The main strategy to make data collection meaningful and useful to farmers is to involve them in the process of investigation, from the beginning to the end. The best method for that is the IAR4D Approach (Integrated Agricultural Research for Development), developed by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) in 1983. Then, the raison and the process of the data collection are explained to the farmers in a participatory way, and in their local language. Then, evaluation is considered as a system that is made of many sub-systems that must work together to foster development. All actors that are involved in the process, including farmers, interact and jointly foster their capacities. Thus, the IAR4D Approach simultaneously addresses research and development as a fused continuum for generation of innovation. Generally, in the process, the farmers’ analysis of the evaluation steps and their analysis of the findings are different from that of the researchers/evaluators, and then improve the quality of the evaluation. With this approach, the farmers constitute at the same time the channel for the process explanation and the results dissemination.
RE: Making data collection meaningful and useful to farmers: what is your experience?
The main strategy to make data collection meaningful and useful to farmers is to involve them in the process of investigation, from the beginning to the end. The best method for that is the IAR4D Approach (Integrated Agricultural Research for Development), developed by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) in 1983. Then, the raison and the process of the data collection are explained to the farmers in a participatory way, and in their local language. Then, evaluation is considered as a system that is made of many sub-systems that must work together to foster development. All actors that are involved in the process, including farmers, interact and jointly foster their capacities. Thus, the IAR4D Approach simultaneously addresses research and development as a fused continuum for generation of innovation. Generally, in the process, the farmers’ analysis of the evaluation steps and their analysis of the findings are different from that of the researchers/evaluators, and then improve the quality of the evaluation. With this approach, the farmers constitute at the same time the channel for the process explanation and the results dissemination.
For more information, see https://faraafrica.org/iar4d/