Listening To Farmers: Qualitative Impact Assessments in Unfavorable Rice Environments
Listening To Farmers: Qualitative Impact Assessments in Unfavorable Rice Environments
Technical Bulletin
2008 No. 12
Listening to Farmers:
Qualitative Impact Assessments in
Unfavorable Rice Environments
Stephen Zolvinski
Assistant Network Coordinator, CURE
Supported by ADB–RETA 6136 Project
Integrating and Mobilizing Rice Knowledge to Improve and Stabilize Crop Productivity to Achieve
Household Food Security in Diverse and Less-Favorable Rainfed Areas of Asia
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) was established in 1960
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Suggested Citation:
Zolvinski S. 2008. Listening to farmers: qualitative impact assessments in
unfavorable rice environments. IRRI Technical Bulletin No. 12. Los Baños
(Philippines): International Rice Research Institute. 47 p.
ISSN 0074-7807
Contents
Preface iv
Chapter PART 1: Introduction to research in the unfavorable rice ecosystems
1. Partnering researchers with farmers in the unfavorable rice environments 2
What is CURE? 2
What is farmer-participatory research? 4
What is the ADB-RETA 6136 Project? 6
2. The methodologies of this study 9
Why qualitative methods? 9
Methodologies employed for CURE’s qualitative assessments 9
PART 2: Impacts assessed at CURE key sites
3. Rangpur, Bangladesh: Working Group 2 for submergence-prone lowlands 14
Testing direct-seeding practices to mitigate monga: rice-potato-maize cropping system 15
Farmers’ perceptions of monga mitigation technologies 15
Testing technologies for submergence-prone environments 17
4. Cuttack, India: Working Group 3 for salt-affected soils 19
Testing new germplasm for coastal saline ecosystems 20
Farmers’ perceptions of new germplasm for the coastal saline ecosystems 20
Testing improved crop management practices for the coastal saline ecosystem 22
Effects of technology on food security/livelihood enhancement 22
Evidence of technology adoption in coastal saline ecosystems 23
5. Luang Prabang, Laos: Working Group 4 for sloping rotational upland systems 25
Testing new rice germplasm for sloping rotational uplands 26
Farmers’ comments on germplasm for uplands conditions 26
Testing rice–pigeon pea intercrop to improve upland livelihoods 29
6. Hazaribag, India: Working Group 5 for drought-prone plateau uplands 31
Testing blast-resistant Anjali for the drought-prone ecosystem 32
Testing dry line-seeding establishment systems for drought-prone uplands 34
7. Arakan Valley, Philippines: Working Group 6 for intensive systems with a long 35
growing season
The community seed bank: organizing farmers for better seed health management 36
Testing mixed cropping as a buffer against crop failure 39
Two are better than one: testing rice genetic diversity for improved household food security 39
PART 3: What have we learned from qualitative assessments?
8. Pathways to impact: lessons learned from CURE qualitative assessments 42
CURE’s model for pro-poor technology development 42
CURE’s achievements under ADB-RETA 6136 43
Acknowledgments 46
References 46
iii
Preface
The Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE) Security in Diverse and Less-Favorable Rainfed Areas of
focuses on rice farming systems where low and unstable yields Asia, also known as ADB-RETA 6136, for the period January
are commonplace. These areas have extensive poverty, and 2004 to January 2007. This project was led by Dr. Mahabub
food insecurity prevails among the 100 million farm house- S. Hossain.
holds in Asia that depend on rice. Difficult environments with CURE built on the body of knowledge and technolo-
problem soils, reliance on unpredictable rains, and susceptibil- gies that have been developed, and it has promoted a wider
ity to flooding have meant that, in the past, farmers continued understanding of the role of farmer participatory research in
to grow mainly traditional varieties and use very few, if any, technology development. CURE has encouraged the develop-
external inputs. As a consequence, recent productivity gains ment and validation of technologies under farmer-managed
have been small. In order to improve the livelihoods of the conditions in order to tailor their development to “social,
millions of farmers in these unfavorable rice environments, cultural, and economic factors, as well as external policy and
an innovative approach was needed to tackle the challenges market forces.”
of sustainability and raising productivity. A series of case studies were undertaken to highlight the
CURE began in 2002 and is based on long-term partner- importance of linking technology development with farmer
ships between IRRI and the national agricultural research and. participatory research to achieve impact on the livelihoods of
extension systems (NARES) working in rainfed environments. resource-poor households in unfavorable environments. The
The Asian Development Bank supported CURE with a project technologies evaluated in this bulletin are an outcome of this
titled Integrating and Mobilizing Rice Knowledge to Improve ongoing research process.
and Stabilize Crop Productivity to Achieve Household Food
iv
PART 1
Introduction to research in
unfavorable rice ecosystems
CHAPTER 1. Partnering researchers with farmers
in unfavorable rice environments
What is CURE? ment. The new Consortium continued to pursue these efforts
with a farmer participatory research strategy. The technolo-
Although the recent economic miracle has raised living stan- gies evaluated in this bulletin are an outcome of this ongoing
dards in many Asian countries, “hot spots” of poverty still research process.
exist where rural households have difficulties growing enough An internationally coordinated approach brings certain
food and making enough income to support their families. advantages to research in the unfavorable environments be-
These are the unfavorable rice environments, or largely rain- cause of the diverse, complex, and severe nature of stresses
fed ecosystems, where farmers are at the mercy of nature as that affect rice production. In Raipur, India, for example, farm-
they lack reliable water control as in irrigated systems. The ers may face severe drought every three years, and frequent
Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE) is an drought may occur every season. Northeast Thailand may
international network of rice researchers who work to develop face severe drought three times every 10 years. The occur-
technologies to raise the cropping productivity of these rainfed rence of multiple stresses in a given season is also common in
ecosystems. CURE consists of six interdisciplinary working unfavorable ecosystems. At the coastal salinity site in Orissa
groups each dedicated to working in an ecosystem affected by State, India, farmers may face drought or flooding in a single
a predominant stress or that have low system productivity.1 season, in addition to the risks posed by soil salinity. In some
The working groups are drought-prone, submergence-prone, cases, farmers have developed indigenous farming practices
and salt-affected soils, for the lowland ecosystems. For the that are fairly well adapted to these ecosystems. In the bolon
uplands, working groups are the sloping rotational systems, double-transplanting system of northern Bangladesh, farmers
drought-prone plateau uplands, and intensive systems with are able to manipulate plant height to grow taller seedlings that
long growing seasons. CURE is guided by a Steering Com- can better survive in flooded fields. In other cases, indigenous
mittee consisting of senior managers of national agricultural systems are overstressed by human and natural pressures that
research systems of the host countries, which ensures that the have rendered rural households vulnerable to food insecurity.
research agenda conforms to the priorities of the respective In Laos, for example, population pressure has reduced fallow
countries. The IRRI member is the deputy director general for periods of upland rotational systems to just 4 years. Several
research. IRRI coordinates the management of Consortium decades ago, the literature reported these systems had 7- to 8-
activities. year fallows, which then was considered too short to maintain
CURE is the outgrowth of IRRI and NARES’ partnered long-term productivity (LeBar et al 1964:114).
research in rainfed environments dating back to the 1990s. The Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s achieved
This research was organized in the formal structure of the formidable results in terms of higher productivity for the
Rainfed Lowland Rice Research Consortium and the Upland relatively uniform growing requirements of irrigated systems.2
Rice Research Consortium. Following the recommendations Technologies developed on-station could be transferred to
of an external review, these consortia merged into CURE in farmers’ fields with relatively reasonable success because of
2002 to focus efforts in one organization and to bring synergy the similarity of irrigated environments. For unfavorable envi-
to the research process. Consequently, a body of knowledge ronments, on the other hand, research results on-station do not
and technologies were developed and research relationships readily translate into successful outcomes in farmers’ fields.
were established in the decade prior to CURE’s establish- Interventions have to be tailored to specific environmental,
1At its 2007 meeting in Vientiane, Laos, the CURE Steering Committee agreed in principle to merge into four working groups. The Steering Committee will
consider finalizing the merger at its 2008 meeting.
2We recognize that there is some diversity within the category of favorable rice ecosystems (Lansing 2007), but the degree of diversity is relatively higher in
unfavorable rice environments.
2
Table 1. CURE working groups per subecosystem, key sites, and collaborating host institutions, 2002-07.
Key site and
Lowland subecosystem Key site and collaborating institutions Upland subecosystem
collaborating institutions
WG1 Raipur, India WG4 Luang Prabang, Laos
Drought-prone Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya Sloping rotational systems Northern Agriculture and Forestry
Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand Research Center
Ubon Rice Research Center
WG2 Faizabad, India WG5 Hazaribag, India
Submergence-prone Narendra Dev University Drought-prone plateau Central Rainfed Upland Rice
of Agriculture & Technology Research Station
Rangpur, Bangladesh
Regional station of Bangladesh
Rice Research Institute
WG3 Cuttack, India WG6 Arakan Valley, Philippines
Salt-affected soils Central Rice Research Institute Intensive systems with long University of Southern Mindanao
growing season Lampung, Indonesia
Indonesian Center for Food Crops
Research and Development
social, and economic contexts of these ecosystems, requiring Table 2. Rainfed rice area and poverty ratios for countries where
scientists to develop technologies with farmers in the actual CURE operates.
environments where the technologies will be deployed. For Areaa Rainfed Poverty
example, varieties and management practices suitable for Region/country (000 ha) areab ratioc
transplanting systems of the salt-affected lowlands of coastal 2003-05 (%) (%)
India would be entirely inappropriate for the sloping rotational
upland systems of Laos, where seeds are dibbled into the soil, Southeast Asia 42,866 58 25.6
Cambodiad 2,167 92 34.0
and soil microenvironments are more diverse. Or submergence- Indonesia 11,734 46 27.0
prone crop management practices may be inappropriate for Laos 756 86 40.0
drought-prone plateau uplands where flooding is less likely to Myanmard 6,176 70 25.0
occur. Beyond purely agricultural concerns, the unfavorable Philippines 4,083 33 34.0
environments may differ according to social and economic Thailand 9,864 77 10.0
Vietnamd 7,412 45 28.0
contexts. Lowland sites may have better access to roads and South Asia 58,382 48 33.9
different kinds of marketing opportunities compared with Bangladesh 10,941 45 36.0
steeper upland sites, for example. India 42,750 46 34.0
For these purposes, CURE’s interdisciplinary working Nepald 1,537 51 38.0
groups (Table 1) of IRRI and national agricultural research and aFAOSTAT, FAO 2006 (accessed 30 Jan. 2006). bEstimated using data from World
extension system (NARES) scientists bring to bear a critical Rice Statistics and CORIFA of FAO. cWorld Development Indicators 2004. dSatellite
site, not supported by ADB-RETA 6136 Project
mass of scientific expertise to examine the multiple issues at Sources: as quoted in IRRI (2007).
stake in the unfavorable rice ecosystems (Bennett 2005). While
IRRI brings the technical expertise of an international research
center, the NARES partners bring their local familiarity with
cropping systems, soils, climate, and social, cultural, and eco-
nomic factors to the research table. Together, and working with The work in unfavorable environments can cover consid-
farmers, they are able to fit a technology to the ecosystem con- erable areas of national rice production lands. In Southeast Asia
ditions where farmers make a living. Furthermore, the CURE (Table 2), the percentage of rainfed area ranges from 33% in
research network allows cross-fertilization of ideas among the Philippines to 92% in Cambodia, while South Asian partner
research sites with similar problems. For example, herbicide countries have no less than 45% of total production area in
recommendations generated from the WG1-Raipur site were rainfed rice. In many cases, poverty alleviation has been slower
tested at WG5-Hazaribag. In another case, the community in areas dominated by rainfed systems compared with other
seed bank model developed at WG6-Arakan Valley has been rural areas of these countries. Poverty rates in India’s rainfed-
implemented at the WG6-Lampung site in Indonesia. dominated states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Uttar
3
Pradesh were 43.1%, 38.2%, 47.8%, and 34.1%, respectively, Entry point
compared to the national rural average of 29.2% for 2004-05
(Mahendra Dev and Ravi 2007). While poverty figures relate
Raise system
to economic conditions, data collected from CURE sites indi- productivity
cate other important problems regarding food production and (land & labor)
food security. Where farmers depend on traditional varieties,
yields may be as low as 1.0 to 1.5 t ha1 and food shortages Raise
income
may last anywhere from 3 to 9 months, depending on the
Improve food
socioeconomic status of the household, which is affected by Protect
security
environment
access to good-quality land, financial resources, and trading Encourage
networks. Male outmigration for wage-earning opportunities diversification
to improve household food security is a common strategy for
households to cope with food shortages.
