Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T14:47:58.578Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Participatory assistance: An alternative to transfer of technology for promoting change on farms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

L.E. Lanyon
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of Soil Fertility, Department of Agronomy, The Pennsylvania State University, 116 ASI Building, University Park, PA 16802.
Get access

Abstract

Participatory assistance (PA) is a proposed approach for promoting change that involves both the biophysical processes of farms and the management processes of farmers. It integrates external expertise, inputs, and expectations with the unique character of a particular farming system. It focuses on improving the processes of the farm and farmer rather than on the traditional interests of “outsiders” such as disciplinary researchers, industry sales people, government regulators, consumers, or environmental interest groups. As an alternative to transfer of technology, it promotes learning both by the farmer and by specialists from academia, industry, government, and the public. Participatory assistance can promote innovations in the operation of farms, in the conduct of research and education, in the development of products and services, in the formulation of policy, and in the involvement of the public in agriculture. The outcome is not assumed to be the adoption of the “best” technology, but may be found in the emerging properties that result from innovations. Assessing the improvement that follows each innovation will require clear specification of the relevant performance criteria, provision of appropriate technical support, and reinforcement by the appropriate incentives. Reconciling today's farming with water quality protection illustrates the potential of the PA approach.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Allen, T.F.H., and Starr, T.B.. 1982. Hierarchy. Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.Google Scholar
2.Bacon, S.C., Lanyon, L.E., and Schlauder, R.M. Jr., 1990. Plant nutrient flow in the managed pathways of an intensive dairy farm. Agronomy J. 82:755761.Google Scholar
3.Batie, S. 1988. Agriculture as the problem: New agendas and new opportunities. Southern J. Agric. Economics 20:111.Google Scholar
4.Beegle, D.B., and Durst, P.T.. 1988. Farm nutrient management worksheet. ECS No. AAG-01013, v2. Dept. of Agronomy, The Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park.Google Scholar
5.Berlan, J-P., Bertrand, J-P., and Lebas, L.. 1977. The growth of the American “soybean complex.” European Review of Agric. Economics 4:395416.Google Scholar
6.Boehlje, M.D., and Eidman, V.R.. 1984. Farm Management. John Wiley and Sons, New York, N.Y.Google Scholar
7.Busch, L., and Lacy, W.B.. 1983. Science, Agriculture, and the Politics of Research. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado.Google Scholar
8.Chambers, R. 1983. Rural Development. Longman Scientific and Technical, Essex, Great Britain.Google Scholar
9.Chambers, R. 1989. Reversals, institutions and change. In Chambers, R., Pacey, A., and Thrupp, L.A. (eds). Farmers First. The Bootstrap Press, New York, N.Y. pp. 181195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10.Cromwell, G.L., Stahly, T.S., Coffey, R.D., Monegue, H. J., and Randolph, J.H.. 1993. Efficacy of phytase in improving the bioavailability of phosphorus in soybean meal and corn-soybean meal diets for pigs. J. Animal Sci. 71:18311840.Google Scholar
11.Davis, G.B., and Olson, M.H.. 1985. Management Information Systems. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, N.Y.Google Scholar
12.Foltz, J.C., Martin, M.A., and Lowenberg-Deboer, J.. 1991. Inclusion of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in crop rotations in the eastern Corn Belt: Some environmental and economic implications. J. Sustainable Agric. 2:117133.Google Scholar
13.Freire, P. 1970. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Reprinted 1986. Continuum Publishing Corp., New York, N.Y.Google Scholar
14.Gerber, J.M. 1992. Farmer participation in research: A model for adaptive research and education. Amer. J. Alternative Agric. 7:118121.Google Scholar
15.Hersey, P., and Blanchard, K.H.. 1982. Management of Organizational behavior. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.Google Scholar
