Farming Systems Research: Procedures for Technology Development

Abstract

Procedures for better decision making in agricultural research are considered. Fanning Systems Adaptive Research (FSAR) has evolved to complement the more traditional research approach, allowing better decisions to be made on recommendations to farmers and on priorities for technical research. This is done through the identification of research results most relevant to the development of specific fanning systems; the testing of these results by experiments in farmers' • fields; and the identification of factors limiting productivity in local farming systems.FSAR involves interdisciplinary cooperation between production agronomists, farm economists and, where appropriate, animal production scientists, in close cooperation with other production specialists and with farmers.M. P. Collinson: Investigation de sistemas de cultivos: Procedimientos para el desarrollo de la tecnologia.R E S U M E N Se consideran los procedimientos para una mejor toma de decisiones en la investigacion agraria. La Investigacion Adaptiva de Sistemas de Agricultura (FSAR) ha evolucionado para complementar el enfoque mas tradicional de la investigacion, permitiendo que se tomen mejores decisiones sobre las recomendaciones a los agricultores y sobre las prioridades para la investigacion tecnica. Esto se hace mediante la identification de los resultados de la investigacion que son mas pertinentes al desarrollo de sistemas de cultivos especi'ficos; la prueba de estos resultados mediante experimentos en los campos del agricultur; y la identification de factores que limitan la productividad en sistemas de cultivos locales.La FSAR implica la colaboracion interdisciplinaria entre agronomos de production, economistas de granja y, donde corresponda, cienti'ficos en la production animal, en estrecha colaboracion con otros especialistas en la production y con agricultores. This paper looks at Farming Systems Research (FSR) procedures for better decision making in agricultural research. This use of FSR has been termed 'onfarm research with a farming systems perspective (OFR/FSP)' in the literature (Simmonds, 1985). It has recently been re-named FSAR -'Farming Systems Adaptive Research' by an earlier author in this series (Sands, 1986) and for consistency this terminology is used here. FSAR has evolved in response to the poor rates of adoption of research results among small farmers. Its function is to complement the more traditional research approach, allowing better decision making on recommendations to farmers and on priorities for technical research. This complementary role is achieved through: the identification of the results of technical research most relevant to the current and future development of local specific farming systems; the testing and adaptation of these results in t Present address: CGIAR,

Capability of Poultry Farmers Association for Extension Services Delivery in Oyo State, Nigeria

“…The results show that maize is the highest-ranked input supply by PAN, while fertilizer is the next ranked. The findings agree with that of Collinson (1987) that producer organization assist members to secure inputs, credits et cetera. It is also an indication that PAN is capable of delivering similar services to its members with minimal support from the government.…”

Implicit Sociology, Interdisciplinarity and Systems Theories in Agricultural Science

“…FSR argues that the work of social scientists and economists needs to be integrated from the start into the development trajectories of any new technology (new crop varieties, new production methods, new farming systems). It has developed a wide range of methods to involve farmers in the innovation process (Collinson 1987, 2000).…”

New agendas for agricultural research in developing countries: Policy analysis and institutional implications

“…A subset of this approach concerns the conceptualisation of agricultural production as a system and the need for this to be appreciated in the R&D process. See for example, Collinson, 1987. The associated farming systems research debate has been mainly methods driven and has struggled to find explicit form in an appropriate institutional framework.…”