Farmer participatory research in agricultural extension programs: A case study of fertilizer management in tropical rice

Agricultural extension requires close communication with farmers, and researchers must consider farmers’ perspectives on crop management. Farmers tend to take into account the canopy appearance when they decide on fertilizer application, and this is often neglected in crop management recommendations by researchers. Our objectives were to dissect the growth characteristics that farmers implicitly account for in nutrient management of tropical rice. Farmer participatory trials were conducted in irrigated and rainfed lowlands in the Philippines during the wet seasons of 2014, 2015, and 2016. Each year, 30 participating farmers made decisions on fertilizer management for plots with different seedling ages and planting densities. These treatments greatly changed the canopy appearance, and affected farmer decisions on nitrogen (N) management, particularly in the first year. We found that plant height and leaf greenness were the major determinants of their decisions in irrigated lowlands. Under rainfed conditions, the risk of drought made farmers focus on tillering rather than plant elongation and leaf color during early growth stages, and on canopy cover and plant elongation during later stages. Across years and water regimes, farmers applied 78% more N than researchers without generally increasing grain yield. Since crop diagnosis is a key for successful management by farmers, guidelines for efficient nutrient management should include numerical targets for the traits emphasized by farmers. That will help farmers better understand their crops, and the guidelines will be more user-friendly than providing only a fertilizer application prescription.

Evaluasi dan Preferensi Petani Brebes Terhadap Atribut Kualitas Varietas Unggul Bawang Merah Hasil Penelitian Balitsa

Balai Penelitian Tanaman Sayuran (Balitsa) telah menghasilkan varietas unggul bawang merah seperti Bima Brebes, Mentes, Katumi, Pancasona, Pikatan, Sembrani, dan Trisula. Namun Balai Penelitian Tanaman Sayuran masih belum mengetahui di antara varietas unggul tersebut varietas mana yang paling baik untuk didiseminasikan secara luas di sentra produksi Brebes dan paling potensial diadopsi petani. Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk mengetahui evaluasi dan preferensi petani Brebes terhadap kualitas varietas bawang merah dari Balitsa. Penelitian dilakukan di Desa Randusari, Brebes pada bulan Juli 2012, bersamaan dengan pelaksanaan Jambore Varietas yang diadakan oleh Direktorat Jenderal Hortikultura. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah <em>Farmer Participatory Research</em> (FPR) yang didukung dengan demplot pertanaman. Varietas Balitsa yang ditanam di demplot adalah Bima Brebes, Mentes, Katumi, Pancasona, Pikatan, Sembrani, dan Trisula. Demplot digunakan sebagai petak observasi bagi sembilan petani partisipan, termasuk dua penangkar benih bawang merah. Data demplot yang dikumpulkan adalah data hasil panen ubinan, sedangkan data FPR dikumpulkan dari jawaban tertulis petani partisipan pada kuesioner yang dibagikan peneliti pada saat petani<br />melakukan observasi di demplot. Kuesioner berisi pertanyaan tertutup menggunakan skala numerik. Daftar pertanyaan mengenai tingkat kepentingan atribut kualitas yang digunakan untuk mengukur keunggulan varietas bawang merah, dan tingkat keunggulan atribut kualitas dari varietas bawang merah dari Balitsa. Analisis data menggunakan analisis perceived quality (PQ) dan analisis tabel. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa dari demplot diketahui varietas Sembrani produktivitasnya paling tinggi (16,92 t/ha), diikuti Bima Brebes (16,02 t/ha), dan Pikatan (15,66 t/ha). Menurut persepsi petani varietas Bima Brebes mempunyai kualitas paling baik dibanding varietas lainnya. Secara kualitatif, kualitas varietas Bima Brebes 15% di atas kualitas varietas Mentes, 31% diatas Katumi, 23% diatas Pancasona, 35% diatas Pikatan, 10% diatas Sembrani, dan Trisula. Mayoritas petani (67%) menyukai varietas Bima Brebes. Varietas Katumi, Sembrani, dan Trisula masing-masing hanya disukai 11% petani, sedangkan varietas Mentes, Pancasona, dan Pikatan tidak disukai.

Evaluating Interventions Uptake in Indigenous Chicken Production in a Participatory Research with Smallholder Farmers in Kenya

Indigenous chicken production system has long been characterised by low productivity due to among other factors, poor management, inadequate and poor feeding regime, poor (or lack) of disease control measures, poor hygiene, inappropriate housing, negative attitudes, lack of technical knowledge and lack of institutional support in terms of policy and infrastructure. This research was carried out to evaluate effects of improved management practices on performance of indigenous chickens at farm level and consequences for farmer participation in the implementation of research activities. The research involved 200 farmers in five regions in three counties. Four villages were selected per region and10 farms in each village. Interventions housing, feed supplementation, vaccination and deworming were implemented by farmers and monitoring and evaluation carried out. Farmers used own local inputs in implementing the project interventions and recorded various project activities and outputs. The project was monitored over a span of five, 3-months long periods. 25% of farmers in the entire five regions did not have housing as a treatment in any of 5 periods. Feed supplementation had high level of use by all farmers in each period. More farmers applied deworming in later periods, 25% had vaccination in period 1, and 40% in period 5. Periods 3 – 5 generally seem to be the time most applications were done. Flock sizes rose from 10 – 20 birds per farm to 20 – 30. Farmer participatory research is a tool for technology testing and transfer and a quick and effective means of generating and disseminating information.