Seeing below the surface: making soil processes visible to Ugandan smallholder farmers through a constructivist and experiential extension approach
Tóm tắt
Ugandan smallholder farmers need to feed a growing population, but their efforts are hampered by declining soil fertility rates. Agricultural extension can facilitate farmers’ access to new practices and technologies, yet farmers are understandably often hesitant to adopt new behaviors. New knowledge assimilation is an important component of behavior change that is often overlooked or poorly addressed by current extension efforts. We implemented a Fertility Management Education Program (FMEP) in central Uganda to investigate smallholder farmers’ existing soil knowledge and their assimilation of new scientific concepts into their knowledge framework. Qualitative data were collected through participant observation, farmer interviews, and focus groups, and coded for using a priori and emergent themes. Our exploration revealed some notable similarities between farmers’ soil knowledge and scientific concepts, particularly in regards to soil health concepts, a discovery that could facilitate communication between extension agents and farmers. However, certain scientific concepts are either unknown to farmers or discordant with existing soil knowledge; these concepts are unlikely to be assimilated by farmers without convincing and concerted extension efforts. Importantly, we found that the combination of new scientific knowledge and hands-on experimentation with novel practices gave farmers far greater confidence in implementing improved soil management practices. Our study provides evidence that extension programs should engage directly with farmers’ existing soil knowledge to develop their understanding of key biological concepts and confidence in implementing improved practices.
Tài liệu tham khảo
Afranaakwapong, N., and E. Nkonya. 2015. Agricultural extension reforms and development in Uganda. Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development 7: 122–134. doi:10.5897/JAERD2013.0528.
Ballard, H. L., C. G. H. Dixon, and E. M. Harris. 2016. Youth-focused citizen science: Examining the role of environmental science learning and agency for conservation. Biological Conservation 208: 65–75. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.05.024.
Bandura, A. 1977. Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review 84: 191–215. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191.
Barrera-Bassols, N., and J. A. Zinck. 2000. Ethnopedology in a worldwide perspective: An annotated bibliography. Netherlands: ITC Publication.
Berkes, F., and C. Folke, eds. 1998. Linking social and ecological systems: Management practices and social mechanisms for building resilience. New York: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.5751/es-00202-040205.
Blackie, M. J., and R. B. Jones. 1993. Agronomy and increased maize productivity in Eastern and Southern Africa. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture 9: 147–160. doi:10.1080/01448765.1993.9754628.
Braun, A., and D. Duveskog. 2008. The farmer field school approach—history, global assessment and success stories. Background Paper for the IFAD Rural Poverty Report. http://www.ifad.org/rural/rpr2010/background/1.pdf. Accessed 8 Sep 2017.
Briggs, L., and S. J. Twomlow. 2002. Organic material flows within a smallholder highland farming system of South West Uganda. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 89: 191–212.
Brosius, P., G. W. Lovelace, and G Marten Gerald. 1986. Ethnoecology: An approach to understanding traditional agricultural knowledge. In Traditional Agriculture in Southeast Asia: A human ecology perspective, ed. Gerald G. Marten, 187–198. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Bunyatta, D. K., J. G. Mureithi, C. A. Onyago, and F. U. Ngesa. 2006. Farmer field school effectiveness for soil and crop management technologies in Kenya. Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education 13: 47–63. doi:10.5191/jiaee.2006.13304.
Cobo, J. G., G. Dercon, and G. Cadisch. 2010. Nutrient balances in African land use systems across different spatial scales: A review of approaches, challenges and progress. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 136: 1–15. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2009.11.006.
Davis, K. 2006. Farmer field schools: A boon or bust for agricultural extension in Africa? Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education 13: 91–97. doi:10.5191/jiaee.2006.13109.
Dawoe, E. K., J. K, M. E. E. Quashie-Sam, Isaac, and S. K. K Oppong. 2012. Exploring farmers’ local knowledge and perceptions of soil fertility and management in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Geoderma 179–180: 96–103. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.02.015.
Doran, J. W. 2002. Soil health and global sustainability: Translating science into practice. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 88: 119–127. doi:10.1016/S0167-8809(01)00246-8.