Encourage
What, then, is the role of rice research in fighting rural less intensive
poverty? Technology alone will not get results, unless it is use of fragile land
critically linked to the overall livelihood system of poor rural
households. IRRI views increased system productivity as the Fig. 1. The virtuous circle, IRRI’s model for fighting poverty
entry point that can have a generative effect upon the liveli- for its 2007-15 strategic plan (Pandey 2005).
hood system. If a technology allows farmers to use land and
labor more efficiently, rural households have better chances
of growing enough food, which allows them to divert their
scarce resources into other income-generating activities such Often, though, the receiving environments dif-
as cash-cropping. As incomes rise, farmers have the opportu- fer from those in which the technologies have been
nity to reinvest back into the household, such as in children’s developed, being more complex, more diverse, less
education or in more sustainable farming practices that protect controllable, and more risk-prone. The technolo-
the environment. System productivity is further enhanced gies then cannot on any scale fit local conditions
with a secure natural resource base. IRRI terms this cyclical or human needs.
process the “virtuous circle” (Fig. 1). CURE technologies are
designed not just to improve rice yields but also to situate rice Even if a technology is viable for biophysical parameters,
technologies to improve system productivity. This may mean on-station research cannot account for social factors, such as
new establishment systems that use less labor and allow an land tenure, poor infrastructure, and lack of access to capital,
earlier rice harvest so that farmers can better time a postrice transport, and markets, that can constrain farmer adoption.
cash crop. Early-maturing rice varieties fit into this scheme, as Furthermore, farmers may have different criteria than scientists
they allow timelier harvests and sowing of sequential crops. in evaluating the usefulness of a technology. Even if farmers
In other cases, nonrice crops grown in tandem with rice buffer find a technology useful, they will probably modify it to suit
against crop losses and could provide marketing opportunities. the circumstances of their local situations (Chambers 1983).
In these ways, the rice-based system is diversified, allowing Farmer participatory methods are designed to identify these
farmers opportunities to spread risk over various activities for sorts of constraints and to elicit farmers’ criteria for judging the
an overall better livelihood. technologies. This is not just a matter of making sure farmers
will adopt something coming out of research centers. This is a
matter of mobilizing the research establishment toward com-
What is farmer participatory research? mitting resources to developing technologies that will make
Farmer participatory research is a cover term for an array a difference in farmers’ livelihoods.
of methodologies intended to integrate farmers’ knowledge, The process of farmer participatory research requires
experiences, and perspectives into the agricultural research scientists to welcome farmers as partners in developing new
process. As technologies are developed under the controlled technologies. In that way, these methods bring together two
experimental conditions of a research station, there is a need sorts of “experts” into the research process. One group of
to understand the actual circumstances under which farmers experts are the scientists, whose knowledge grounded in
would use them. The variable environments of soil types, empirical experimental research can contribute new technical
weather, and stresses that farmers confront, and the distribu- procedures for growing and managing crops. The other group
tion of labor in the household farming system, may not be of experts are the farmers who have an intimate knowledge of
easily replicated on the station. This is well articulated by the day-to-day conditions under which the technologies will
Chambers (1997): be used. Channeling both experts toward a common cause
4
is a relationship-building exercise that requires the develop- tices that may require households to considerably
ment of rapport, trust, and mutual respect between scientists modify labor allocation, input levels, and the timing
and farmers, and a realization that both parties bring valuable of seasonal activities. The introduction of direct-
knowledge into the research process. Relationship-building seeded rice establishment methods as an alternative
may require scientists to develop a new skill set to complement to transplanting systems is an example. On-farm
their technical qualifications. Scientists must develop listening experiments are challenging because farmers do not
skills that are sensitive to farmers’ concerns, and they must be observe the immediate results of the technology, as
willing to exercise patience as technologies are modified in in the case of adopting new varieties. Furthermore,
the iterative process of on-farm experimentation. Of course, new “off-the-shelf” management practices may have
building good relationships requires research scientists to step to be modified considerably before farmers achieve
out of their comfort zones to experience the sort of conditions the intended benefits of labor and cost savings.
that farmers actually face in rural areas. It will involve travel- The integration of farmer participatory research into proj-
ing long distances on poor, dusty roads and getting dirty and ect activities is not out of the reach of NARES partners who are
sweaty while walking fields in weather extremes in order to more used to conducting narrower, discipline-focused research.
meet farmers where they make a living. The effort may also Some CURE sites lack social science support, but biological
take considerable time away from scientists’ usual research scientists have done a commendable job through training and
duties. However, it is a truism that the developing world is guidance from IRRI social scientists. In most cases, scientists’
littered with technologies that started out as good ideas on proper “attitude” is the way to earn farmers’ cooperation and
the research station, but simply did not catch on with farmers. “gratitude” for successful outcomes. Experience in the ADB-
Farmer participatory research is essential for the efficient use of RETA 6136 Project also shows that capable field assistants
research resources as it can result in an effective application of can be key in fostering relationships with farmers, as they are
scientific knowledge to real-world problems of rural areas. frequently in the village to guide farmers through experiments.
So far, international agricultural research centers have They are an underestimated link that bridges the gaps in social
developed several farmer participatory methods that are com- status between farmers and scientists. Nevertheless, scientists
monly applied in research projects. These are need to be familiar with the key concepts and principles of
The participatory rural appraisal (PRA): This is an farmer participatory methods in order to manage the research
exercise conducted early in a project for purposes of and also to sensitively handle farmer interactions when they
characterizing a village’s natural social and economic visit villages.
environment where on-farm experiments will occur. Fortunately, IRRI social scientists have conducted train-
PRA involves focus group discussions, key informant ing and workshops to educate NARES’ scientists and staff
interviews, and the collection of secondary data, in about farmer participatory research. One such training is the
order to describe the farming system, existing indig- two-week Participatory Approaches to Agricultural Research
enous and new technologies, production problems, and Extension workshop conducted at IRRI headquarters, Los
and social/poverty categories, as articulated by the Baños, Philippines. Participants get actual practice in applying
farmers. Researchers use this information for design- techniques at a rural village near IRRI, and they develop an
ing interventions appropriate for the local context.3 action plan for their research center.
Participatory varietal selection (PVS): This is a Some CURE sites have local social science support,
process by which farmers evaluate new crop variet- people who work with biological scientists in the processes
ies/lines under on-farm conditions. PVS involves an of building relationships with farmers. A good example is the
initial round of researcher-managed on-farm “mother CURE Working Group 6 site at Arakan Valley, Philippines,
trials,” from which farmers choose preferable mate- where social and technical specialists have established a
rials, which are then evaluated in farmer-managed Community Seed Bank, which is a network of seed producers
“baby trials,” to give them actual experience in test- who agree to follow proper seed health practices to provide
ing new germplasm. In both trials, visiting farmers a reliable supply of quality seed to the community. Farmers
vote their preferences, which is followed up with a reported that their participation has helped them to overcome
group discussion to generate their criteria for their seed scarcity that made them vulnerable to food insecurity.
selections. Farmers took the initiative to formalize the network as the
On-farm experimentation: Scientists work with Arakan Community Seed Bank Organization, which is of-
farmers to develop new crop management prac- ficially recognized by the Arakan municipal government. As
3We use the term “participatory rural appraisal” in the broadest sense as commonly understood by scientists in the CG system. Some specialists, such as Robert
Chambers (1994, 1997), would describe these practices as a rapid rural appraisal, whereby “information is more elicited and extracted by outsiders” (1994).
He distinguishes PRA as a community organizing tool to “enable rural people to share, enhance, and analyze their knowledge of life and conditions, to plan
and to act” (1994). In either case, the knowledge gained from either practice is designed to involve rural households by informing the research process of their
actual needs.
5
Participatory varietal selection (PVS), as conducted at Hazaribag, India, is now a
standard at CURE key sites. PVS allows both men and women farmers to evaluate
cultivars (left). Farmers can vote their preferences (right), which gives plant breed-
ers direct feedback for varietal development.
a locally recognized institution, the ACSBO can sustain the impacts on the livelihoods of resource-poor households in
benefits generated from farmer participatory research into the unfavorable environments. The project, as approved by ADB,
years to come. identified four major outputs:
1. Feasible cropping innovations that combine
complementary technologies for increasing
What is the ADB-RETA 6136 Project? productivity and reducing risks in rice-based
The 2002 merger that resulted in CURE gave impetus to carry cropping systems developed and evaluated with
the body of research knowledge and technologies forward for farmers; and experiences shared across key sites
farmer validation and the potential for dissemination beyond of the target rainfed environments;
the CURE sites. With this view in mind, the Asian Develop- 2. Knowledge distilled into decision tools, manage-
ment Bank (ADB) approved in late 2003 CURE’s proposal ment principles, and operational guidelines that
for the three-year project Integrating and Mobilizing Rice are extension-ready; and extrapolation domains
Knowledge to Improve and Stabilize Crop Productivity to of improved production systems identified;
Achieve Household Food Security in Diverse and Less-Fa- 3. Capacity of NARES strengthened for implement-
vorable Rainfed Areas of Asia, also known as ADB-RETA ing integrative and participatory technology
6136. While much progress had been made in the prior years development and dissemination; and
of research, CURE’s proposal argued that actual impacts had 4. Farmer acceptability and viability of innovative
yet to be achieved at the farm level because of the “diverse production systems assessed; and policymakers
biophysical and socioeconomic conditions” in the unfavorable and development authorities sensitized on sup-
environments. To overcome these constraints, CURE proposed porting sector needs for wider adoption.
to further test new technologies under farmer-managed condi-
tions in order to tailor their development to “social, cultural, Outputs 1 and 2 are conceived as “tangible products
and economic factors, as well as external policy and market targeted at farmers.” In other words, these outputs highlight
forces….” In other words, CURE proposed to link technol- the “downstream” nature of the CURE network in terms of
ogy development to its already established record of farmer developing technologies tailored to farmers’ needs and actual
participatory research for achieving observable and measurable social and natural environments, and then packaging them into
6
Percent
increase 22 47 91 46 23 75
over FVFM
Grain yield (t ha1)
4
0
2005 WS 2006 DS
Farmers var. + farmers mgmt. Farmers var. + improved mgmt.
Improved var. + farmers mgmt. Improved var. + improved mgmt.
