Introduction to local innovation and joint experimentation - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Introduction to local innovation and joint experimentation

PietermaritzburgKwaZulu-Natal5-7 April 2010Slide2

What is local innovation?

It is the process by which farmers, without support from R&D agents, discover or develop new and better ways of doing things – using the locally available resources

Generally it is a process of building on the local knowledge of an area by using new ideas from various sources, including farmers’ own creativity

The outcomes of this process are called local innovationsSlide3

Local innovation cont.

Local innovation can be either technical or non-technical

Technical innovation could involve development of equipment, agricultural practices, value adding practices, etc

Non-technical innovation or ‘social innovation’ can involve ways that people organise themselves, make changes to cultural behaviour or gender roles, etcSlide4

Terminology cont..

Who is an innovator

?Innovators are those people (in our case farmers and land users) who develop these new production methods or management approaches in order to improve their lives, their communities and/or their natural environment

Research and extension programmes can benefit from working with innovative people who bring their own ideas about how to address a particular problem or capture an opportunity

In the extension context, all farmers can be encouraged to try things out and exchange their experiences / outcomesSlide5

Indigenous knowledge

It’s a knowledge that people in a given community have developed over time, and continue to develop.

It’s developed within a specific context and is thus suited to those particular conditions (both the social and physical aspects). Slide6

How does it evolve?

It’s dynamic and changes over time as people find ways of improving it.

Changes are made in order to make it more appropriate to emerging challenges, opportunities and conditions.New tools, skills and knowledge that are encountered are integrated and thus results into changes. Slide7

PID: Developing innovations together

Ability to innovateSlide8

What is PID?

The process of finding new things and ways that work – and which are compatible with culturally-based local knowledge systemsThe often unreflected knowledge of villagers about their complex situation is combined with external knowledge, which includes scientific knowledge

Outcomes of PID – innovations that improve livelihoods and competence for self-reliant local experimentation and actionPID is an approach to development that strengthens farmers capacity to test and experiment on their own

PID strengthens the capacity of resource users to analyse ongoing processes and develop relevant innovations fitted for new conditions and opportunities -this includes institutional developmentSlide9

What is PID?

Other terms that can be used:

Farmer-led participatory research and developmentFarmer-led joint investigation

Farmer-led joint experimentation

It is a participatory process where R&D agents work with farmers to improve existing innovations or develop new ones, and where farmers actively participate in directing, planning, implementing and evaluating the process.

PID is where research and development programmes are based on things that rural people are already trying out or ideas that they might have about how to improve their livelihood systems - it builds on existing ideas and motivationsSlide10

What types of activities could PID include?

PID could involveJoint experimentation (e.g. determining which fertilizer application rate produces the best results)

Improving a piece of equipment so that it is easier to use or works better (e.g. trying different materials or making adjustments to a plough)PID is not just about developing new technologies – it could involve trying out and developing a new system or way of

organising

things (e.g. for marketing produce or sharing information) –

soft innovationsSlide11

Steps in the PID process

Relationship building with the communityIdentification of innovators (And local innovation processes)

Looking for things to try Screen ideas – whether they are cost effective, simple, accessible, will yield results, whether people are willing to try them out

Decide what is to be done, who will do it, duration, expected output

Trying out (development and implementation of simple experiments that can be managed by the farmers themselves)

This should also strengthen farmers’ capacity to design, implement and evaluate their own experimentsSelect the farmer-experimenters (local innovators), involve local experts

Provide basic training for innovators in experimental methods (how to plan and design simple trials, management, site selection, measurements, analysis of results)

Set up the trials (develop criteria for experiment – objectives, location, controls, treatments, timing, types of records to be kept, measurements to be made (how, when, who), external assistance required)

Follow-up activities (management of the trials, monitoring, participatory assessment, exchange visits, record-keeping)Slide12

PID Steps continued..

