A Report on the Principles and Practices of Farming Systems Research Used by the Farming Systems Development Project

This guide to farming systems research (FSR) is aimed at agronomists and agricultural economists. Part I consists of introductory lectures on farming systems research. FSR is defined, its key concepts (farmer participation, holistic, multidisciplinary, iterative, feedback, contextual) are outlined, and problems in applying these concepts in practice are discussed. The purpose of diagnosis and suggestions for biological measurement are discussed with examples of applications to tillage depth and soil moisture. The nature of on -farm experiments is also explained. The final section is on statistical analysis of on-farm agronomic data. Part II presents guidelines for changing research with a commodity focus to a farmer problem focus, with suggestions for improvements in methods. It also presents guidelines for diagnosing farmers' problems, designing solutions, on farm testing and farmers' experiments. Each section is illustrated with instructive examples from experiences in the Philippines.