Fig. 2. Yield enhancement due to improved management practices and salt-tolerant rice varieties in farmers’
fields in coastal saline soils, 2005 dry season and 2006 wet season. Source: Singh et al (2007).
deliverable products for wider dissemination where they can be increases under any condition. Yields in the 2005 wet season
adapted to similar environments. Although technology devel- and 2006 dry season were almost the same under improved
opment is relatively site-specific in unfavorable environments, varieties and improved management practices, but the absolute
CURE’s experience shows that some generalizations can be percentage yield increase declined from the average of 91%
made about the research process. Germplasm was identified, in the 2005 wet season to 75% in the 2006 dry season. The
or else developed, to better withstand the stresses related to probable reason for this was that, just by observing, farmers
these ecosystems, and matching crop management practices had raised their base-level yields under the farmers’ variety
were developed that enhance the genetic potential of the new and farmers’ management from 1.83 t ha1 in the wet season
varieties. While better germplasm alone can achieve higher to 1.99 t ha1 in the dry season.
productivity, the integration of crop management practices Although the technology development process is keyed to
can improve the chances of new varieties to more fully realize specific environmental contexts, other themes have emerged
their productive potential. about the categories of crop management practices that could
Figure 2 makes this point explicit for the coastal salinity improve productivity in unfavorable environments. These
environment. Improved varieties with improved management practices can be generalized in the following categories:
outyielded farmers’ usual management and usual varieties by Improved nursery management practices to produce
91% and 75% for the 2005 wet season and 2006 dry season, re- robust seedlings better able to withstand stresses after
spectively. In both cases, the new varieties reached an output of transplanting to the main field, and seedling handling
3.5 t ha1, which gives farmers the potential to stabilize yields practices for better timing of transplanting to the main
over the two seasons. The data also indicate that management field.
can be more important for germplasm to achieve its potential Main field management practices, such as nutrient
in the less-favorable conditions of the dry season when salinity management, that promote the recovery of trans-
is relatively high in comparison to the wet season. Improved planted rice from the stresses of that ecosystem.
management increased the yield of farmers’ usual variety by Direct-seeded, line-sown crop establishment systems
46% in the dry season vis-à-vis only 22% in the wet season. that improve crop productivity and usually allow for
However, improved varieties with farmers’ management earlier rice harvest, and that give opportunities for
achieved only a 23% yield increase in the dry season compared system diversification through intercropping, mixed
with a 47% increase in the wet season. This would indicate that cropping, or sequenced cropping regimes.
varietal improvement can achieve significant results regardless Proper seed health management and storage practices
of management under relatively “favorable” conditions of these to assure a supply of good-quality seed for the next
“unfavorable” ecosystems. In any case, improved varieties and year’s planting.
improved management practices give the highest absolute yield
7
Outputs 3 and 4 have less immediate impact on farm- is needed to continue to train additional personnel (as some
ers but involve other important stakeholders who can affect trained personnel have since left), build skills levels for more
farmers’ welfare in the long term. These are more strategic effective implementation, and also update national system
outputs that work toward building a knowledge framework practitioners on the latest advances in participatory approaches.
of common understanding for continued research and policy On the other hand, national system practitioners can use their
initiatives needed to improve livelihoods in unfavorable in-the-field experiences to contribute to discussions to further
environments. The ADB-RETA 6136 Project provided the develop these methods.
support to build NARES capacity to conduct farmer partici- Efforts to achieve Output 4 brought mixed results, as the
patory research through IRRI training, workshops, and IRRI policy arena is a relatively new venue for agricultural scientists
social scientists’ consultations with NARES. This was also more used to a narrower sector for technology development.
necessary for successful completion of the project, as farmer Furthermore, the vagaries and intricacies of local and national
participatory practices were built into the logical framework. political systems are often difficult to influence for positive
The first CURE Steering Committee meeting during the outcomes. Nevertheless, some sites succeeded in getting the
project included the workshop Innovative Research Methods local government’s agricultural officials to support CURE
and Strategies in June 2004 at Ubon, Thailand, to expose the activities through seed distribution and by extending credit to
CURE key site coordinators to these methods. A few months farmers for purchasing crop inputs. CURE has also developed
later, an IRRI social science team conducted comprehensive NGO partnerships through which promising technologies
in-country training for partners in Laos, where social science could be distributed to wider areas beyond the project sites.
capacity is not as well developed as in other countries where NGOs with agricultural field staff usually achieve the best
CURE operates. To further upgrade farmer participatory skills, results, as CURE’s staff at key sites may be too limited to
the CURE Steering Committee recommended that all key sites scale out technologies over a broad geographic area. Capable
should make available to staff the Participatory Approaches field staff are a critical link should farmers encounter problems
to Agricultural Research and Extension annual training work- and need follow-up support in guiding them in the use of the
shop at IRRI. All key sites sponsored at least one participant new technologies.
to receive this training in either 2005 or 2006. This training
laid a foundation of basic skills in implementing farmer par-
ticipatory approaches at the CURE key sites. Further training
8
CHAPTER 2. The methodologies of this study
Why qualitative methods? Although quantitative results can be very accurate,
researchers are still left to their assumptions about why farm-
This study employed qualitative methodologies to assess ers behaved in the ways indicated by the numerical indices.
the impacts of CURE technologies on the rural households Qualitative data can confirm whether farmers’ rationale for
where they were tested. Qualitative methods seek out farm- adoption is the same as scientists’ rationale for proposing
ers’ perspectives on the new technologies in an effort to the technology, and, if not, why not. The qualitative data
uncover their rationale for adopting or not adopting them. In can also identify cultural constraints not readily identifiable
other words, qualitative methods seek to answer the question as the NARES partners may come from a different social
“why” in the words of farmers. In this way, we can identify class or even cultural background than rural householders.
critical constraints and opportunities in the technology adop- Our Bangladesh data identified social class prestige factors
tion process. This provides useful feedback for researchers to that prevented farmers with medium-size landholdings from
modify technologies to make them more useful to farmers. If seeking outside employment during slack laboring periods, for
the study finds that the technologies are useful, researchers can example. Furthermore, a rigorous quantitative survey may be
then gain insights into farmers’ decision-making processes for too costly and may take too much time for project monitor-
developing future technologies that meet farmers’ criteria. It ing. In this case, results were obtained rather rapidly within
is obvious that qualitative methods are a natural fit for farmer the means of the project budget in order to apprise essential
participatory research in which researchers continually interact project personnel about the effects of the research on rural
with farmers to tailor technologies to their requirements. households’ livelihoods.
Qualitative methods can be best contrasted to quantitative
methods in which researchers use numerical indices to describe
the outcomes of farmers’ behaviors. There is a vigorous debate
Methodologies employed for CURE’s
in the research community about the merits of the use of either
qualitative assessments
methodological approach. It sometimes seems that quantita- The basic social science tool employed for this study was the
tive methods are more “objective” as results are reduced to a focus group discussion with participating farmers. A set of
single number that is sanitized of researchers’ biases. It may open-ended guide questions was designed to elicit discussion
also seem that qualitative methods are too dependent on the about a range of issues about farmers’ specific experiences
researchers’ subjectivities and may even reflect an ideologi- in using the technologies, the results on crop performance,
cal persuasion. The arguments either way can be overstated intent to adopt, and overall issues of food security and effects
and even polarizing as practitioners of either method claim on household livelihood. The questions were formulated from
that their approach is more effective in getting to the “truth” project documents that specified the expected outcomes, so
about events in the real world. We contend that this debate is farmers’ responses could be judged against scientists’ original
a needless expenditure of intellectual energy, as both methods assumptions. The questions were usually asked in the local
have their strengths and weaknesses, and both methods can language using a field assistant or scientist involved in CURE
contribute considerable insight to research questions. The old activities. Notes were hand-written during the discussions and,
research adage “garbage in, garbage out” applies here. Either as soon as practicable afterward, written into a word-processing
method can obtain poor results if the methods are improperly program for later analysis.
applied. To be sure, qualitative methods are now a standard In general, we were able to follow the social science
in social scientists’ toolkit, and they have been shown to be literature regarding a prescribed size of 4 to 12 participants
effective in research in both the public and private sector per group (Krueger 1994:17). However, sometimes the groups
(Krueger 1994:27-30). were double the recommended size. A focus group in the NGO
9
Table 3. Sites of CURE qualitative assessments for ADB-RETA 6136 Project.
CURE key site Dates Sites
Hazaribag, India 2-5 Nov. 2006 CURE sites
WG5 drought-prone plateau uplands Amin Village, Chatra District; Lupung Village, Hazaribag
District; Kuchu Village, Ranchi District
NGO sites
Ankaran NGO Training Center, Chatra District; Pawo Village,
Chatra District; Asani Village, Chatra District
Cuttack, India 29-30 Nov. 2006 CURE sites
WG3 salt-affected lowlands Kimilo, Erasama block, Jagatsinghpur District; Chaulia,
Erasama block, Jagatsingphur District
Luang Prabang, Laos 27-28 Feb. 2007 IFAD Project sites
WG4 rotational sloping uplands Nam Haeang Tai, Oudomxay Province; Nam Haeng Neua,
Oudomxay Province
Rangpur, Bangladesh 27-29 March 2007 CURE sites
WG2 submergence-prone lowlands Dharmondas Village, Tampat block; Sheikpara Village,
Darshona block; Kishamot Habu, Gangachara upazilla
NGO site
Babarighar Village, Nilpharmari Shadar upazilla
Arakan Valley, Philippines 26-28 June 2007 CURE site
WG6 intensive upland systems with long Arakan Valley, North Cotabato Province, Mindanao Island
growing season
Raipur, India 30 Oct.-2 Nov. 2007 (analysis CURE sites
WG1 drought-prone lowlands under way and unavailable for Tarra Village, Raipur District; Hingnia Village, Durg District;
this publication) Kotanpali Village, Mahasas-mund District
village, Asani, India (WG5), involved about 25 farmers. In consider the participating farmers “experts” in the technology
this case, farmers came from three neighboring villages as adoption process as they could relate their firsthand experiences
transportation would have been difficult for us to reach each in trying out the technology under their actual conditions. This
village for separate discussions in such a limited time frame. was the case at Hazaribag, where farmers in two villages were
This was also the situation in Arakan Valley, Philippines, where extremely busy sowing fields with a postrice chickpea crop. In
about 25 farmers involved in three different technology inter- this case, we conducted interviews with farmers in the field.
ventions assembled at one location due to logistical constraints Although the data were not as extensive as in formal focus
in doing separate focus group discussions. In most cases, the group discussions, the fact that farmers were sowing a postrice
focus group “event” attracted nonparticipating farmers from crop indicated to us that a project outcome had been achieved,
the same or a nearby village. Many of these farmers actually that is, crop diversification. Furthermore, we obtained valuable
provided useful comments on whether or not they would be insights into scientist-farmer exchanges as the fields were be-
interested in trying the technologies used by their neighbors. In ing sowed. We also had to resort to key informant interviews
other cases, some of the nonparticipants provided extraneous when there were problems in being able to arrange for farmers
information that seemed irrelevant to the issues at hand, which to assemble at a particular location. This was the case for an
required a tighter management of the discussion. NGO village at Hazaribag, and security precautions prevented
Where farmers could not be easily drawn to a location as a us from visiting the village.4 Instead, we were able to interview
group, key informant interviews were conducted of individual two farmers who happened to be at the NGO’s training center
farmers. A “key informant” is a person with a specialized in Chatra Town.
knowledge of a certain topic, in other words, an “expert” Logistical and scheduling difficulties prevented us from
who can fluently discuss most aspects of the subject. We can doing impact assessments at all key sites (Table 3). However,
4 Ata few CURE sites, some villages are located in areas affected by political and social turmoil, often requiring precautions to assure security of visitors. In
Jharkhand State, India, the Naxhalite insurgency continues to be active, including at some areas where CURE and NGOs work with farmers.