EvaluationThis begins when the trials are set up, is done by individual experimenters as well as farmer groupsOverall evaluation at the end of the experiment (based on the criteria used in setting up the trial), and involves deciding the next course of action to be taken (Adoption, recommendation, modification)

Dissemination of the resultsFarmer tours, group meetings, field days, farmer-to-farmer training, development of audio-visuals, manuals, etc

Sustaining the process – institutionalising experimentation and joint learning processes (through establishment of forums such field days, farmer-to-farmer visits)Slide13

Experimentation

What do we mean by experimentation?the testing of an ideathe act of conducting a controlled test or investigation (

wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

)

A test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy of something previously untried. (

http://www.answers.com/topic/experiment

)

A set of actions and observations, performed to verify or falsify a hypothesis or to research a causal relationship between phenomena (

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/experimentation

)Slide14

Day 2: Recap of terms

Local innovationIndigenous knowledgeParticipatory innovation developmentExperimentation

A trialJoint experimentationFarmer-ledParticipatorySlide15

What is this drawing about?Slide16

What is the purpose of experimentation?

Exploration – where you try out something new and cannot predict the resultsHypothesis testing – where you are testing something where you already have an idea of the result that you will obtain (you are really testing your assumptions)

Verification – confirming that something really worksDemonstration – Showing the benefit of a certain practice or product - The difference between a demonstration and an experiment is that the farmer doing the demonstration follows given recommendations and is assured of success whereas with an experiment the result could be positive or negative Slide17

Key concepts of experimentation

Treatment – this is the conditions (combination of factors) that you are testing (e.g. levels of fertilizer) Control – the baseline against which we can compare the treatment effectReplicates – how many times we repeat a particular treatment in the experimentSlide18

Key concepts cont.

Significance of results – is one treatment really producing a better result than another – is there a real difference?Probability - If I increase fertilizer rate and get an increased yield, is the effect random or is it really due to the treatment?

If we say that variety A yields more than variety B (p<0.05), this means that there is a 5% chance that the result is actually just a random effect.If you repeated the experiment 100 times, then in 95 of the experiments you would get the same result.

We introduce a number of replications of a particular treatment to be able to prove that the effect of a treatment applied is actually due to the treatment and not due to random effect.

Standard error

- how much variation is there around the mean?Slide19

Basics of systematic experimentation

Have clear hypotheses / objectives –what is being tested and why?What is the expected cause-effect relationshipWe expect that if we do this…such and such will occurReplicable testing procedures

What conditions must be taken into account – as they are likely to influence the outcome of the experiment?This will affect location, timing, etc for example

Systematic evaluation

Farmers must be able to explain the criteria they used and the information on which they based their conclusionSlide20

Practical experience from

PotshiniWhy the need for joint experimentation?Slide21

Farmer-led joint experimentation

The focus is on experiments that farmers can manage and evaluate themselves and which give results on which farmers can base sound decisionsBefore joint experimentation, farmers and scientist agree on a research agenda based on local priorities to avoid the danger of scientists defining the experiments and imposing them on farmersSlide22

Why the need for farmer-led joint experimentation or PID

Frequently there is a lack of uptake of technologiesResearch sometimes does not focus on farmers prioritiesAssessment is sometimes based on criteria that are not important to farmersFarmers’ own experimentation allows adaptation to new situations and to improve their livelihoodsSlide23

Why farmer-led joint experimentation

Farmers often conduct informal experiments with certain components of technologies that are introduced by extension agents (e.g. if package involves seed, fertilizer and certain planting practices, farmers may just test one component)Research led by farmers aims at exploring new possibilities for solving local problems affecting their livelihood – the experiments need to be only scientific enough to produce results that are useful to farmers – as a contribution to development rather than to science.

PID can happen where development agents work with farmers – even when no researchers are involved Slide24

Assignment 1:Analysing an experimentation case study

Analyse the case study provided, answering the following questions:What is the topic of the experiment?

What did the experimenters want to investigate?Why did they want to investigate this (the underlying problem / opportunity to be addressed?

What exactly did they want to find out? What question was the experiment answering?

How did they design the experiment? (What treatments and how many replicates?)

What did they measure?

How did they record the data collected?

What were the roles of the different stakeholders?

Would men and women have equal use for the findings of the experiment? Would they have had the same views of the outcomes?

How did they disseminate the results of the experiment?Slide25

Principles and process of joint experimentationSlide26

Overall steps of conducting an experiment

Generate ideas (things to experiment with)Prepare idea sheets – capture ideas so that they are not lost

Prepare experiment sheets – how and why the experiment is to be done (at the experimental design workshop)

Prepare an action plan – the nature of the experiment is clear to all, responsibilities and time schedules are clear to all, should stay with the experimenter with copy with the field worker

Prepare recording books Slide27

Conducting the experiment cont.

