for innovation and initiative.
• It strengthens the links between indigenous and scientific knowledge.
• It builds human capacity for self-reliance.

Disadvantages

• The PTD approach takes a long time, and demands patience and humility on the part of the outsiders.

Procedure

The PTD approach has five basic phases: building trust, identifying alternatives and setting priorities, designing the experiment, conducting the experiment, and sharing the experience.

Build trust

1. Develop and strengthen your relationship with the farmers, aiming to go beyond that of a professional with a client. Listen and try to understand the farmers' views, and try to help them become comfortable making suggestions and expressing their opinions.

2. Help the farmers identify the problems they want to solve. Consider the situation from the farmers' perspective. Look at issues in a holistic manner, taking various aspects into consideration. As far as possible, involve all of the members of the household: men, women, and children.

Identify alternatives and set priorities

3. Identify indigenous knowledge and skills that may be relevant to the problems selected.

4. Help the farmers identify several different ways they might solve the problems. Ideas for the alternatives may come from the farmers themselves, or from outsiders. Link these alternatives to the farmers' situation and experiences.

5. Together with the farmers, examine the advantages and disadvantages of each of the alternatives.

6. Assist the farmers to choose one or more of the alternatives for testing in the field.

Design the experiment

7. Help the farmers decide how to test the alternatives they have chosen. The experiment should involve both farmers and outsiders. The experiment design should show the difference between the various alternatives, as well as with the current practice. See On-farm technology testing for details of how to do on-farm tests.

8. Help the farmers decide how to measure the results, so they can tell which alternative is best. Both farmers and outsiders should be involved in evaluating the results and assessing the impacts.

9. Train farmers how to conduct the experiment and manage the research process.

Conduct the experiment

10. Help the farmers do the experiment, following the agreed design.

11. Measure and record the results of the various alternatives, as well as the current practice.

12. Evaluate the results from the alternatives by comparing them with the current practice.

13. Modify the alternatives as needed, and if needed, test them again in the next season.

Share the experience

14. Organize ways of sharing the experiences (technologies, successes, failures and constraints) of the experiment. These can include field visits, discussions, training sessions and study trips. Make it clear whose experiences are being shared. Put the farmers' experiences in the forefront. Let the individual farmer (or the group) say "I have done it. It is mine". Ensure that experiences and views on what contributed to success (or caused a failure) are shared.

15. Recognize unique situations (such as land, climate, soils, socio-economic and political situations) which may exist, as these determine how a technology might be improved or modified.

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