96 Participatory Processes
- providing farmers with varied genetic materials to test and appraise (Ashby et
al, 1987; Norman et al, 1988); - planting a variety of lines or species, to be followed by ‘wait-and-see and pick-
and-choose’; - issuing mini-kits of seeds and fertilizers to farmers for them to try out in vari-
ous combinations; - requiring nurseries, as with forestry in Kenya, to plant and provide a range of
species, including a preponderance of indigenous species; - transferring genetic material between regions, countries and continents, espe-
cially of non-cereal plants (multi-purpose trees, shrubs, grasses, vining plants,
root crops etc.) and livestock; - transferring indigenous technical knowledge and practices between farmers in
different regions; - enabling farmers to travel, visit, see and learn for themselves the farming prac-
tices of others.
The role of the outsider, whether scientist, extensionist, or NGO worker, is to
search for and supply the species, varieties, treatments, cultural practices, scientific
principles or combinations of these which fit and meet farmers’ requests and needs.
It may also be that of travel agent or tour operator, to arrange for farmers to visit
research stations, other farmers, or other regions, to learn from other farmers and
scientists and to widen their experience and options.
(iii) Experimenting. Experimenting by farmers has long been under-perceived. The
professional world has been slow to recognize farmers’ experimental inclinations and
abilities (but see Johnson, 1972; Richards, 1985; Rhoades, 1987). Rhoades and Beb-
bington (1988) have identified three reasons why farmers experiment: to satisfy curi-
osity; to solve problems; and to adapt technology. As we have seen, their farming is
both performance (Richards, 1987) and in a sense a continuous experiment: Hossain
et al point out that farmers in Bangladesh are continually changing their cropping
patterns (1987, p35) and Juma puts it that ‘a farmer is a person who experiments
constantly because he is constantly moving into the unknown’ (1987, p34).
In the farmer-first approach, it is not packages of technology that are provided
to farmers, but genetic material, principles, practices and methods for them to test
and use. Genetic material can take many forms and may come from nearby, from
other regions, or from other countries or continents. Similarly, principles can orig-
inate from different sources: in West Africa, the principle of alley cropping was
taken from the research station and was adapted and experimented with by farmers
(Sumberg and Okali, 1988); the principle of diffused light to inhibit potato sprout-
ing in store originated with farmers in Kenya and was spread internationally and
laterally to other farmers in many countries, who made their own applications with
local materials to fit local farm architecture (Rhoades, 1987). Experimental princi-
ples and methods suitable for their conditions and needs can also be provided to
farmers to improve their investigations and innovations (Bunch, 1985, 1987).