Rapid Rural Appraisal: The Critical First Step in a Farming Systems Approach to Research

This paper introduces the basic concepts of RRA as a first step in understanding the complex problems of farmers. It identifies key methodological issues and suggests a checklist to evaluate the quality of an RRA. Its usefulness where time constraints are important is emphasised. It is not seen as a method producing 'true' results. A strength of RRA is its flexibility and adaptability. however, its adoption is a question of strategy, not morals. RRA is compared with survey research, and potential roles of RRA are identified. A section on issues facing the practitioner discusses: duration of study, the RRA team, research orientations, structuring research time, preparation, interviewing, direct observation, preparing reports and influencing decisions. Potential problems discussed include rushing and exaggerating credibility, faddism, development tourism, its limited use for baseline studies and questions of confidence in the data.