Collect dataKeep a journal – farmers and others have record of things that have been discussed and decided upon, and a record of events (drought, hail, etc)

Prepare status reports – to keep all parties informed of progress

Analyse the results of the experiment

Evaluate the overall experimentation process

Prepare final report - all lessons learnt are available for sharing, covering what was done, the outcomes, farmers’ recommendation, assessment of researcher, suggestions for further experiments based on this experience, indications regarding other reports/material concerning the experiment availableSlide28

Looking for things to try

Find opportunities for integrating farmers’ and outsiders’ knowledge and their ideas when seeking solutionsFacilitate group discussion about the agenda for experimentation (what is to be tried out and why)Slide29

Why start with identifying local innovations?

It changes the way potential partners see each others – it serves as a tool for learning to understand and value what farmers are already trying to do, builds mutual respect and lays a sound basis for a partnershipIt provides a point of departure for joint exploration and learning that is firmly embedded in local realities

PID takes a positive approach that starts with local ideas and achievements – it focuses on local people’s strengths and explores particular opportunities open to them, rather then dwelling on their problems – such as when a problem analysis is undertaken as an entry point

PID can be an approach to extension – officers able to encourage farmers to try out and improve the ways they do things rather than trying to convince them to use technologies that have not been tested locally

Slide30

The experimental design workshop

Bring farmers together to discuss how they will design and implement the experimentsDiscuss how previous experiments were doneChoose farmer experimenters (all or a few)Discuss organisation and timing of experiment – when should one start the experiment, what inputs are needs, do all farmers start together?

M&E – what info do we need to collect, who will do what and when?Slide31

Idea sheets and experiment sheets

Idea sheetTopicWhat we want to investigateWhy we want to investigate this

Experiment sheetTopicWhat we want to investigateWhy exactly we want to investigate this (the underlying problem / opportunity / the benefit if the experiment is successful)

What exactly we want to find out (the questions that the experiment should answer)

The design of the experiment

What we need to know if we are to be able to tell if the experiment was successfulSources of additional information regarding the experiment

Action / activity plan

Activity – timing & duration – materials required – persons/organisations responsibleSlide32

Action sheet

Name of experimentWhat will be doneReasons for doing experimentQuestions that will be answeredExpected resultsAssessment and evaluation

Criteria for measurementGeneral evaluationAction plan (table)

Activity

Months

Materials

Resp

.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Data collect.

X

X

XSlide33

Some joint experimentation design formats

Individual application of new equipment or method – farmers can come together at intervals to share their findingsPaired comparison – of two groups of animals or two plots with different treatments (the lots or the groups of animals must be similar so just the treatment is a variable)

Before and after experiment – instead of comparing two groups or two plots, compare situation afterwards with baseline situationStepwise or add-on design – one trial includes various innovations each being one step towards a full technical package – so farmers can evaluate the effect of each additionSlide34

What are mother and baby trials?Slide35

Mother and baby trials

The design links a ‘replicated within site’ researcher-led mother trial, which is conducted at a central location, with ‘one site – one replica’ farmer-led trials The baby trials are located on farmers’ fields and are designed and managed by farmers – they allow for comparison of a sub-set of technologies or varieties

One can have a range of treatments at mother trial (fertilizer, legumes, manure, manure/fertilizer combinations etc) – then farmers select a few to try at their homes Slide36

Experimental design principles

Find a suitable location - similar to farm situation, uniform, protectedLimit experimental plot size - dependent on type of crop and type of experimentWhen deciding on plot size, consider things such as methods used to determine yield – is it fairly rough and does it require substantial differences to be noticed?

Ensure good demarcation and separation of plotsEliminate border effects (exclude outside plants / rows)Slide37

Basic principles cont.

