Lessons for Participatory Research: Innovations and group dynamics. From PRA for farmer participatory research in Punjab, Pakistan

This is a abbreviated section of a full report of a field based training workshop. It includes key findings and methods which together cover most of the main issues and illustrate the PRA approach that was taken. There was a strong fieldwork component to the training, which focused on the issues and constraints faced by potato farmers in Aroop - Punjab province. A specific analysis for the constraints and potentials for a range of farmers was developed. The first section is an overview of the training workshop and its main objective, including several methodological innovations. Details of field work are given, such as how the team dealt with children, with gender and with the tools. A brief evaluation is given, from both the facilitators and the participants, who concluded that the aims of the workshop had been rather ambitious, but pointed to numerous lessons. The second section of the report comprises three case studies conducted by the participants on the course. Details of the methods used are given, with diagrams.