10
Focus group discussions for qualitative assessments took place where farmers could be easily assembled: (from top, clockwise) in the field, Kotanpali Vil-
lage, India; a local restaurant, Arakan Valley, Philippines; a popular village meeting area, Kuchu Village, India.
we believe that we have selected sites that fairly represent have access to nonparticipating villages where NGOs or local
the kind of work that was done under the ADB-RETA 6136 government units had introduced the technologies. This was
Project. In all, we have two lowland ecosystems and three entirely the case in Laos, where the WG4 team had handed off
upland ecosystems represented. Furthermore, the Hazaribag new technologies to local governments in Oudomxay Province
site, although an upland site, is a continuum with the lowland through an IFAD loan program. We were very interested in
drought-prone ecosystem with which it shares certain charac- nonproject sites as this would allow us to assess the accept-
teristics.5 At each site, we attempted to prioritize our efforts on ability of the technologies to farmers beyond the CURE sites
CURE villages, although in some cases we were fortunate to where they were developed.
5 While this publication was in progress, a qualitative assessment was conducted at the WG1 key site for drought-prone lowlands at Raipur, India (30 Oct.-2
Nov. 2007). Results were being compiled and were unavailable at the time of producing this publication.
11
The results of this study are limited by several factors with negative points about the technologies, which
in the application of qualitative methods in an international indicates the forthrightness of their opinions. We can
agricultural technology context. Briefly, they are also attribute farmers’ openness to a spirit of trust that
Lack of a control group: Qualitative research can was built between the researchers and farmers during
benefit from the usual quantitative methodology the life of the project.
of doing a parallel survey of a disparate group for Translator fatigue: After an hour or so of group discus-
comparison purposes. For this study, however, focus sion, researchers can become mentally fatigued with
group discussions were conducted only with project translating the dialogue from the local language to
participants, who were obviously committed to the English. This may affect the extent and precision of
program. We did not interview people who dropped the translation late in the discussion as the researcher
out of the research program, which would have given is too tired to elaborate all points made by farmers.
us insights into farmers’ constraints about the technol- This is also a management issue, as the social scientist
ogy. should craft a more deliberate question guide that
Language fluency: Anthropologists have long ad- addresses the main points of the research rather than
vocated the use of the informants’ local language in copious minutiae.
order to get an “insider’s” rich view of the culture.
Some CURE sites are home to ethnic minority groups We note that the above limitations can occur with any
that use the national language as a secondary means research method, qualitative or quantitative. The key is to be
of communication, usually for marketing or dealing aware of limitations and control for them as much as possible
with outside officials. Our farmer discussions in Laos and try to overcome them with redundant methodologies. As
were such a case, where the Lao national language a corrective, we conducted more than one focus group dis-
was used in discussions with the Khmu ethnic minor- cussion, when possible, at each site, with the intent to record
ity. common themes emerging from farmers’ perspectives.6 In
Gender divide: It was not always possible to do sepa- this way, we could evaluate which points were significant for
rate group discussions with women, although this did the technology development and identify minor points as an
occur at Cuttack. But, in that case, the discussions outlier category.
were facilitated by male researchers, which can affect
an open exchange of ideas between genders.
Social and cultural gaps: Resource-poor farmers are
generally of a lower social status than researchers
with a formal education from national universities.
There may be a tendency for farmers to say what
researchers “want to hear” out of respect for the
higher status of the researchers, or else to assure the
continued flow of project material to the village. Al-
though this is possible, farmers did often come forth
6 Only in Arakan Valley did we conduct a single focus group discussion, but this was followed up with farm visits, which helped us to relate farmers’ comments
to their field conditions.
12
PART 2
Impacts assessed at
CURE key sites
CHAPTER 3. Rangpur, Bangladesh: Working Group 2
for submergence-prone lowlands
The Rangpur Regional Station of the Bangladesh Rice Re- the early monsoon from about March through July/August. In
search Institute (BRRI) is one of CURE’s two key sites for some cases, farmers may combine the irrigated season of boro
the submergence-prone lowlands. The other site is located at with the rainfed potential of aus, for the braus season.
Faizabad, India. Rangpur is in northwestern Bangladesh, where Flash floods and seasonal stagnant waters are constraints
there are three predominant growing seasons, each of which to rice production in this environment. However, the 2006 wet
has its own cropping requirements based on climate and water season was atypically dry, which limited our ability to assess
availability. The traditional wet-season crop, T. aman, is grown technologies developed for the submergence-prone environ-
during the monsoon season that extends from mid-June through ment. Only one village reported a flash flood, and it lasted
November/December. The dry-season crop, boro, which is ir- only 2 days, although the technologies were designed to allow
rigated by tube wells, is from November/December to about rice to survive submergence for up to 2 weeks. While it was
mid-June. A third crop, aus, is possible by taking advantage of fortunate that farmers did not have to endure flood damage,
kilometers
Fig. 3. Rangpur District, in northwestern Bangladesh, is a CURE key site for submergence-prone
lowlands.
14
Table 4. Social structure of monga, Rangpur District, Bangladesh.
Landholding category Landholding size (ha) % of population Food security status
Large (wealthy) 1.0−2.0 10 Secure
Medium 0.50−0.60 20 Vulnerable 2−4 months
Agricultural laborers 0 25 Purchase food
Nonagricultural laborers 0 45 Purchase food
the conditions were not suitable for the first year of on-farm variety BR 11 can be seeded by mid-June, and the newly intro-
tests of the submergence-prone variety Swarna-Sub1.7 Other duced short-duration variety BRRI dhan 33 can be seeded by
technologies introduced here were nursery practices designed late June. The direct-seeding practices introduced to farmers
to raise quality seedlings able to better withstand and recover include wet direct seeding by a drum seeder in puddled soil
from submergence. and dry direct seeding by a lithao in dry soil on medium lands
However, we were able to engage farmers in considerable and highlands. These new practices contrast with farmers’ use
discussion about WG2-Rangpur’s introduction of early rice of single- or double-transplanting methods known as naicha
establishment systems for mitigating monga, the food-short or bolon, respectively. Naicha is done on medium and high
and labor-slack period right before harvest of the T. aman rice levels of the toposequence, where flooding is less likely to
crop. An earlier rice establishment provides better timing for occur (Azad and Hossain 2006: 2-4). Bolon is an indigenous
planting two later (rice or nonrice) crops, which can intensify management practice in which farmers manipulate seedling
the farming system with year-round production on the same growth to get taller plants that are better able to withstand the
plot of ground. The objective is to relieve food shortages and high water level in the lowland after flooding. After seeding in
unemployment during hungry months, while raising the overall the nursery (bechan bari), seedlings are transplanted at dense
system productivity for remunerative cash crops. Actually, a spacing (10 10 cm) in a fertilized plot on highland (bolon
second monga occurs in boro, but WG2-Rangpur prioritized bari). When the risk of floods recedes about 1 month later,
the T. aman period as they consider it to be more severe. farmers finally transplant to the main field (dhan bari) in the
lowlands. Even if flooding should occur, the aged, tall plants
are better able to survive floodwaters.
Testing direct-seeding practices to mitigate monga:
the rice-potato-maize cropping system
Monga occurs from mid-September to mid-November (in
Farmers’ perceptions of monga mitigation
Bengali, these are the months from Ashwin to Kartik) when
technologies
rice is at the flowering to ripening stage. At this time, owners Rice component
of medium-sized farms have to borrow from moneylenders at Farmers indicated that BR 11 gave better yields when direct
unfavorable rates to secure cash for buying food, whereas land- seeded by a drum seeder compared with naicha and bolon
less laborers have to seek employment inside and outside of traditional practices. Yields ranged from 4.0 to 6.5 t ha1 with
the village. The additional debt is burdensome for the medium- a drum seeder compared with maximum yields of 4.6 and 4.0
landholding farmers who have already incurred educational t ha1 with bolon and naicha, respectively. These figures can-
expenses for their children. These farmers are of a higher not be generalized to the whole project because they do not
social status, and prestige factors inhibit their willingness to include yields from farmers who used these practices but did
find laboring jobs to earn income. As one man put it, “How not participate in the focus group discussion. However, the
can I go to other people asking for work? I hire people for my fact that farmers were able to harvest by mid-October to early
farm.” Monga, then, has implications that radiate through the November (versus late November or December) indicates that
community social structure (Table 4) as it affects owners of the project achieved a major objective for earlier harvesting
medium landholdings, who, as a class, are upwardly mobile, with little yield penalty, and with probably a yield gain by using
and the landless laborers who depend on the large and medium- their usual variety. When asked why they could not establish
landholding farmers for employment. WG2-Rangur’s monga rice earlier with traditional methods, farmers said that it would
mitigation approach involves the introduction of direct-seed- require irrigation, which would be cost-prohibitive. They said
ing practices to establish rice 3 to 4 weeks earlier than by the they were unaware of any other methods for earlier crop estab-
traditional transplanting practices. The long-duration popular lishment until CURE began to work in their villages.
7 WG2-Rangpur had better success evaluating Swarna-Sub1 under natural flooded conditions with extensive area-wide on-farm tests in 2007.
15
CURE was able to introduce a limited amount of short- Table 5. Seasonal rice price fluctuations as reported by farmers,
Rangpur District, Bangladesh.
duration variety BRRI dhan 33 to some farmers, and it attracted
considerable attention from their neighbors because of their Price Price
Month
interest in the earlier maturity. As one farmer put it: “I would (taka kuree−1)a (taka kg−1)
like to use BRRI dhan 33 because it is an early-maturing va-
riety. Up to now, I didn’t know much about it until I saw my Mid-march to June 170 12.97
June to mid-September 120−125 9.16−9.54
neighbor planting it. You can harvest it 1520 days early.”
Mid-September to end of November 150 11.45
Farmers’ interest appears to be widespread because farmers December to mid-March 120 9.16
at Babarijhar Village indicated that BRRI dhan 33 is now pre-
aA kuree is a local unit of volume equivalent to 13.1 kg.
ferred over BR 11 in the highlands because of the promotional
efforts of the Udyonkur Seba Sangstha (USS), a local NGO
working in Nilpharmari District.