Carry out experiments on a small scale because: it reduces riskIt allows farmer to conduct several experiments simultaneouslyThe rest of the field can serve as a natural control plot

It allows poorer farmers to participate in testing technologiesKey concept - Keep everything constant across treatments (e.g. plant spacing and weeding) so that you can be sure that the response you see is actually due to the treatment being applied

Allow for a control – against which to compare the experiment

Due to the possibility of distorting circumstances, one year of experimentation is rarely enough to justify adoption of a new technologySlide38

More principles

Use several replications – on one site or replicate across sitesNormally avoid replications within fields and rather make them across farms that are spatially clustered so that participating farmers can visit each other to observe and discuss their experimentsLimit the number of issues or variables being tested - initially have only one factor or variable in an experiment

Ensure systematic monitoring or data collection– what information must be collected so one can draw conclusions from the experiment?Slide39

Other principles

Don’t get carried away when designing experiments for farmers to manageLet the farmer ‘own’ the experiment – don’t pay the farmer for their time or provide free inputs!Be simple and easy – design experiments so that they address the major factor firstBe flexible and allow for later adaptation (accept that some farmers are likely to drop out)

Make sure it is to lead to visible and significant results – so don’t let plots be too smallCalculate costs and benefits of each treatment together with the farmersSlide40

Assignment 2: Laying out a simple farmers’ trial

You want to look at the impact of weeding frequency (once over the growing season; twice over the growing season; monthly) on maize yieldsHow can you lay out your trial to include 3 replications of each treatmentWhat will you use as a control?Slide41

Data collection at experiments

If something is to be learnt from experiments, the results must be well analysedTo be able to do this during and after an experiment, data must be recorded in some formNeed to look for ways to make data collection and recording more systematic

Support farmers so that they can record and assess their own experiments (outsiders can collect additional information)Farmers’ criteria may be economic, socio-cultural or technicalSlide42

Data collection cont.

Methods of collecting informationFarmer record sheets, Farmer maps, Group observations and ranking exercisesInformation-gathering must be cost effectiveFarmers must be able to understand and use the information collected

Study existing practices used for keeping records and assessing experiments – then look for ways to make this more systematicFarmers should also identify (and record) any specific circumstances that could have distorted the trialsSlide43

Key questions when developing a data collection system

What is the objective – what do you want to learn from the experimentwhether cowpea variety A is better than local varietyWhat criteria should be used to assess an experiment with this objective

whether it has increased productivityWhat indicators will show whether these criteria have been met?Yield (kg/ha)

What do we measure to find the indicators?

Area of the plot, total production from the plot

How do we measure these (what techniques of observation and measurement, what equipment needed?)Tins produced, mass of seed produced How will the data be recorded? So we can refer to it later

Recording forms, notebooksSlide44

Analysing data from experiments

Data analysis is done using qualitative and quantitative methods and different people (for different purposes)Farmer might want to know which variety does best on his farmRegional planner will be interested in average performances in order to be able to make recommendationsPresent data on graphs or in tables

Formal statistical analysis – allows measures of precision and interpretation of complex interactionsSlide45

Joint evaluation of the results of the experiment.

Comparing costs and benefits – what is needed to carry out the treatment, what costs are involved – what are the effects and the estimated value of the benefits – then compare. A partial analysis - Focus on the aspects that differ between the treatments When analysing the effects of an experiment – also take into account the development of the whole farm and the wider system – does it solve or create other problems, does it make the farm more or less susceptible to droughts, etcSlide46

Joint evaluation cont.

Participatory evaluation of the research results – has the experiment achieved its purpose? This should be based on criteria that farmers set to evaluate the results and data that have been collected – can involve bringing farmers together at sites to shareEvaluate based on the objective of the experiment (e.g. to increase productivity)

Prepare for the next round of experimentation – how could we have strengthened what we did, what results might be valuable for others, what experiments should we repeat, what other options should we try out next time?Slide47

Assignment 3: Comparing costs and benefits

If you apply 100 kg/ha you get a yield of 200 kg, an application of 150 kg/ha yields 250kg and an application of 200kg/ha gives a yield of 300 kg/ha. The fertilizer costs R25/kg and R5/kg for transport. The vegetables will be sold at R35/kg.What is the cost of each fertilizer application?What is the benefit of the additional yield?Slide48

Farmer involvement in the interpretation of results

Provides useful explanations of resultsProvide insights into reasons for the variations in results across sites or plotsBring in other factors that are of importance to them (e.g. trade-off between yields and taste)

Different members of a community or household will have different criteria for assessing a technology, for example:What claims does the technology put on my scarce resources?What external inputs do I need

What are the benefits compared with what I’m doing now?

