Gearing Research towards Sustainability in Smallholder Systems

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Overview

Which Services are Needed?

Credit - How can it best be provided?

Research, Training and Extension

Agro-Chemicals, Fertilizers and Seeds

Crop Storage, Purchasing and Transportation

Monitoring and Evaluation of Service Provision

GEARING RESEARCH TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY IN SMALLHOLDER SYSTEMS

1. Research programmes should be designed with sustainability and smallholder priorities in mind.
2. Long-term perspective and funding security to allow experiments into the maintenance and enhancement of yield over the longer term.
3. Active creation of a learning environment involving farmers, extensionists and researchers, with research and extension workers stimulating, enabling and publicising research done by farmers.
4. Producing options for farmers to choose from rather than fixed recommendations.
5. Appropriate reward systems which reward researchers for adoption and sustainability of technologies produced, rather than for yields obtained on station or papers published.
6. Research planned in accordance with the priorities of smallholder farmers, including women, and within an understanding of the overall farming system.
7. Adaptive locally based research, responsive to diverse environments.
8. Looking not only at how to increase yields but also at what is cost effective over the long term, and how to reduce costs, labour requirements, risk and environmental damage.
9. Promotion of a multi-disciplinary approach to research.

Source: ODI (July 1998) Encouraging sustainable smallholder agriculture in southern Africa in the context of agricultural services reform.Natural Resources Perspectives,36.

Natural Resources Institute 2003