farm-scale_research_design_Sept2012_intro-session

= Developing a R4D approach at farm-level - consultation and writing workshop = Back to the event agenda
 * Info centre break out room, 13-14 September, ILRI Ethiopia **

Summary:
 * // Market matters! //
 * // How can we put together the different perspectives from the various presentations? //
 * // Participatory approaches require strong facilitation to ensure different perspectives are taken into account and individual agendas are surfaced. //
 * // We still need some evidence about the value of such participatory approaches - there is a lot out there. //
 * // Intensification is about taking risks, which relates to resilience and vulnerability. //


 * Discussion**:

Q: In terms of innovation, what is the connection to markets? What is the role or place of value chains in this work? A: Some of our innovation work is related to marketing. Those approaches are natural entry points for anyone working on value chains. We're not just saying we should work with local innovations. There are rationales behind what people are trying to do in new ways and I see many possibilities to link this with typologies etc. A lot of ideas that came up from researchers are received by farmers with skepticism. This is an approach to get it accepted. --> In Holland, the Ministry gave all the funds to the organic sector. If you have a well-organized sector around commodity/value chains you can set up such platforms. But the Ministry doesn't like it because they give away their power, ditto with researchers etc. Farmers are not used to it etc. So this kind of approach requires quite some facilitation. --> There are huge variations within communities. Participatory processes can affect this. In Holland farmers are full time farmers and pretty well organized. Here farmers are often part-time farmers. How can we generalize from such approaches? --> Also in Holland you have farming styles. These styles are recognized in the platforms (the latter address diversity) - you need to understand what are the different styles around the table. --> One big difference between innovation here and in Europe/the US, is the variability of practices. There are huge variations in the market, seasons etc. and we should think about this for the work we are doing. Both presentations were very good but very different. How can we put together these perspectives? --> I enjoyed our recent email exchange. A lot of the distribution issues etc. related to endogeneity of variables. Education is related to schooling (not always). The marginalized tend to remain marginalized. Do we believe in 'trickling down'? Whose advantage is it to get people out of poverty? Not the wealthy farmers. Farming communities, what does that mean? We need to explore this. (Ann) This is dealt with at community level.

Q: About going in/out in the typology, would it be good to look at trends? It's not just influenced by technology but also by other factors. If you combine these trigger factors you get a much better typology. It's not stable.

Q: What is the learning from these past decades? Where is the evidence that this is working? A: We need to articulate evidence in a way that makes it easily digestible. There are a lot of lessons.

(K. Giller) I focused on farm systems. In farming systems you get lots of interactions between the farms. A huge part of the sale is not going to markets but to inside the village. Common grazing is an issue showing that one intervention to the benefit of one group goes to the detriment of another group.

Q: By definition, intensification means an increase in labour but also in risk (in highly variable environments). Farming systems have evolved and we are asking farmers to increase risks. A: Risk and resilience are target parameters in Africa RISING. We should also be looking at technologies that reduce risks --> Yes but very few do. <-- Yes but we should also be looking at vulnerability as part of the stratification. Vulnerable strata may not be the target of intensification. --> It seems to contradict the stated objectives <-- Yes but //sustainable intensification// was never formulated. --> The Feed the Future program looks at 3 different strata (hungry, productive and pastoral Ethiopia), this Africa RISING program addresses the productive Ethiopia. --> Wherever you are, there are poor people and less poor people.

Q: What are the sources of risk? Access to technology, finance, prices for inputs and outputs, access to information are all sources of risks. When we deal with innovation and value chain issues we're trying to deal with those externalities that will bring risk to intensification. This platform is one way of dealing