The planning stage of on-farm research: identifying factors for experimentation
On-farm research is a problem-oriented approach to agricultural research that begins by diagnosing the conditions, practices, and problems of particular groups of farmers. Once the problems are identified, a research program is designed to address them. A key part of any such program is conducting experiments on farmers' fields under farmers' conditions and management. Those experiments are then evaluated using criteria that are important to farmers, and the results are used to make recommendations. This publication seeks to contribute to the development of methods for on-farm research by describing a method that can be used to decide which factors have highest priority for experiments that are planted in farmers' fields (the actual design of experiments is not discussed). It also describes how the planning of on-farm experiments can be used to suggest other activities in support of on-farm research. The procedures have been used in a wide variety of settings and should be seen as flexible guidelines, not rules. An on-farm research program often generates so much information and so many ideas that it is difficult to decide which factors should be included in on-farm experiments. Because these programs usually have quite limited resources, and because farmers prefer to consider recommendations that address important problems, some decisions have to be made in setting priorities for the experiments. This publication presents six step's for discussing the available evidence and deciding which factors should be included in on-farm experiments. The steps are a way to record and make explicit the rationale behind the decisions that are taken in selecting experimental factors. Furthermore, they can serve as an agenda for a meeting to plan on-farm experiments. The participants in the meeting would be the researchers and extension personnel involved in diagnostic and experimental activities. Other persons, such as specialists in subjects that are particularly relevant to the research program, may participate as well. The meeting should take place sufficiently in advance of planting so that researchers can arrange materials and sites for the experiments. The planning may take several days, including the identification of factors and experimental design. It may take place in an office or a conference room, and the facilities should be adequate for the examination of data, the interchange of ideas, and the debate and compromise that characterize planning. These planning steps can be used before each cycle of experimentation; indeed, they can be used at any time for reviewing the rationale of an on-farm experimental program. The primary audience for which this publication is intended comprises researchers and extension agents involved in on -farm research. To guide readers through the planning method, a detailed description of each step in the process presents its objectives, the activities involved, and its relation to the other steps. The descriptive sections are complemented by a comprehensive example that uses data from one hypothetical research area and is carried through all of the steps (see box, p. 21). The example is purposely complex to illustrate various issues that might arise in the course of planning. Aside from its use as an aid to researchers and extensionists, this publication is also designed to be used in training courses that address planning methods. For that purpose it is best if course participants have access to data from an on-farm research program, preferably data they have developed themselves. After each step is introduced, the participants can use their data to work through it, and their conclusions can be discussed before proceeding to the next step. This document is divided into two parts. The first provides a brief review of on-farm research and discusses some features that are particularly relevant to planning. The second part presents the six steps that constitute the planning method and the lists used to summarize the conclusions.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Book biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
CIAT
1989
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| Subjects: | AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY, EXPERIMENTATION, IDENTIFICATION, PLANNING, RESEARCH, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10883/823 |
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