Resources

This summarises some possible applications of PRA methods to research on food security issues. Methods and their applications are listed under the following headings: participatory mapping applications, matrix scoring applications, and seasonality diagram applications. This brief list may serve as a useful memory-aid.

This is a collection of short reports relating to the work of AKRSP. The first reports conversations with villagers on their livelihoods. The second reports a visit to village Jambhar, Netrang, in which women made a very detailed map of their village - the methods and process are described in detail. Following the mapping, a transect was done to gather extra information - interrupted by the women's' household work duties. A wealth ranking exercise, a daily activity analysis for women and a problem analysis are also described. The conversations and participants' attitudes and comments are reported, adding a useful dimension to the usual reports of the use of methods. The third paper reports an informative casual conversation with a villager about local livelihoods, and conversations in the village with women about forest use and women's knowledge of forest plants. The paper ends with reflections on the conduct of these conversations. The fourth paper reports a topical PRA in a village on agriculture, which involved free listing of tasks, gender categorisation of tasks, and seasonal categorisation of tasks and crops. The paper ends with notes on what was learned about women's attitudes and practices and what remains to be learned.

Farming Systems Research has come up with rapid surveys, sondeos and on- farm trials. These developments have implications for their integration with conventional research techniques. The paper begins by discussing types of survey and trials, and issues involved in survey interpretation and implementation of the information generated. The validity (for whom) of knowledge generated and its use in the trial-survey and problem solving process are discussed. The integration of survey information with trial information is discussed with reference to an example from the Dominican Republic. The paper makes two basic arguments: (i) Relevant questions for surveys emerge from analyses of trials, and the more questions are based on problems faced in trials, the more survey results are likely to be integrated into trial design; (ii) the speed of the rural survey depends on the quality of the information already present: the fewer the data, the slower the survey. Speed depends on the effectiveness of multi-disciplinary collaboration, including farmer participation. The example shows how social science data was relevant in formulating a trial design which, however, did not respond to the problem. The paper concludes knowledge transfer is central to adaptive trials, and the role of social scientists as knowledge brokers is important in developing countries.

Farming Systems Research has focused on the generation of new technologies to improve production systems. New technologies often result in new products produced by farmers. It is therefore necessary to investigate the effect of change in production on the market for the product, and market potential before a product is promoted. Market assessments are not often done, partly due to a lack of information on marketing. This paper argues that rapid market assessment (RMA) is a quick and cheap means of assessing market potential at early stages of a project. The methodology of RMA, drawing on RRA is outlined. It consists of (i) locating areas where the product is currently marketed; (ii) generating a qualitative description of the market structure through informal interviews at each level of the marketing system; (iii) choosing a level of the system for detailed study; (iv) interviewing market participants to assess market potential. Finally an evaluation of market potential is made based on the quantity which could be produced and the net price to producers. A detailed example is given of its application to the market for goat cheese in Brazil.

This report derives from a soil and water conservation project in Thailand. Ecological and agricultural conditions and practices are changing in the area. To assess the general applicability of existing extension contents, quantitative data are needed on the frequency and distribution of key farm characteristics. A focused formal survey, prepared with the help of an RRA, resulting in a limited number of variables and requiring low input data collection methods, was executed. A method is suggested for making it generally applicable in the form of guidelines for similar projects. The first two chapters of this report give the project background. Chapter 3, introduced by a short theoretical discussion of RRA and formal surveys, consists of a practical guideline to the focusing of formal surveys. Chapter 4 contains survey design developed for the project in question. Chapter 5 discusses training for future survey enumerators. Nine annexes discuss aspects touched on in the text in detail, including sample selection, wealth ranking, and training.

The purpose of a topical RRA is to answer specific questions on a subject and it does so by employing a variety of RRA methods: secondary data review, semi -structured interviewing, direct observation and workshops. An investigation of the prevailing low sugarcane yields in Fiji was used to design a general structure for combining these methods in the process of a topical RRA. It also aimed to develop models (diagrammatic representations) which could be produced within this structure of methods, to be used in the planning and implementation of future topical RRAs. The working framework aims to provide practical guidelines for its practitioners and help formalise the composition of topical RRA.