Esilaba, A. O., P. Nyende, G. Nalukenge, and J. B. Byalebeka. 2005. Resource flows and nutrient balances for crop and animal production in smallholder farming systems in eastern Uganda. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 109: 192–201. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2005.03.013.
Fairhead, J., and I. Scoones. 2005. Local knowledge and the social shaping of soil investments: Critical perspectives on the assessment of soil degradation in Africa. Land Use Policy 22: 33–41. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2003.08.004.
Faure, G., Y. Desjeux, and P. Gasselin. 2012. New challenges in agricultural advisory services from a research perspective: A literature review, synthesis and research agenda. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension 18: 461–492. doi:10.1080/1389224X.2012.707063.
Giller, K. E., P. Tittonell, M. C. Rufino, M. T. van Wijk, Shamie Zingore, P. Mapfumo, S. Adjei-Nsiah, M. Herrero, R. Chikowo, and M. Corbeels. 2011. Communicating complexity: Integrated assessment of trade-offs concerning soil fertility management within African farming systems to support innovation and development. Agricultural Systems 104: 191–203. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2010.07.002.
Glaser, Barney G, and A. Strauss. 1967. The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company.
Haileslassie, A., J. A. Priess, E. Veldkamp, and J. P. Lesschen. 2007. Nutrient flows and balances at the field and farm scale: Exploring effects of land-use strategies and access to resources. Agricultural Systems 94: 459–470. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2006.11.013.
Headland, T. N., K. L. Pike, and M. Harris, eds. 1990. Emics and Etics: The Insider/Outsider Debate. 7th ed. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. doi:10.2307/541632.
Holland, D., W. Lachicotte, D. Skinner, and C. Cain. 1998. Agency and identity in cultural worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Ingram, J., P. Fry, and A. Mathieu. 2010. Revealing different understandings of soil held by scientists and farmers in the context of soil protection and management. Land Use Policy 27: 51–60. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2008.07.005.
Jenson, B., and K. Schnack. 1997. The action competence approach in environmental education. Environmental Education Research 3: 163–178. doi:10.1080/1350462970030205.
Kaizzi, K. C., J. Byalebeka, O. Semalulu, I. N. Alou, W. Zimwanguyizza, A. Nansamba, and E. Odama. 2012. Optimizing smallholder returns to fertilizer use: Bean, soybean and groundnut. Field Crops Research 127: 109–119. doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2011.11.010.
Kolb, D. 1984. Experiential learning as the science of learning and development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Krasny, M. E., C. Lundholm, and R. Plummer. 2010. Resilience in social–ecological systems: The roles of learning and education. Environmental Education Research 16: 463–474. doi:10.1080/13504622.2010.505416.
Krueger, R., and M. A. Casey. 2000. Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Leeuwis, C., and R. Pyburn. eds. 2002. Social learning for rural resource management. Wheelbarrows full of frogs: Social learning for rural resource management, 11–21. Assen: Koninklijke van gorcum
Loevinsohn, M. E., J. A. Berdegué, and I. Guijt. 2002. Deepening the basis of rural resource management: Learning processes and decision support. Agricultural Systems 73: 3–22. doi:10.1016/S0308-521X(01)00097-X.
Mairura, F. S., D. N. Mugendi, J. I. Mwanje, J. Joshua, P. K. Ramisch, Mbugua, and J. N. Chianu. 2007. Integrating scientific and farmers’ evaluation of soil quality indicators in Central Kenya. Geoderma 139: 134–143. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2007.01.019.
Marenya, P. P., and C. B. Barrett. 2007. Household-level determinants of adoption of improved natural resources management practices among smallholder farmers in western Kenya. Food Policy 32: 515–536. doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2006.10.002.
Merriam, S. B. 2009. Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Misiko, M., P. Tittonell, K. E. Giller, and P. Richards. 2011. Strengthening understanding and perceptions of mineral fertilizer use among smallholder farmers: Evidence from collective trials in western Kenya. Agriculture and Human Values 28: 27–38. doi:10.1007/s10460-010-9264-z.