The labor-saving aspects of direct seeding drew favor- lowered productivity from poor-quality seed reduces their
able comments compared with the labor-intensive bolon. As return on investment. This appears to be a chronic problem in
farmers reported, the numerous tasks in bolon involve nursery potato-growing areas that may not be easily addressed. Some
preparation, sowing, and uprooting seedlings from the nursery, farmers said they could avoid this debt cycle by growing crops
and then field preparation and transplanting to the first field in such as mustard and wheat, which also require less labor.
the highland, and field preparations and final uprooting and
transplanting to the second main field in the lowland. Uproot- Food security/employment situation during monga
ing and transplanting operations may require as many as 4 to 5 Farmers described monga as a serious problem, which they
laboring-days per done, a local unit of land measure equivalent say is being mitigated by the new technologies. A farmer
to 0.10 ha, which can be a considerable labor cost that is not in Kishamot Habu Village related: “There is monga here.
incurred using direct-seeding methods. There is no employment [at that time], and rice prices are
high. There is no food in the house.” By harvesting rice
Sequence crop component early, rural households can benefit from higher prices due
System intensification to mitigate monga also has positive to rice shortages at monga. According to farmers’ reports,
benefits for establishing an early sequence crop of potato. the cost of rice can fluctuate by Tk 34 kg1 between monga
Farmers related that early-established potatoes avoid late blight and the months when supplies are plentiful (Table 5). Anoth-
that requires a spraying at 7-day intervals for a total of 1015 er economic benefit is that straw prices are higher because
sprayings per potato-growing season. As they continue to spray of supply shortages at monga. Straw is used for livestock
over several seasons, the treatments become less effective, feed.
requiring higher application rates and obtaining lower yield, With the adoption of new technologies, a certain kind of
they said. One spraying costs taka (Tk) 3,705 ha1, which can community dynamic occurs that results in tangible benefits
amount to a production cost of Tk 44,460 ha1 for 12 spray- to the various categories of people, both well-off and very
ings. Cutworms also infest late potato, requiring one or two poor. The landless agricultural workers are able to get work
sprayings. A bottle of insecticide is Tk 70 per 0.10 ha, or about and the medium-landholding farmers can harvest rice early
Tk 700 ha1, excluding application costs. to improve their food security. Both medium-landholding and
Farmers said that early potato establishment considerably large-landholding farmers are able to sell their rice and also
decreases the number of sprayings to control late blight to as straw when prices are higher because of the monga shortages.
few as two or three per potato growing season. As one farmer The landowners said they benefit from lower wage rates during
put it, “This year, I tried Diamant (a potato variety) supplied by the high unemployment period of monga.
the project. Potato was sown on 30 November, and I sprayed A good example of this dynamic is the case of a medium-
only four to five times. Without the technology, I would have landholding farmer who holds an off-farm job, so his land is
to spray at least 10 times per potato growing season.” cultivated entirely by nonhousehold laborers. He is support-
The fact that the project supplied foundation seed from a ing a 22-year-old son in college, and the education of two
potato seed multiplication center might also raise the system’s younger sons and a daughter. He reported that the amount of
productivity, as it is often out of the financial reach of especially money borrowed to get through monga has been halved from
the poorer farmers. The project supplied 60-day potato variety Tk 20,000 to Tk 10,000. He said, “If people can grow rice,
Patronees, and farmers averaged about 18.0 t ha1 compared many people will have opportunities to work in the fields.
with on-station results of 17.7 t ha1. Farmers were also sup- The landless people will be able to work in the field and will
plied with 90-day Diamant, which averaged 20.4 t ha1 on-farm benefit from the jobs.
compared with 22.0 t ha1 on-station. Farmers complained that “These technologies might not reduce monga 100%, but
good-quality seed is expensive, so they take out production at least 50% of the landless people could benefit from monga
loans at unfavorable rates from moneylenders. Therefore, the mitigation,” he added.
16
Villagers also mentioned that improved rice produc- this technology is further indication of their deep interest in
tion also smoothens the relationships between the better-off adopting it. This is the sort of self-help approach taught by the
and poorer social groupings. The rich farmers’ social status USS NGO that seeks to energize community members to seek
increases because they have enough rice to lend to poorer rela- out their own solutions.
tives for surviving during monga. There is no interest charged
for lending rice to relatives. The borrower pays it back with
no interest or can sometimes pay it back with labor. In addi-
Testing technologies for submergence-prone
tion, rich farmers can give work opportunities to day-laborers
environments
during monga. Although the rainfall shortage did not make 2006 an ideal
year for doing on-farm research for submergence-prone
Evidence of the adoption of direct-seeding prac- environments, we did pursue discussions with farmers on
tices to mitigate monga technologies deployed for flash-flood conditions. The FGDs
Evidence of farmers’ adoption was apparent from their ex- revealed insights into farmers’ thinking on these technologies
pressed intention to expand direct-seeding practices in the and how they would fit into their farming systems. Through
coming cropping season. “It is important to be able to test it the process of discussion, we could discern how the technolo-
first,” a farmer related. “We got a good crop, and the other gies would have to be modified to make them acceptable for
people saw it and were surprised. So now they want to par- eventual adoption. What follows are farmers’ perceptions of
ticipate.” Farmers said they devoted a small amount of land, quality seedling raising and the newly released Swarna-Sub1,
perhaps 0.1 ha, to the new practices for testing in the first year, which was developed to improve rice survival under flooded
and then they planned to expand the area by about threefold conditions.
in the next cropping season. For example, in Kishamot Habu
village, there were two farmers with 0.9 and 1.0 ha total land- Quality seedling raising
holdings, who planned to expand the new practice from 0.1 ha The working group has been developing nursery management
in 2006 to 0.30.4 ha in 2007. At the NGO village Babarijhar, practices involving lower seeding rates and the use of nutri-
Nilpharmari District, one farmer plans to double potato area ent inputs that would develop healthier seedlings better able
to 0.53 ha in 2007. “Because of the early potato establishment to withstand submergence. The researchers intended for this
due to early harvest of aman rice, I am interested in growing new technology to replace the bolon system as it would save
more potato,” he said. the labor of the various tasks involved in double transplant-
In the meantime, nonparticipating farmers have been ing. However, a socioeconomic study done at Rangpur (Azad
watching the results in neighbors’ fields, and they decided and Hossain 2006:16) found bolon to be an efficient practice
to try out the new practices. For example, one nonparticipat- in terms of rice yield and net return despite higher labor costs
ing farmer will try out direct seeding on 0.2 ha of his 0.6-ha than with single transplanting. The report recommended that
landholdings, citing labor savings, earlier rice harvest for more researchers refine the system rather than replace it altogether.
timely potato seeding, and ability to intensify to three crops Farmers’ comments from the focus group discussion comple-
per year. “These people are doing it,” he said. “I ask myself, mented the quantitative study, as farmers indicated they would
‘Why am I not doing it?’” prefer to use bolon on flood-prone lands and reserve the qual-
Regarding the use of a lithao for direct dry-seeding estab- ity seedling practice for medium-level lands where single
lishment, a landless farmer in the NGO village reported that his transplanting was dominant. The qualitative data were able to
rice looked the same “as transplanted rice” on 0.15 ha of rented discern farmers’ decision-making process to further educate
land. He wanted to expand to 0.3 ha in 2007. If his situation researchers about the crop production requirements for this
is representative of that of similar farmers, then adopting the village’s particular ecology.
lithao may be feasible for landless farmers. Another farmer Kutipara Dharmodas under Sheikpara village is a tribal
established one-third of his 0.4-ha land area with a lithao, and (adibasi) community in which farmers divide their lands into
he wants to establish rice with a lithao on the entire farm in five categories, of which three are cultivated for rice. These
the next year. Of the group of 12 farmers in the discussion, are the highlands, or 12.5% of the available land on which
about four raised their hands when asked if they wanted to rice is established by single transplanting. The medium sec-
use the lithao. “If the USS (NGO) does not continue to work tion consists of medium highland, medium land, and medium
with us, we will continue because direct seeding gives better lowland. Of this land, farmers cultivate only medium lowland
yield than transplanted rice,” one farmer said. Any expansion by using a transplanting practice involving split tillers. The
here might be limited by the fact that the only two lithaos were medium lowlands are 12.5% of the available land cultivated
available in the village, supplied by the BRRI Regional Station, here. The lowlands are the largest land category, 75%, where
Rangpur. But the farmers discussed possible ways they could rice is established by bolon double transplanting. The varieties
support additional implements, perhaps by pooling their funds. used are BR 11 and Red Swarna, the latter an Indian variety
The fact that farmers were discussing an initiative to pursue that is not registered in Bangladesh but is available through
17
farmer-to-farmer seed exchange. Farmers were able to get considered before upscaling the technology to other villages.
Swarna-Sub1 through CURE, although flooding was not a We should also note that the fertilizer regime seems rather
problem during the season. complicated for an on-farm field experiment. Certainly, under
In the usual system, farmers use very few purchased inputs researchers’ guidance, farmers might be able to achieve favor-
for nutrient management. The usual input is cow dung applied able results, but farmers may forget the exact rates once the
to the nursery. If seedlings are yellowing, then farmers may project support ends.
apply urea at 20 days after seeding. Other purchased inputs
may be insecticides to control thrips. Swarna-Sub1 performance
For the quality seedling raising trials, the research team Swarna-Sub1 is the first product of advanced molecular tech-
recommended a lower seeding rate (at 50 g m2), and a nutri- niques, and 2006 was the first year that the variety reached
ent regime consisting of farmers at CURE’s submergence-prone sites in Bangladesh
Farmyard manure (FYM), 40 kg per decimal8 and India (WG2-Faizabad) for testing. Although developed to
Urea, 528 g decimal1 tolerate up to 2 weeks of flash floods, the sites doing on-farm
Triple superphosphate (TSP), 253 g decimal1 testing experienced an unusually dry year in 2006 in which
Zinc, 225 g decimal1 flash flooding was not a serious problem. At Rangpur, one of
Furadan (carbofuran), 40 g decimal1 (for nematode the villages, Kishamot Habu, tested Swarna-Sub1 under only
control) 2 days of flooding. Nevertheless, we report here farmers’
perceptions of Swarna-Sub1 as it could influence their future
Farmers were able to get much better yield with qual- acceptance of this technology.
ity seedlings than with their usual practice. BR 11 yielded Farmers perceived that Swarna-Sub1 was not tall enough
4.634.94 t ha1 versus 3.083.85 t ha1 with bolon and for it to survive stagnant waters that are frequent in these
Swarna-Sub1 yielded 3.854.01 t ha1 versus 2.773.08 t ha1 ecosystems. Seedling height of Swarna Sub1 is shorter than
with bolon. We note that the researchers recorded higher yields that of BR 11. This is a sound point because Swarna-Sub1 was
(BR 11, 5.05.1 t ha1, and Swarna-Sub1, 5.45.7 t ha1). The not developed for stagnant water conditions. A good case in
discrepancies might reflect the experience of the three farm- point was provided by a farmer at Kishamot Habu village who
ers interviewed, whereas others might have had better results. used an improved bolon practice to plant BR 11 (a traditional
Farmers also mentioned the labor savings of raising quality variety), Ajon, and Swarna-Sub1. The 2-day flood covered BR
seedlings compared with bolon. Using cost data supplied by 11 and Swarna-Sub1, but not the taller traditional variety, Ajon.
farmers, the total cost of raising quality seedlings was Tk 1,274 For yield, BR 11 gave 4.85 t ha1, whereas Ajon and Swarna-
per 0.1 ha compared with Tk 1,547 per 0.1 ha for bolon. The Sub1 gave 4.04 t ha1 each. In this situation, then, the farmer
17% difference was largely due to the labor savings in raising preferred to use BR 11 and Ajon in the lowlands, using bolon
quality seedlings. practices. He did value Swarna-Sub1’s tillering ability, so he
Despite the labor savings and good yields in 2006, farmers thought it would be a good choice for medium-level lands.
perceived that quality seedling raising would be a good practice Such a result does not dispute Swarna-Sub1’s performance
for the single transplanting system in medium lowlands. They for flash-flooded ecosystems because those kinds of conditions
discussed two main constraints for applying it to flood-prone did not occur at the CURE villages at the Rangpur key site.
lowlands. One was that highland nursery area was very limited, It does appear, though, that farmers perceive Swarna-Sub1’s
so a higher-density seeding rate is required in order to have suf- shorter stature as a drawback for flood-prone areas, even
ficient seedlings to cover the wide area of the lowlands. Second, though it has the genetic potential to survive certain kinds of
they felt that the bolon system allows better coordination of floods. This is a case in which farmers are expressing their need
transplanting relative to floodwater levels in the lowlands. The for the kind of plants they perceive can survive stagnant water
first transplanted plot gives them the flexibility to wait until conditions to which Swarna-Sub1 would be vulnerable. In any
floodwaters recede for the final transplanting. This flexibility case, if the research investment in marker-assisted selection is
is not available with a single transplanting system, as would to be realized, Swarna-Sub1 should be targeted for the kinds
be used with the newer technology. of flash-flood-prone areas for which it was developed, which
We must caution that 2006 was not a flood-prone year, so was accomplished in widespread testing in 2007. This also
farmers did not evaluate the practice under the conditions for underscores the continued need to used advanced molecular
which it was developed. A second point is that lower-density breeding techniques for developing materials for stagnant wa-
seeding rates may be suitable for some areas where sufficient ter conditions. Already, the BRRI Regional Station, Rangpur,
nursery area is available or there is less lowland area to cover. has identified a local landrace, Jati Balam, among others, that
In this way, the specific ecosystem requirements need to be can be investigated for stagnant water tolerance.