16.Isermann, K. 1990. Share of agriculture in nitrogen and phosphorus emissions into the surface waters of Western Europe against the background of their eutrophication. Fertilizer Research 26:253269.Google Scholar
17.Lanyon, L.E. 1989. Combining “art” and science in nutrient management. Proc. Dairy Manure Management Symposium, February 22–24, 1989, Syracuse, NY. NRAES-31. Northeast Regional Agricultural Engineering Service, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y. pp. 6978.Google Scholar
18.Lanyon, L.E. 1992. Can a modern dairy farm be sustained? J. Sustainable Agric. 2:8399.Google Scholar
19.Lanyon, L.E., and Meij, H.K.. 1992. FINFO: Field and farm technical information management program. J. Production Agric. 5:8894.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Lanyon, L.E., and Schlauder, R.M. Jr., 1988. Nutrient management assessment worksheets. Version 2.0L for Lotus 1–2–3. Agronomy Series No. 102. Dept. of Agronomy, The Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park.Google Scholar
21.Lewin, K. 1952. Group decision and social change. In Swanson, G.E., Newcomb, T.M., and Hartley, E.L. (eds). Readings in Social Psychology. Holt and Co., New York, N.Y. pp. 459491.Google Scholar
22.Lobao, L.M. 1990. Locality and Inequality. State Univ. Press of New York, Albany.Google Scholar
23.Logan, T.J. 1990. Agricultural best management practices and groundwater protection. J. Soil and Water Conservation 45:201206.Google Scholar
24.Lorenz, E. 1963. Deterministic nonperiodic flow. J. Atmospheric Sci. 20:130141.Google Scholar
25.Meij, H.K., Lanyon, L.E., and McNall, A.D.. 1992. Application of thematic mapping in an agricultural information management program. In D.G. Watson, F.S. Zazueta, and A.B. Bottcher (eds). Computers in Agricultural Extension Programs. Proc. 4th International Conf, January 28–31, 1992, Orlando, Florida. Amer. Soc. Agric. Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan, pp. 712.Google Scholar
26.Napier, T.L., and Camboni, S.M.. 1993. Use of conventional and conservation practices among farmers in the Scioto River basin of Ohio. J. Soil and Water Conservation 48:231237.Google Scholar
27.Pell, A.N. 1992. Does ration balancing affect nutrient management? Proc. Cornell Nutrition Conf. October 13–15, 1992, Rochester, N.Y. Dept. of Animal Science, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y. pp. 2331.Google Scholar
28.Pionke, H.B., Urban, J.B., Gburek, W.J., Rogowski, A.S., and Schnabel, R.R.. 1991. Sampling groundwater in a northeastern U. S. watershed. In Nash, R.G. and Leslie, A.R. (eds). Groundwater Residue Sampling Design. ACS Symposium Series 465. Amer. Chemical Soc., Washington, D.C. pp. 222241.Google Scholar
29.Porter, M.E. 1991. America's green strategy. Scientific American 266:168.Google Scholar
30.Richards, P. 1985. Indigenous Agricultural Revolution. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado.Google Scholar
31.Richards, P. 1989. Agriculture as performance. In Chambers, R., Pacey, A., and Thrupp, L.A. (eds). Farmers First. The Bootstrap Press, New York, N.Y. pp. 3943.Google Scholar
32.Rogers, E.M. 1983. Diffusion of Innovations. 3rd ed.The Free Press, New York, N.Y.Google Scholar
33.Runge, C.F. 1981. Common property externalities: Isolation, assurance, and resource depletion in a traditional grazing context. Amer. J. Agric. Economics 63:595606.Google Scholar
34.Salamon, S. 1985. Ethnic communities and the structure of agriculture. Rural Sociology 50:323–240.Google Scholar
35.Schultz, T.W. 1964. Transforming Traditional Agriculture. The Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.Google Scholar
36.Ulanowicz, R.E. 1986. Growth and Development. Springer-Verlag, New York, N.Y.Google Scholar
37.Van Arsdall, R.N., and Nelson, K.E.. 1984. The U.S. Hog Industry. Agric. Economics Report No. 511. Economic Research Service, U.S. Dept. of Agric., Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
38.Westphal, P.J., Lanyon, L.E., and Partenheimer, E.J.. 1989. Plant nutrient management strategy implications for optimal herd size and performance of a simulated dairy farm. Agric. Systems 31:381394.Google Scholar
39.Witkin, H.A., Moore, C.A., Goodenough, D.R., and Cox, P.W.. 1977. Field-dependent and field-independent cognitive styles and their educational implications. Review of Educational Research 47:164.Google Scholar