How certain is it that these benefits will accrue to me?

How will others in my community react when I use this technology?What other effects will application of this technology have on my farm or within my community?Slide49

Disemination of results

Farmer-to-farmer visitsExchange visits between farmer innovatorsVisitors by farmers to farmer innovators (and vice versa)Dissemination to other stakeholders? Scientists, policy makersSlide50

Monitoring and evaluating the overall process

M&E can strengthen the learning, accountability and effectiveness of research effortsIn monitoring the focus is on seeing whether the research has been implemented smoothly and identifying problems and issues emerging (i.e. monitoring the experimentation process according to the action plan)

The M&E activities should not only cover the innovation being developed, but also the process of strengthening local capacities to innovateSlide51

Day 3:Documentation of PID

Documentation should cover the following aspects of experimentation:Who has done what?Where did it happen?

How was it done?Why was it done?What were the results?There are different forms of documentation (pictures, documents, posters, videos, songs, etc)Slide52

Assignment 5 – Simulation exercise

Mr Negolokwe, a farmer innovator from Venda, has been experimenting with different methods of incorporating organic matter into the soil to increase soil fertility. The local extension officer and researcher are wanting to start working with him and 3 of his neighbours in a process of joint experimentation.

Identify 3 possible ideas for experiments related to this topic that the farmers might be interested in conducting (complete an idea sheet for each)Prioritise the three and select the one which is to be experimented with (give reasons for your selection – considering farmers’ motivations / priorities)

Prepare an experiment sheet and an activity plan (using key activities) for the experimentSlide53

New Roles for Researchers, Extensionists

and Farmer InnovatorsFor extensionists

Identify innovative farmers and groupsStimulate community-level assessment of innovations

Help farmers and groups link up with other R&D actors

Encourage community-led research for development

Support formation of farmer organizations and networksCollaborate in monitoring the process and impact of the research

Offer options to compare with local innovations or current practices

Improve farmers’ experimental design

Facilitate mutual learning (e.g. through farmer learning groups)

For farmer innovators

Showing and explaining innovations to scientists and policymakers

Conducting more systematic experimentation on behalf of the community

Monitoring aspects of experiments and the environment of

interest to farmers

Engaging and expanding involvement in farmer-to-farmer

extensionSlide54

Roles cont.

For ResearchersDeepening scientific understanding of local innovations and innovation processesStimulating and supporting farmer- and community-led experimentation

"Feeding" local experimentation, or providing new ideas that go along the directions of what local people are exploring and want to exploreTo replicate farmers’ experiments under more controlled conditions

To make additional measurements and observations to support analysis of farmers’ experiments

To document the whole process and the final evaluation of the socio-cultural and agro-ecological impacts

Scientists assist in generating hard data to validate findings in conventional scientific terms for convincing other parties (scientists, policy makers, etc)Slide55

Strategies to support local experimentation

Strengthen farmer experimentation by suggesting additional options / treatments to be includedSupport the formulation of a clear hypothesis for the experimentImprove experimental designs and work towards more systematic forms of experimentation. For example, limit the number of variables, select controls, demarcate test plots, etc

Also ensure farmers understand underlying principles of biological processes Facilitate cost-benefit analysis of experimentsAssist farmers in improving their monitoring practices – develop jointly a recording and assessment plan that contains the list of what to record, how and when

Encourage sharing of findings with other communities (as well as sharing the concept of experimentation – how to test and adapt promising technologies)Slide56

How do we translate this into action?Slide57

Information sources

The following materials were used in the compilation of this presentation:Finding new things and ways that work – A manual for introducing Participatory Innovation Development (PID) – Scheuermeier

, U., Katz, E. & Heiland, S. LBL Swiss Centre for Agricultural ExtensionParticipatory Research and Development for Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management - A source Book

(2005). CIP, IDRC, IFAD, UPWARD.

Developing Technology with Farmers. A Trainer’s Guide for Participatory Learning

(2005)van Veldhuizen, L., Waters-Bayer, A. & de Zeeuw

, H.