8 One decimal is a unit of land equal to 0.01 acre in the English system. One hectare is equal to 247 decimals.
18
CHAPTER 4. Cuttack, India: Working Group 3
for salt-affected soils
The Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI), Cuttack, in Orissa, than improved germplasm, farmers appreciated their steady
India, is CURE’s key site for coastal salinity. The CURE vil- and reliable yields with almost zero or bare minimal inputs
lages are in Erasama block, Jagatsinghpur District, 15 km under saline soil conditions and highly erratic rainfall patterns.
inland from the Bay of Bengal (Fig. 4). Saltwater intrusion This is because of two major reasons: first, small and marginal
is a major constraint to improved rice productivity; equally farmers do not have enough resources to puchase inputs; sec-
problematic are submergence and drought, all of which can ond, they want to avoid the risk of losing their investment in
affect crops in a single season. Until CURE’s Working Group inputs to the prospect of crop failures under salinity stress. In
3 started its participatory research, farmers could expect rice addition, farmers faced a knowledge gap about new varieties
yields of up to 1.5 t ha1 using traditional varieties, resulting because extension and development outreach organizations
in 39 months of annual food deficits, depending on house- seldom visit this area. As the farmers put it, these sorts of
hold and landholding size. The main cropping pattern was a organizations “don’t know us.”
single wet-season crop, whereas poor irrigation water quality Convincing farmers to participate in CURE activities
limited dry-season rice cropping to about 5% of the cultivable took a patient and sensitive approach by WG3. Farmers at
landholdings. Although traditional varieties yield much lower Kimilio village said they distrusted outside officials, who,
Fig. 4. Jagatsinghpur District, Orissa, India, site of CURE villages for Working Group 3.
19
they perceived, used the publicity of village visits to further Table 6. Improved varieties introduced to the coastal saline eco-
system, Jagatsinghpur District, Orissa, India.
their political agendas and then never returned. The villagers’
comments echoed the words of British social anthropologist Wet season Dry season
F.G. Bailey (2000:69) that “The peasant looks upon outsiders Yield potential 4.0 t ha−1 Yield potential 3.5 t ha−1
(including officials) as his enemies.”9 With some reluctance,
the village agreed to participate in CURE research in the Year Year
Variety Variety
released released
second year of the three-year project. Farmers at another vil-
lage, Chaulia, seemed to be more open to outsiders. Chaulia Lunishree 1992 Canning 7 1991
was settled 5060 years ago by migrants from West Bengal. SR 26 1988 CSR 10 1989
They agreed that they were more comfortable with outsiders Patnai 23 1988 CSR 4 1981
as they kept in contact with residents of their village of origin, Pankaj 1978 Annapurna 1971
and they were always looking for new ideas to improve their
farms’ productivity. In some cases, they brought back new
technologies from their relations in West Bengal. In this case,
Chaulia residents were early participants in CURE activities.
This “tale of two villages” points to a social context that ag- included chilli for highly saline conditions and watermelon
ricultural researchers face when making inroads into a local and okra for medium saline conditions.
community. It is tempting to blame noncooperative farmers as
“backward,” “less progressive,” or “laggards,” when negative
strands of a deep history run through the mental outlook of
Farmers’ perceptions of new germplasm for coastal
farmers, giving them legitimate reasons for not participating.
saline ecosystems
This illustrates that farmer participatory research is about more Wet-season varieties withstand multiple stresses
than just introducing new technologies to farmers. It is about, Crop production in the 2006 wet season was “typical” in terms
first, building a foundation of trust upon which productive of its irregular pattern of drought and flooding stresses. The
collaboration can occur. season had an early dry spell, and August brought extreme
rainfall that required some farmers to transplant under flooded
conditions. A sluice gate built to control tidal intrusions re-
Testing new germplasm for coastal saline ecosystems mained closed, which compounded the problem. Frustrated
WG3’s strategy has been to (1) introduce salt-tolerant germ- farmers eventually ruptured the structure to open the gate in
plasm and crop management practices to improve wet-season order to drain their lands. Under these conditions, farmers fa-
yields of the main crop, (2) introduce suitable crop varieties vorably evaluated the performance of improved varieties that
and management practices for the dry season so farmers can tolerated both salt and submergence stresses. The improved
either initiate or expand rice cropping area, and (3) introduce varieties’ stems elongated with the rising floodwaters and
salt-tolerant nonrice dry-season crops to improve household they were able to flower and produce a crop. The traditional
livelihoods. The introduced germplasm may be “new” to the varieties became waterlogged before flowering and produced
farmers, but the varieties were developed 1530 years ago little, if any, grain.
(Table 6). A lack of information sources made them unavailable Farmers were provided with improved salt-tolerant vari-
to farmers until CURE came to these villages. To overcome eties SR26B, Pankaj, and Lunishree. They reported yields of
the lack of outreach agencies, the Working Group contracted 2.54.0 t ha1 compared with the traditional varieties’ usual
farmers to multiply seed for scaling out in the one-year Project yield of 1.5 t ha1. Even if we conservatively accept the farm-
extension in 2007. In the 2007 dry season, the Working Group ers’ report, they would have at least achieved a considerable
multiplied 1,800 kg of seed for scaling out to the CURE vil- yield improvement of 1 t ha1 over the traditional varieties.
lages and non-CURE villages for the wet season, and also Farmers also wanted to try Patnai 23, which they selected in the
multiplied 1,000 kg of seed in the 2007 wet season, despite 2005 PVS, and seed was being multiplied for the 2007 grow-
extensive crop damage due to severe multiple stresses, to ing season. The traditional varieties are Rahspanjar, Bhaluki,
distribute in the following dry season. Nonabokra, Kaidisola, Bhundi, Malabati, and Pagnigola. As
The Working Groups also tested several nonrice crops for for other characteristics of the new varieties, farmers said that
dry-season tolerance for the coastal saline system. Sunflower the straw is a good thatching material for their house’s roof. In
dominated the discussion in the farmers’ groups, and they as- addition, cattle prefer the larger leaf area for fodder compared
sessed it favorably compared with other tested crops. The latter with the thin leaf area of traditional varieties.
9 Bailey actually conducted ethnographic research in Orissa, but in the interior upland areas.
20
In terms of taste and cooking quality, farmers like the under high salinity. Farmers complained that they needed va-
white grain color of improved varieties, which is an appealing rieties with good tolerance under conditions of high salinity.
appearance for meals and selling. The medium slender grain Researchers responded by testing new IRRI lines for highly
draws a higher price, 8 Indian rupees kg1, compared with saline conditions in the 2007 dry season. The top performer
those of bolder grain, 6 Rs kg1. Farmers did say the slender was IR72046-B-R-3-3-3-1, which yielded an average of 4.2
grain digests too easily and does not give a “full” feeling in t ha1, while other top performers were CR 2472-1-6-2, CR
the stomach. 2473-9-136-1-1, and IR72596-B-19-2-3-1.
However, some farmers said this is a moot point now,
as they produce more rice now and have more available to Sunflower favored as a nonrice crop
eat. The only negative comment about food quality was that Of all the nonrice crops tested for the coastal saline area, it was
improved varieties are not suitable for making a fermented farmers’ favorable perceptions of sunflower that dominated the
breakfast dish, pokhal. Farmers reasoned they might have to discussion. They like the fact that sunflower can be pressed for
give up this traditional food in order to use improved varieties cooking oil, which saves them money on having to purchase
for higher yields, or else they might still grow some traditional an essential household commodity. The residue, or “cake,”
varieties for preparing this dish. It would be a good outcome, from the pressing process can be used for livestock/fish feed
they said, if some improved varieties could be found that are and as a cooking fuel. Although the Working Group also in-
suitable for making pokhal. troduced okra, chilli, and watermelon, farmers would like to
The main complaint about the improved varieties con- prioritize sunflower before giving attention to the other crops.
cerned stem borer infestation that damaged 1020% of the They would also like to try cowpea for expanded dry-season
crop, whereas traditional varieties have good pest tolerance. production as they already grow it in their home gardens.
Researchers said the infestation was peculiar to that year’s In terms of production, sunflower produced a small flower
weather, and it should not recur every season. Another in clayey saline soils that have poor physical condition and
complaint concerned grain shattering, which was specific to high soil salinity. Farmers observed that the crop does better in
Lunishree. sandy, light-textured soils. Another limitation is fungal disease.
Although the discussions indicated that farmers were But the major constraints occur in the postharvest processing
impressed by the new varieties, they also said they will need phase. Farmers identified the lack of efficient sunflower seed
several more years of evaluation before totally adopting them. oil extraction facilities in the area and the high pressing cost
Some farmers said it might take as much as four years before of Rs 34 kg1. Farmers would also like to learn more about
they are fully convinced about the performance of the improved postharvest technologies, such as drying and storage. Research-
germplasm. Farmers trust the traditional varieties because they ers said there is lack of information about sunflower varieties
give reliable but low yields under the wide range of stresses and production practices as agricultural research centers tend
that can be expected in a growing season. For example, they to work on other crops. The research team has introduced
will continue to sow the traditional variety
Bhaluki for its good salinity tolerance.
In sum, farmers are looking for va-
rieties with good salt and submergence
tolerance that also resist lodging. Other
preferences are pest/disease tolerance, good
cooking quality, finer grain, and suitability
for preparing pokhal.
Dry-season rice gives opportunity
to expand dry-season cropping
Until the introduction of new varieties,
dry-season fields remained mostly fallow
except for small pockets with irrigation.
Now farmers said they could obtain 3.03.5
t ha1 with the new varieties, which would
be an additional crop for the farmers who
otherwise grow no rice here. At the saline-
water-irrigated sites, farmers said that
Canning 7, Annapurna, and CSR4 did well Farmers favorably evaluated sunflower as a dry-season crop for coastal salinity areas, as the seed
under low salinity, but performed poorly can be pressed for cooking oil, which is an essential household commodity.