Morris, M., V. A. Kelly, R. J. Kopicki, and D. Byerlee. 2007. Fertilizer use in African agriculture: Lessons learned and good practice guidelines. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. doi:10.1596/978-0-8213-6880-0.
Mugwe, J., D. Mugendi, M. Mucheru-Muna, R. Merckx, J. Chianu, and B. Vanlauwe. 2008. Determinants of the decision to adopt integrated soil fertility management practices by smallholder farmers in the Central Highlands of Kenya. Experimental Agriculture 45: 61. doi:10.1017/S0014479708007072.
Nederlof, E. S., and C. Dangbégnon. 2007. Lessons for farmer-oriented research: Experiences from a West African soil fertility management project. Agriculture and Human Values 24: 369–387. doi:10.1007/s10460-007-9066-0.
Nkonya, E., C. Kayuki, Kaizzi, and J. Pender. 2005. Determinants of nutrient balances in a maize farming system in eastern Uganda. Agricultural Systems 85: 155–182. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2004.04.004.
NRCS. 2015. Soil Quality Test Kit. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/health/assessment/?cid=nrcs142p2_053873. Accessed 8 Sep 2017.
Oudwater, N., and A. Martin. 2003. Methods and issues in exploring local knowledge of soils. Geoderma 111: 387–401. doi:10.1016/S0016-7061(02)00273-2.
Parkinson, S. 2009. When farmers don’t want ownership: Reflections on demand-driven extension in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension 15: 417–429. doi:10.1080/13892240903309678.
QSR International. 2012. Nvivo qualitative data analysis Software. Melbourne: QSR International Pty Ltd.
Quansah, C., P. Drechsel, B. B. Yirenkyi, and S. Asante-Mensah. 2001. Farmers’ perceptions and management of soil organic matter—A case study from West Africa. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 61: 205–213. doi:10.1023/A:1013337421594.
Rogers, E. M. 1983. Diffusion of innovations. London: The Free Press.
Rogoff, B., R. Paradise, R. M. Arauz, M. Correa-Chavez, and C. Angelillo. 2003. Firsthand learning through intent participation. Annual Review of Psychology 54: 175–203. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145118.
Rushemuka, N. P., R.a. Bizoza, J. G. Mowo, and L. Bock. 2014. Farmers’ soil knowledge for effective participatory integrated watershed management in Rwanda: Toward soil-specific fertility management and farmers’ judgmental fertilizer use. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 183: 145–159. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2013.10.020.
Schusler, T. M., and M. E. Krasny. 2010. Environmental action as context for youth development. The Journal of Environmental Education 41: 208–223. doi:10.1080/00958960903479803.
Talawar, S., and R. E. Rhoades. 1998. Scientific and local classification and management of soils. Agriculture and Human Values 15: 3–14.
Tsouvalis, J., S. Seymour, and C. Watkins. 2000. Exploring knowledge-cultures: Precision farming, yield mapping, and the expert-farmer interface. Environment and Planning A 32: 909–924. doi:10.1068/a32138.
Uganda Bureau of Statistics. 2006. National household survey, agricultural module. Kampala, Uganda.
van de Fliert, E., and A. R. Braun. 2002. Conceptualizing integrative, farmer participatory research for sustainable agriculture: From opportunities to impact. Agriculture and Human Values 19: 25–38.
Visser, I., S. Cawley, and N. Röling. 1998. A co-learning approach to extension: Soil nitrogen workshops in Queensland, Australia. Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension 5: 179–191. doi:10.1080/13892249885300301.
Wadsworth, B. J. 1996. Piaget’s theory of cognitive and affective development: Foundations of constructivism. USA: Longman Publishing.
Winklerprins, A. 1999. Insights and applications local soil knowledge: A tool for sustainable land management. Society & Natural Resources 12: 151–161. doi:10.1080/089419299279812.
World Population Data Sheet. 2013. Population Reference Bureau. http://www.prb.org/pdf13/2013-population-data-sheet_eng.pdf. Accessed 8 Sep 2017.