CHAPTER 5 - APPLICABILITY OF THE APPROACH

This section summarizes the options and conditions for future application of the approach, as well as its scope and limitations. Because this study focused mainly on understanding communication linkages from the farmer upward, more time was spent at the barangay level than at the municipal, provincial and regional levels.

The exercise through which this approach was developed and tested was expensive. It was necessary to have a team of international specialists from different fields in order to develop, test and propose an approach with potential application in the current national policy context and in the context of a bottom-up sectoral review. The approach may easily be replicated without an international team, but the inter-disciplinary make up of the team is essential.

The approach requires a relatively short period of time. However, the case studies included in this report are indicative of the extent and limitations in terms of the information gathered. A more relaxed time frame for consultation with farmer groups is necessary. The replicability of the approach requires a significant input in terms of training field workers capable of using and adapting it.

Using these PRA tools at farmer level proved participatory, unthreatening and appropriable. An important aspect is leaving all analyses and diagrams with the farmers.

The two study teams had different experiences. The reasons for these contrasting results are important in terms of future use of the approach. The main implication is that the poorest farming populations will require a flexible approach with a tangible linkage that could offer support to the barangay.

The methodology was field tested in several sites, yet it requires further refinement. It should be seen as an addition to existing rapid appraisal and farming systems development tools, not as a substitute.

The approach did not address land tenure, which is a paramount factor in agricultural development as it determines the scale of a farming system. In addition, there were no attempts to identify and segregate the socio-economic strata within a barangay. Both issues would need to be dealt with when testing the approach further.

APPLICATION OF THE APPROACH

The approach developed has already demonstrated tremendous value for identifying the actors and linkages at the farmer level. It can also be of value at other levels such as agricultural technicians, municipal agricultural officers (MAO), researchers and policy makers and donors.

The value and the usefulness to the different categories may vary. However the underlying benefit of being able to reflect the needs translated as farmer demands and their inherent problems is the common denominator. The value to the different stakeholders inflow discussed.

Farmers

The ultimate beneficiary of new technologies or programmes should be the farmers and likewise, farmers will receive benefits from the application of this approach.

• The approach provides a common language that enables farmers to identify demands and channels with outsiders. This can be a dialogue with individuals from different levels of organizations that work or service the barangay, particularly in the agricultural activities.
• The linkage analysis provides the opportunity for understanding the present farming system in the barangay and for developing an awareness of the changes that have taken place over a certain period. While it can be argued that farmers are already aware of their situation, it is not always the case that farmers analyse the number of positive/negative interventions that they could recall. This was evident during the field visits. Some of the changes that have taken place became evident only when farmers began to discuss those interventions among themselves. In this process the mission members had the role of outsiders acting as facilitators who helped place issues in a correct perspective. The resulting conclusion is that outside facilitator must play a supporting role, while the main actors are the farmers themselves.
• The farmers can identify the real actors and the roles each of them play in the agricultural development process in their communities. The approach allows the farmers to identify the large number of individuals who provide services in the barangay and differentiate between major and minor actors.
• When able to identify the actors and their roles, the farmers can analyse the sources of intervention and information provided, and understand better the roles played by the different actors.
• This approach provides an opportunity to identify potential improvements to the existing system.

Agricultural technicians

The ATs are potentially the most important link between the farmers and the outside world as far as new technologies are concerned. However, at present their effectiveness is limited and to a large extent absent. Interaction with the farmers using this tool could help the ATs.

• In addition to the ATs, many other individuals provide information and play a role at the barangay and municipal levels. This approach allows them to identify these individuals and their functions, helps them understand the relative importance of each of them and helps avoid duplication. This helps the AT place him or herself in the supplementary position relative to all other actors.

• The recognition of farmers as decision makers mainly in the production process becomes evident. The sources and type of information obtained by farmers become clear.

• The AT can appreciate the fact that he/she and the farmers can and should be partners. The partnership is necessary for the AT's work to be effective and relevant to the farmers. Both have the objective of increasing agricultural production and their incomes, which contributes to the overall economic development of the barangay.
• Information obtained from this approach can help ATs prioritise the needs within a barangay and between communities. Since an AT has responsibility for a number of communities, this activity becomes very important. Moreover they can also identify the trends of the progress or interventions that have taken place over time and analyse the effect such interventions have had.

A systemic undertaking of this approach by the ATs can be of immense value to the identification of farmer demand and priorities. It can be the cornerstone for the development of a strong research and development base that will serve the immediate requirements of the farmers.

Municipal agricultural officers (MAO)

The MAO has the most critical and important role in a municipality's agricultural programmes. With decentralisation and almost total independence granted to the mayors in matters pertaining to agriculture, the MAO will play a pivotal role from the point of view of the municipality as well as the central government. He Drill be the link between these two agencies. Therefore he should have at his disposal tools that can be used to help recommend priorities and make decisions regarding implementation. The tool used in this study can be used effectively.