21
variety KBSH1, which is grown in other areas of Orissa. The the adoption preference. We suggest that farmers may be using
team has so far been unable to find other sources of informa- metaphorical categories, rather than literal temperature levels,
tion about sunflower. that are common in folk categorical systems (Chevalier and
Sanchez 2003). Nevertheless, farmers readily recognized the
weed control properties as they occurred soon after Azolla
Testing improved crop management practices for the treatments were made to the field. However, the nutrient effects
coastal saline ecosystem on plants take a little longer in the season to show up in the
WG3 also introduced matching crop management practices field. This point illustrates the principle that immediate results
designed to enhance the salt-tolerant potential of the germ- provide a positive reinforcement to adoption.
plasm. Farmers can choose which component practices to
adopt; however, as a package, the combination of improved Aged seedlings and closer seedling spacing
germplasm and management improved yields by 91% and Farmers said they were convinced that new practices of
75% in two years of tests compared to farmers’ traditional transplanting 4550-day-old seedlings at 15 10 cm spacing
varieties and usual management practices (Fig. 2). Briefly, intervals can improve crop performance. Sometimes, they
these practices are had to use even older seedlings when rainfall delayed their
Nutrient management in the main field using either transplanting. Their usual practice was to transplant 3045-
the Sesbania green manuring system or the aquatic day-old seedlings randomly at a distance measured from hand
fern Azolla biofertilizer; to elbow, or roughly twice the distance of the new spacing.
Transplanting older (4550 days old) seedlings at Farmers observed positive effects on growth in terms of better
closer spacing of 15 10 cm in the main field; and tillering by using the improved practices. They also said plants
Transplanting dry-season rice by mid-January com- had better panicles after using these practices.
pared with the usual practice of later transplanting,
which allows rice to avoid the high seasonal amounts Early transplanting for dry-season rice
of salinity at later growth stages. Farmers noticed an improvement in crop condition when they
transplanted rice seedlings to the main field by mid-January
In contrast to new germplasm, crop management practices because of the relatively lower salinity in January, and this
may be more difficult to introduce because farmers often do not also allows the rice crop to mature before salinity increases in
perceive immediate, observable benefits. This was evident in April/May. The usual practice was to transplant about 1 month
the discussion of the aquatic fern Azolla, which was introduced later. Farmers were preparing their nurseries in December to
as a biofertilizer. The weed control properties were more ap- coordinate an early transplanting. In fact, we observed that a
parent than the fertility management aspects, which was the nursery was already sown during our late-November visit. The
primary reason for introducing it. Furthermore, crop manage- earlier transplanting does not interfere with field operations
ment practices require changes in timing of annual seasonal for the rainy-season crop. Farmers said that timely nursery
tasks, which can constrain their adoption. We pursued this line establishment is important for the dry season, and they were
of reasoning for the early transplanting practices for the dry willing to delay harvesting the rainy-season crop, as it would
season, which revealed that farmers were convinced about this incur no yield penalty.
practice and were willing to establish nurseries earlier.
Nutrient management in the main field
Effects of technology on food security/
Farmers said they saw a difference in crop performance when
livelihood enhancement
they used the Sesbania green manuring system and Azolla The most emphatic statement about food security was made
biofertilizer, both of which they can adopt with very little by a man in Chaulia: “We no longer think about whether we
cost. Sesbania’s performance, though, is associated with the will have enough to eat the next day.” Farmers reported that
soil conditions. It does well in clayey soils with good mois- participating households are now able to meet their annual
ture-holding capacity. However, areas such as Chaulia have rice needs, and some farmers even have a surplus to sell. This
light-textured soils susceptible to early drought, a serious contrasts to the past when households in Kimilio village grew
limitation for Sesbania. In discussions about Azolla, farmers only enough rice for 4 to 6 months, and those in Chaulia grew
tended to stress the weed control properties of Azolla more enough rice for about 9 months. Farmers confirmed in their
than its soil nutrient benefits. In their words, Azolla “keeps own words that the productivity improvement model promoted
the water cooler,” which they believed inhibits weed growth. by the researchers had made a difference. This model sought
Instead of a cooling effect, the mulching or shadow effect of to (1) improve yields for the wet-season crop and (2) introduce
the Azolla inhibits weed growth. Scientists agreed that Azolla new varieties to either initiate cropping or expand the limited
can control weeds, but they disputed farmers’ explanation for rice area in the dry season. Still, farmers said they needed
22
A nursery bed prepared in late November 2006 will allow farmers to produce seedlings for early transplanting (by 15 January) to avoid high salinity in the
dry season at the coastal lowland site in Orissa, India. In adjacent fields, a mature wet-season crop awaits harvest.
good salt-tolerant varieties for the high-saline-irrigated water potential, but they have a lower priority in the minds of the
conditions of the dry season (which WG3 addressed by testing farmers.
new materials in the next year). The material improvements in farmers’ lives became ap-
In the past, farm households either borrowed rice from parent when we entered the village. In Chualia, there was music
other villagers to make up for deficits or else males caught fish resounding from a loudspeaker for a religious ceremony, even
for marketing or out-migrated for work opportunities to earn though the 1999 super cyclone disrupted electrical service that
money to buy food. Farmers migrated to other places in Orissa has not been restored. Yet, farmers related how they now have
or to West Bengal for jobs such as construction. Villagers said money for consumer goods serviced by battery, and even the
that a few men will likely continue to migrate, but most will women can afford cosmetics. But, more importantly, the farm-
be able to stay to make a living on the farm. The women also ers said they are investing money in their children’s future. In
said that the intensified farming system is giving them more op- Chaulia, farmers proudly pointed out that all boys and girls are
portunities to contribute household labor in the fields, whereas attending school because they can afford books. The women
in the past they were largely confined to domestic work in the there said they are encouraging their children’s education so
home. This is reflected by the baseline survey that reported they can find remunerative employment outside of the village.
that 81% of men’s occupational category was “agriculture,” Farmers in Kimilo village also reported that children were at-
while 83% of women’s was “household activities” (Saha 2004). tending school, but they were less certain about their children’s
Women said that some tasks that involve them are transplanting future opportunities outside of the village.
seedlings and harvesting the crop.
Overall system productivity has been raised by the in-
troduction of sunflower, as explained earlier in this section.
Evidence of technology adoption in coastal
Cooking oil, the product of pressing the sunflower seed, is
saline ecosystems
almost as important as rice, as households need it to prepare It was easy to get swept away by farmers’ glowing comments
their meals. The women in Chaulia said they use 2.5 kg of about the benefits of CURE research without having concrete
oil per month, or about 30 kg per year. Farmers said they can indicators of farmers’ adopting the technologies. In many
save considerable money by using their own oil, money that respects, farmers’ comments seemed “too good to be true,”
can be invested for the household. As indicated earlier, farm- as if they were telling us exactly what we wanted to hear.
ers’ interest in sunflower was evident in that it dominated the However, a consistent pattern of comments emerged that can
discussion about the introduction of nonrice crops. The latter be related to the social contexts of the villages. In other words,
are okra, chilli, and watermelon, all of which have marketing the patterns of those comments seemed to make sense from
23
By using CURE’s improved management practices, a farmer is able to achieve a lush dry-season rice stand (above) compared to a low-productive field (left)
in the coastal salinity ecosystem of eastern India.
the contexts of the villages’ social conditions, and thus relate seed for future planting, and those in Chaulia were exchanging
a sort of coherent, holistic story of their livelihood improve- seeds with other farmers, who had noticed the results of the
ments. This sort of discourse was evident in the variations of new varieties in the field.
themes that indicated that each village was affected a little dif- The qualitative analysis above was later supplemented
ferently by the technologies. For example, farmers of Kimilio, with a quantitative survey in March 2007, which indicated
who expressed their distrust of outsiders, seemed to be more that participating farmers expanded their dry-season cropping
conservative, expressing that they will need more time to test area because of varietal adoption (Saha 2007). The survey of
the technologies before being totally convinced. The more out- 111 randomly selected households in 11 villages covered by
ward-looking farmers in Chaulia, however, seemed to discuss CURE and a concurrent Challenge Program for Water and
more of the mental and material outcomes on their lives that Food project showed that dry-season cultivation area had
resulted from using the technologies. One farmer said that they expanded by 20 ha between 2006 and 2007. The proportion
no longer think about whether they will have enough to eat, of dry-season land accounted for 37.3 ha, or 25% of total cul-
for example, and another said that the fact that slender grain tivable area (wet and dry season). This contrasts to the 2004
does not give them a feeling of satiety is a moot point as they benchmark survey that showed that 5% of the total cultivable
have more rice and more types of rice to eat. Of course, two area was in dry-season production. The report attributed the
factors intervene here. One is that Chaulia had participated in expanded area to the adoption of varieties such as Annapurna
the project since the outset, whereas Kimilio began participat- and CSR 4 and the use of techniques to harvest rainwater in
ing in the second year. In that respect, it would seem that an ponds and ditches for irrigation. Interestingly, the researchers
accumulation of positive results would have appeared first in were able to estimate these villages’ total dry-season rice area
Chaulia. Second, Chaulia had less severe food deficits (3 to 4 (including land cultivated by nonparticipants). They found that
months) at the project outset than Kimilio (6 to 9 months), so these villages’ dry-season rice area more than doubled from
it would be understandable that Chaulia would have seen more 136 ha (2006) to 307 ha (2007), indicating a spillover effect for
progress than Kimilio. In this way, then, farmers’ outlooks nonparticipating farmers. Only two villages showed a decline
about the technologies coincide with their social reality, which in dry-season rice area because of a lack of irrigation water
gives an internal validity to their discussions. or a decision to shift to nonrice crops that would require less
Even without such discourse analysis, there was evidence water than rice.
from the discussions that farmers were deeply interested in As for nonrice crops, the quantitative survey showed that
trying out the technologies, which is a key motivational fac- the households had devoted 10 ha, or 7% of total cultivable
tor in ultimate adoption. This was evident in their demand for dry- and wet-season area, to such crops as sunflower, water-
seed of the new varieties. Farmers in Kimilio complained that melon, groundnut, chilli, and okra. The report estimated that
they would prefer 5-kg seed packets compared with the 2-kg total nonrice crop coverage for these villages was 28.5 ha. This
packets distributed by the team. However, the researchers is dramatic given the paucity of freshwater irrigation and the
explained that this was a matter of balancing the distribution fact that land was only rice monocropped in the dry season
of a limited seed quantity to many households against the before 2000, if cropped at all. Whatever nonrice crops farmers
prospects of distributing large quantities to a few households. were growing were entirely due to the WG3, as it was the only
Farmers in both villages also indicated that they are saving organization promoting these technologies for this period.
24
CHAPTER 5. Luang Prabang, Laos: Working Group 4
for sloping rotational upland systems
Working Group 4’s key site for sloping rotational upland lacks a well-developed seed industry, so CURE’s participa-
systems is in Luang Prabang Province of north-central Lao tory varietal selection trials are one of the few sources of new
PDR (Fig. 5). The research collaboration engages scientists germplasm for these farmers.
at the Northern Agriculture and Forestry Research Center Ethnic minorities populate these areas, where they grow
(NAFReC) at Houay Khot Station about 32 km southwest of crops in shifting cultivation plots on steep slopes and, if
Luang Prabang City in Xieng Ngeun District. On-farm trials available, in the valley lowlands. However, shifting cultiva-
are conducted in villages in Luang Prabang Province and in tion systems are under pressure as fields expand, and the
provinces throughout northern Laos. The widespread testing fallow periods are severely shortened, which reduces their
allows researchers to adapt technologies to diverse upland rate of recovery for later cropping. WG4’s research follows
environments. These on-farm trials also act as a vehicle to dis- a paradigm shift for agricultural technology development in
seminate new technologies to farmers in remote areas where the uplands, and the wisdom of this approach was borne out
communication and transportation are extremely difficult. Laos by the qualitative research. The Working Group follows a
kilometers
Fig. 5. Luang Prabang Province, Laos, is the CURE key site for sloping rotational upland systems;
qualitative assessments also took place in Oudomxay Province.
