As a case study, the paper seeks to piece together the indigenous agricultural knowledge of upland rice farmers, and its application in farming on the western hillsides of Leyte, the Philippines. In addition to rice cultivation, it focuses on the research and extension interfaces between interventionists and upland rice farmers' as well as on the successes and failures of farmers and interventionists. Observations focus on the application of upland farmers indigenous knowledge, and the interplay between this knowledge and demands for changes in the cultivation of upland rice. Information for this study was gathered through field visits and semi-structured interviews with farmers, extensionists, research assistants and from other informants. The paper concludes that understanding the farmers' knowledge systems means comprehending the influence and importance of environmental factors as well as social factors.
Publication year:
1993
Interest groups:
Agriculturalists, scientists, researchers and fieldworkers, as well as those working at the community and project level.
Pages:
pp. 1-14
In:
Rural People's Knowledge, Agricultural Research and Extension Practice - Asia Papers
Editor:
IIED
Publisher reference:
IIED Sustainable Agriculture Programme