Participatory Improvement of Cassava and Field Beans
 So that newly generated agricultural technologies are
successfully transferred, we need a methodology that takes into account the opinions of
both intermediary and final users. This means studying the needs, objectives,
farmers’ circumstances, and market conditions, so that, in accordance with these
factors, more appropriate technologies with better opportunities for adoption are
developed.
The application of the participatory research methodology for improving crops such as
cassava and field beans came about in response to the low index of adoption of improved
varieties developed jointly by CIAT and Latin American and Caribbean national programs
during the 1970s and 1980s.
Transfer and adoption begin when farmers try out and evaluate a technological component
in experimental fields established on their farms. The varietal component is always
relevant when it attempts to improve the production and marketing potential of a given
region. Normally, breeders select these varieties for their superior and stable
performance over several years and at different sites, and for their tolerance, moreover,
of pests, diseases, and adverse climatic factors. However, new varieties are not always
adopted, in contrast to local varieties. The latter are widely distributed in the
country’s cropping regions, despite their average production often being less than
that of the materials offered by breeders.
Participatory research is a promising alternative, not only for the varietal component,
but also for a broad range of technologies applied in different cropping systems. This
methodology complements traditional research in that it integrates the criteria of final
users with those of breeders, thereby maximizing the efficiency with which new varieties
are selected and disseminated.
The system of technology generation and dissemination, based on activities developed by
different international agricultural research centers and national institutions, consists
of a series of interactions, to each of which the concepts of participatory research can
be applied. For technology, for example, varieties improved from germplasm generated by
research centers, to have relevant impact in a given area, the centers should take into
account researchers from national programs, the farmers who will eventually cultivate the
new varieties, and processors and end consumers of the final product. All these actors
will help refine the selection criteria that will finally lead to the successful
development and dissemination of improved technologies.
Contact: Luis Alfredo
Hernández
Participatory Evaluation of Agricultural Technologies
 Frequently, farmers do not use a new technology in
the way that the scientists expect. Many times, agronomic recommendations have been
ignored, for example, equipment is not adopted or new crop varieties are rejected. Other
practices, not recommended by technicians nor applied in agricultural research stations,
have spread rapidly from farmer to farmer. Often, these activities initiated by farmers
had not been anticipated by the professionals involved in technology development and
transfer. This phenomenon is cause for concern for professionals, many of whom believe
that the research used to develop technologies directed at small farmers was missing an
element: the farmer’s active participation.
Professionals from different scientific disciplines are specialized in understanding a
particular aspect of an agricultural problem. However, no specialist knows as much as does
the farmer the different problems and needs of his or her small family production unit,
and none are as well equipped to visualize how a technology would function on the farm in
meeting those needs. The farmer is the one who finally decides if a technology is useful
or not.
Contact: José Ignacio Roa
Interinstitutional Consortium for Sustainable Agriculture in Hillsides
(CIPASLA)
 The IPRA Project applies its participatory methodology through teamwork with
different organizations, NGOs, GOs, or grassroots organizations. One example is the
Interinstitutional Consortium for Sustainable Agriculture in Hillsides (CIPASLA).
CIPASLA is a nonprofit consortium, formed by 15 institutions that include entities from
the public sector, NGOs, and international bodies. Their mission is to work together to
develop and improve the standards of living of the inhabitants of the Ovejas River
Watershed, Department of Cauca, Colombia. Their work is carried out through organized
activities that are based on the principles of the logical chain of sustainability, while
respecting local values and culture: organization, training, research, production,
conservation of natural resources, processing, and marketing.
The Consortium interacts with the community through the Association of Beneficiaries of
the River Cabuyal Watershed (ASOBESURCA). This brings together the different
organizational levels existing in the region and counts on community representation
through the Governing Board and the General Assembly of CIPASLA Members. All participate
in the definition and approval of plans to be carried out in the area, and perform citizen
vigilance in project implementation.
Objectives are to:
- Strengthen the capacity of community organizations for self-management (e.g., generate
resources and formulate projects).
- Carry out community programs for environmental and cultural education.
- Develop technical and socioeconomic training programs that help improve levels of
participation.
- Introduce, recover, and validate practices for managing live cover to stabilize soils
and improve water management.
- Recover and introduce alternatives that will guarantee food security and production in
agricultural and livestock systems.
- Reduce deforestation in vital areas.
- Introduce soil conservation practices.
- Identify supply and demand for water resources and prepare methodologies to identify
potential irrigation areas for hillsides.
- Improve the efficiency of current markets and study the feasibility of creating new
channels through processing and adding value to products.
- Coordinate activities that help implement projects for developing basic infrastructure
and sanitation.
- Develop a methodological model that can be replicated in other watersheds. This is a
fundamental objective of the Consortium.
Contact: José Ignacio Roa
Multipurpose Forages
 The IPRA Project and the CIAT’s Tropical Forages Project are collaborating to
incorporate participatory evaluation as the key element in researchers’ work. The two
Projects receive collaboration from other institutions such as the Directorate of
Agricultural and Livestock Science and Technology (DICTA) of Honduras, the Technical
Services for Sustainable Development (SERTEDESO), the Ministry of Agriculture and
Livestock of Costa Rica (MAG), the Ecological Foundation for the Tropics (ECOTROPICA) of
Costa Rica, and the Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural and Livestock Technology (INTA).
When breeders consider incorporating varieties of grasses or legumes with different
traits into a genetic improvement program, farmers’ opinions greatly assist in
identifying those varietal traits that would have greater or lesser acceptability. These
opinions are obtained through participatory evaluations and are recorded in a format
designed for this purpose. Once the information is processed, the researchers identify,
through research centers, those varieties that have the traits requested by the farmers.
Thus, closer coincidence of criteria develop between researchers and farmers and, usually,
thereby leading to increased adoption of the technology and, hence, its dissemination.
Contact: Luis Alfredo
Hernández
 Visit the CIAT Tropical
Forages Web site
Sustainability of CIALs and Second Order Organizations
 For a new phase, the IPRA Project’s goal is to promote
sustainable rural development by expanding the capacities of resource-limited rural
communities of Latin America. The idea is to help solve some agricultural and
environmental problems, take advantage of economic opportunities, and integrate these
opportunities within broader activities of community development such as health and
education.
The short-term future goal of CIALs is to seek the sustainability of community research
services through its consolidation into associations of second order such as corporations,
associations, and foundations. These organizations are integrated in the broader
management activities of community development and have solid links with the formal
research sector.
To achieve this goal, the Project will develop, strengthen, and integrate within
community networks local research organizations that promote voluntary work; serve
disadvantaged groups; integrate with other community development activities, creating
links with them; and, in their locality, be directed, administered, and made accountable
according to the civil responsibilities demonstrated in their communities.
Collaborating members will be local communities, CIALs and their associations, national
agricultural research organizations, NGOs, and Central and South American universities.
This phase of the Project will last 3 years.
Contact: Carlos Arturo Quirós |