• One of the significant findings of the field visits was the identification of a large number of individuals and institutions serving the farmers. For example from a research point of view, regional integrated agricultural research centres (RIARC's), UPLB, PHILKICE, IRRI and BPI have all given the farmers new technologies. This is in addition to the help of private sector institutions. the media and NGOs. Therefore this approach helps the MAO identify the sources and channels being used that are available for contact and further cooperation.
• As indicated by the ATs in their discussions with the teams, AT training is an important area. However it is up to the MAO to determine the areas and degree of training required' taking into consideration the roles of other actors and avoiding duplication of training for tasks other actors are involved with. The information provided by the ATs can be a basis for future training assessments for the technicians.
• The information obtained from the ATs and their own analysis will allow the MAO to identify priorities for the municipality.
• Given the present situation with the decentralisation, the MAO could play an important role in the research activities of the province and the central research institutions since the municipalities will now have more financial authority. This will be an interesting feature given the fact that most of the implementation the PHILIPPINE 2000 programme will be top down. The information made available from the use of this approach will improve the bargaining position of the MAO with the RLARCs, provincial agricultural officers and other organizations. The MAO can tell the concerned organizations the priorities of the municipality and the technical demands that the individual or collective communities have. This should lead to an increase in the adaptive research being conducted in the field which reflects the needs of the farmers.

It is clear that this tool can be used effectively at the barangay and municipal levels to identify problems, significant actors at the field level, and research areas and development activities that can be implemented at the municipal level.

Researchers

Many researchers make a genuine effort to determine and understand the real life problems facing farmers in the cultivation of crops. They approach their activities in a problem-solving manner, and attempt to design research programmes that can solve those problems. However, the techniques researchers use to identify problems in the field are few and not well used. An effective use of RRA or PRA techniques by the researchers in collaboration with the AT's and MAO's will provide a good basic framework to identify the problems.

The advantage of this approach is the active participation of the farmer in mapping the different actors and their roles which can provide the researchers with information on alternative sources of interventions. Moreover this approach can help researchers translate farmers problems into researchable issues.

• The adoption of the approach used - either directly by them in the field, or from information obtained by the farmers, ATs or MAOs - will help researchers obtain information on field problems and networks. Understanding the networks of actors that serve the farmers will help the researcher obtain the cooperation of the different actors. For example, the private sector traders who provide seeds and agricultural chemicals can help design adaptive trials providing those inputs. Additionally, information on credit availability and market options can also be easily obtained by this approach.
• The results provide a scientific basis for the recommendation and also provides a sound source of information to the farmers.
• Most researchers are commodity oriented and their appreciation is mostly from a cropping systems perspective. Interacting with farmers and identifying researcher problems with them adds a holistic nature to the research activities. It brings together all the actors involved, namely the farmers, researchers, technicians, the private sector input suppliers, and credit and market agencies.
• As a result of this close collaboration the research agenda of the RIARC or any other organization reflects the farmer demands.

Policy makers

This approach can be of great value to policy makers interested in better welfare for farmers and the development of the agricultural sector. The policy makers' sources of information are numerous, however, with access to information obtained from this approach (by farmers, ATs, MAOs), the development of agricultural programmes will be more pragmatic. The following benefits can be seen:

• The programmes could reflect farmer demands better and make implementation of the programmes more meaningful.
• An insight into possible new roles for the ATs will emerge. The compatible information given at Mamala l and by the ATs at Sariaya municipality is an example of how responsibilities for ATs could be changed.
• An additional tool for the farmer-centred farming systems approach to agricultural extension is provided. The basic principle in this method of extension activity and the approach used is compatible. In fact the operational tool used in this study further enhances the quality of extension planning since it provides for greater farmer involvement and a clearer reflection of their needs.
• The approach is potentially cost effective when implemented in the field. The initial training costs of farmers and all those involved in the system are insignificant compared to the large amount of information that will be made available at the field level. The ultimate implementation of the programme in the field can be relatively inexpensive.

Since the underlying goal of the approach is to react to farmer demands with a more responsive system, the answers this approach provides are cost effective, because they are provided by support services responding to questions formulated jointly by farmers and technicians.

CONDITIONS FOR APPLICATION

This approach provides a diagnostic tool as much as a management/planning tool. As a diagnostic tool, it constitutes an additional contribution to the PRA toolbox for farming systems diagnosis. As such, it contributes to the communication domain. As a management and planning tool, it also helps identify individuals and institutions who play specific roles within a production system. The identification of linkages and the analysis of their performance provides a simple guideline by which to assess and improve linkages and functions.

For the approach to operate as a planning tool, it is necessary to have an open ended diagnostic/planning agenda in which all of those involved understand the goal and scope of the exercise (this was accomplished at the barangay/municipal levels, but not at the provincial/regional ones). It is also important to have facilitators from the fields of communication, farming systems and research who will work in an inter-disciplinary fashion

As a diagnostic tool, the approach needs additional time to follow up with in-depth analyses using other FSD diagnostic tools to get a grasp on the issues which are identified as researchable problems.