We use cookies on our website. Some are necessary for the operation of the website. You can also allow cookies for statistical purposes. You can adjust the data protection settings or agree to all cookies directly.
Data Protection Declaration
Imprint
SFB 564: A1.1 - Potential and constraints of participatory research approaches for sustainable development in mountainous regions of Southeast Asia
Project
Project code: DFG SFB 564 A1.1
Contract period: 01.01.2000
- 31.12.2003
Purpose of research: Basic research
Research in this project area is directed at the process of cooperation between researchers, farmers and local institutions (A1) and between researchers of different disciplines and cultural backgrounds (A2).
Subproject A1 aims at evaluating the concept of integrating farmers into the research process. In this phase of the SFB the subproject intends to assess the potential and limits of participatory research and to design and test suitable institutional frameworks for integrating local knowledge and experience of farmers, extension agents, development projects and NGOs in the research process. It will analyze which forms of participation are suitable in which phases of the research process, differentiated by different research subjects. The project will pay particular attention to gender-specific issues of participation. Research under this subproject will be carried out by the SFB's Hohenheim coordinator in close cooperation with the Thai and Vietnamese counterparts.
Closely linked to these activities will be the second subproject A2. It will focus on specific issues of interdisciplinary cooperation within an intercultural context. Interdisciplinary cooperation between German, Thai and Vietnamese research institutions and their researchers will present a particular challenge. Moreover, participating farmers in the mountainous areas belong to different ethnic groups with their own cultural traditions and values which again may differ from those of researchers and their institutions. In the SFB's first phase work will focus on research processes in Vietnam. It will observe the process and raise the sensitivity of actors involved with the objective of ensuring the effectiveness and smooth running of interdisciplinary and intercultural cooperation. It is expected that the results will contribute to conceptualizing a theory of intercultural research cooperation.
In the next phase of the SFB it is intended to extend the work of subproject A1 to the interaction between farmers in the uplands and lowland dwellers. It is also planned to link up more closely with research programs of other organizations (e.g. IRRI, ISBSRAM, ICRAF, CIRAD). The interdisciplinary-intercultural component (A2) is planned to be expanded in the subsequent phase to include also Thailand.
The analysis of the wider social, cultural and institutional context for participatory approaches in research and extension organizations was another focus of the second phase. The case of Vietnam, in particular, has shown how strongly the institutionalization of these approaches is determined by international donors and projects, but also how these are transformed in the specific national, regional and local context.
Research in the second phase has placed strong emphasis on a more systematic collection, validation and integration of local knowledge in the research process. It has been proven that blending local and scientific knowledge cannot only improve the quality of research, but also open up new research trajectories in an innovative and cost-effective manner.
Based on the experience with participatory approaches at the local level and the analysis of participation as an institutional innovation process in research and extension organizations during phases 1 and 2 of subproject A1, research in A1.3 will determine the prerequisites for successfully scaling up and out participatory approaches in the field of recording and validation of local knowledge, participatory technology development and the adaptation, dissemination and use of technical and institutional innovations in the study areas of northern Thailand and northern Vietnam. The question is how to combine the intensity and quality of micro-scale participatory approaches with the need for (1) scaling up to reach higher levels of decision-making (political dimension) and address wider regional problems (geographical dimension) and (2) scaling out to reach a higher number of farmers and other potential beneficiaries and to link research with extension services and private sector initiatives.
Section overview
Subjects
- Agroecology
- Business administration
- Agricultural Sociology
