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Farming Systems Research: Clarification of Terms and Concepts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

Deborah Merrill Sands
Deborah Merrill Sands
Affiliation:
Researchers in Ecological and Agricultural Planning (REAP), PO Box 1155B, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
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Summary

Farming Systems Research (FSR) has emerged as a major theme in international agricultural research in the past decade. However, despite widespread use of the term, its meaning and the types of research objectives, approaches, activities and methods to which it applies remain ambiguous. The lack of precision in concepts and terms will discredit FSR and jeopardize donor support. This paper seeks to clarify and define the major types of research approaches and activities encompassed by the general term FSR. Six types of research are distinguished and a new, more precise terminology is proposed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , April 1986 , pp. 87 - 104
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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