25
Table 7. Varieties tested in IFAD project, Oudomxay Province, Laos.
Variety Type Duration Villages where tested
Laboun Glutinous Early Nam Haeng Neua
Mak Fai Glutinous Early Nam Haeng Neua
Mak Hin Soung Glutinous Medium Nam Haeng Tai,
Nam Haen Neua
Phae Daeng Glutinous Medium Nam Haeng Tai
Chao Mad Nonglutinous Medium Nam Haeng Tai
B 6144 (aerobic) Nonglutinous Early Nam Haeng Tai,
Nam Haeng Neua
Yunlu 52 (China) Nonglutinous Medium Nam Haeng Neua
Source: Xay District DAFEO (2006).
landscape model to improve crop productivity in the various acceptability of these varieties to farmers. The people in the two
levels of the uplands, rather than just focusing on improving villages assessed were from the Khmu ethnic minority group.
rice yields. In this way, technologies are being developed to Different ethnic groups may have different criteria for judging
improve lowland production, which will reduce pressure on rice varieties. The Khmu are considered to be an indigenous
the uplands, while improving upland productivity to reduce group, that is, among the first to settle in Laos, but through
the expansion of shifting cultivation. history they have been socially, politically, and economically
marginalized (LeBar et al 1964:113-114).
In both villages, the discussions revealed the importance
Testing new rice germplasm for sloping that farmers attach to varietal diversity. Farmers reported that
rotational uplands they grew as many as 15 traditional varieties in their sloping
The qualitative assessment of farmer acceptability of new rice fields, and as many as seven varieties in their lowland fields.
varieties was conducted in the non-CURE villages of Nam Farmers said that the diversity in rice varieties allowed them
Haeng Tai and Nam Hang Neua in Oudomxay Province to the to (1) time harvest to meet food-short periods, (2) take ad-
north and east of Luang Prabang Province. CURE found these vantage of soil and weather microenvironments, and (3) get
varieties (Table 7) to be popular with farmers at its usual PVS as high a range of yield as possible. Applying these criteria to
sites, so they were supplied to the International Fund for Ag- the farming system, farmers sow early-maturing varieties on
ricultural Development (IFAD) loan project for scaling out at sloping uplands in order to make food available as soon as rice
its project target sites. The IFAD loan program is administered is harvestable. However, these varieties are lower-yielding, or
through the Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Extension of- “poor,” as farmers put it, with a usual output of 1.0 t ha1 or
fices (PAFEO) and implemented locally through the District less. Farmers would like to shift these varieties to medium-
Agriculture and Forestry Extension offices (DAFEO), all of maturing materials to avoid bird and rat damage. Longer-dura-
which represent the Lao government’s agricultural outreach tion varieties are valued for their higher productivity, as they
network to local communities. The qualitative assessment thus yield up to 1.2 t ha1. Households fortunate enough to have
allowed us to elicit farmers’ evaluations of these varieties out- lowlands will obtain yields of about 1.2 to 1.5 t ha1, but as
side of the usual CURE network, which would give us evidence high as 2.0 t ha1. An ongoing project to construct irrigation
of their acceptability to farmers in wider upland areas. facilities known as muang fai would also allow prospects
for a dry-season rice crop. Up to now, there appears to have
been virtually no dissemination of improved rice varieties for
Farmers’ comments on germplasm for uplands in these villages although a few have been introduced
upland conditions through CURE-IFAD collaboration.
Varietal diversity for upland microenvironments In general, 2006 was a poor growing season in terms of
We used a key informant approach because not enough farmers drought damage to crops in both villages. Early drought af-
had grown the new rice varieties to warrant use of the focus fected germination. The rains came about 1 week after sowing.
group approach. At Nam Haeng Tai village, we interviewed The poor growing season is reflected in data that showed that
a male and female farmer who had tried the new varieties in the varieties in nonfertilized plots in both villages generally
the 2006 season. We interviewed five male farmers who grew yielded less than the average recorded for those varieties in
the varieties at Nam Haeng Neua village. Farmers have grown the 2006 PVS throughout northern Laos (Table 8). The wide
the varieties for only one season, but their comments produced range of yields observed, 0.29 to 2.45 t ha1, indicated the wide
interesting lines of inquiry that could be of significance for the variability of environments in these two villages, which were
26
Table 8. Varietal performance data, IFAD villages, Oudomxay Province, Laos.
Yield gapa Average yields
Yielda Yielda (fertilized– 2006 CURE PVS
Farmer and gendera Varietya (fertilized) (nonfertilized) nonfertilized) Northern Laosb
(nonfertilized)
(t ha−1)
Nam Haeng Tai Village
1. Male Mak Hin Soung 1.80 1.17 0.63 1.63
Phae Daeng 2.16 1.40 0.76 0.40
2. Female B 6144 (aerobic) 2.14 1.39 0.75 1.75
Chao Mad 2.00 1.30 0.70 NT
Nam Haeng Neua
1. Male Yunlu 52 3.50 2.45 1.05 NT
Mak Hin Soung 2.16 1.40 0.76 1.63
2. Male Laboun 0.60 0.50 0.10 1.61
Mak Fai 0.60 0.45 0.15 NT
3. Male B6144 (aerobic) NT 0.86 N/A 1.75
4. Male B6144 (aerobic) NT 0.29 N/A 1.75
5. Male B6144 (aerobic) NT 0.15 N/A 1.75
Sources: aXay District DAFEO (2006). bSongnoukhai et al (2006).
located 2 km from each other (see Donner 1978 for discus- to non-Khmu (although the farmer who grew it did not have
sion about the dynamics of microenvironments in a similar the household technology for noodle-making).
ecosystem in northern Thailand). Many upland groups, such as the Khmu, prefer glutinous
The discussions were a good exercise in comparing rice for household consumption, but our discussion revealed
farmers’ perceptions to the quantitative yield data reported by that nonglutinous varieties may have a marketing niche here.
researchers. Although the yield data showed that farmers could The woman who grew the nonglutinous entries, Chao Mad
achieve a 1.0 t ha1 yield increase by using fertilizers, over and the aerobic B6144, reported that she can process the rice
what they would get with their traditional varieties (reported for making noodles, which are sold to non-Khmu people in
to be 1.0 t ha1 or less), the discussion revealed socioeconomic the area. She had a high opinion of Chao Mad both for its ag-
constraints that would affect farmers’ ability to achieve those ronomic characteristics and its seed type for noodle-making.
results. The highest yields were achieved in fertilized plots. The Chao Mad seed is suitable for making noodles because of
However, farmers said they could not afford to buy fertilizers. its large size compared with the smaller grain type of B6144.
Consequently, there was a yield gap range of 0.10 to 1.05 t She also said that selling noodles can be more profitable than
ha1 between fertilized and nonfertilized plots. This points to selling rice. She reported that 1 kg of rice can be processed
a serious socioeconomic constraint that might possibly be ad- into 3 kg of noodles, which are then sold at 5,000 Lao kip
dressed at the policy level in terms of subsidies. As one farmer kg1. Thus, 1 kg of rice can yield a potential income of 15,000
put it, “If the project can supply fertilizer, then we can use it. kip. Given that farmers can sell 1 kg of rice for 3,000 kip,
If not, we can’t use it because it is too expensive.” the woman said that she could earn more money by making
The high-yielder Yunlu 52 (3.50 t ha1 fertilized, 2.45 noodles than by selling rice.
1
t ha nonfertilized) is problematic because its yields were Aerobic rice is being tested in various environments
achieved on half of the plot, whereas the other half died for throughout Asia where water is a limiting factor in rice produc-
an unknown reason. We did not ascertain whether this was a tion. Variability was wide in aerobic rice yields between the
problem with the variety or the environment. The farmer also two villages. At Nam Haeng Tai, the one plot planted to B6144
complained that Yunlu 52 has to be sickle-harvested, whereas yielded 1.39 t ha1 (nonfertilized) compared with 0.150.86 t
Khmu usually hand-strip the crop, leaving stems in the field. ha1 in three plots at Nam Haeng Neua. A one-year test would
The Khmu do not use straw for livestock, leaving another not be indicative of a long-term trend in varietal performance,
problem in disposing of the straw after harvest. Yunlu 52 is as the environments and farmers’ management would differ
nonglutinous, which could further constrain adoption as the by site. There still seemed to be an interest in B6144 as four
Khmu prefer glutinous rice for household consumption. That is farmers requested seed for 2007 plantings, and others saved
not to say that it cannot be processed for noodles for marketing seed to try it in the next year. A main constraint, though, is the
27
Table 9. Seed requests for 2007 sowing, two villages, Oudomxay Achieving food security in the face
Province, Laos. of shortened fallows
No. of farmers Amount Of the seven farmers interviewed, only one indicated that her
Variety
requesting (kg) household was food secure year-round. Other farmers said they
lacked food for 3 to 6 months. This also seems to be supported
Mak Hin Soung (glutinous) 6 60 by official village reports that indicate that food shortages may
Non (glutinous) 5 20
last up to 6 months and, in some cases, even more. Farmers
B6144 (aerobic, nonglutinous) 4 40
often discussed the microenvironmental factors of climate and
Source: Vongphutone (2006). soil quality, and biotic stresses that affect their productivity.
It was also clear from the discussions that farmers rely on
sloping uplands for food security and that production has been
declining because of short fallows that farmers associate with
fact that B6144 is nonglutinous, and households would have to population pressure. The population increase may be the result
alter their consumption preference away from glutinous rice. of a natural increase, but another factor may be the government
Even the woman who grew it for making noodles said that a policy of consolidating upland villages to locations closer to
larger grain type is preferable for processing. roads. Five villages were moved to the Nam Haeng Tai site in
Although the discussions winnowed out the unaccept- 2000, whereas nine villages had been moved to Nam Haeng
able traits of the varieties, there seemed to be an emerging Neua in the mid-1980s. The concentration of households in
consensus in favor of nonglutinous Mak Hin Soung (Table a specific area could conceivably pressure the local resource
9). In the unfertilized trials, it yielded reasonably well (1.17 base, whereas villages were more widely distributed across
and 1.40 t ha1). Farmers gave favorable comments on grain the landscape in the past.
type, agronomic characteristics, and eating quality. Farmers Farmers recalled that, in their lifetimes, the fallow periods
also liked the fact that it could be harvested by hand-stripping of upland plots have been halved to 4 years from 8 to 9 years,
using the traditional Khmu method. The demand for Mak which they said resulted from population pressure. Of interest is
Hin Soung was indicated by the fact that six farmers ordered that ethnographers in the 1960s considered an 89-year fallow
seed from researchers for the next year’s planting. The other as critically short of the optimum time needed to regenerate
glutinous varieties tested tended to receive unfavorable com- fallow plots (LeBar et al 1964:114). It is obvious that the fallow
ments regarding seed type and field performance. Phae Daeng situation in the sloping uplands has surpassed the critical state
was the second highest yielder (1.40 t ha1, nonfertilized), but and can be more accurately described as a state of crisis.
farmers complained about the small and “hairy” or “itchy” In terms of new germplasm, it becomes clear that rice
grain, and that it did not produce full panicles. Laboun and yield is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for farmer ac-
Mak Fai yielded 0.50 t or less per hectare in nonfertilized fields ceptability. Just as important are the agronomic characteristics
because of soil termites and poor soil conditions. These latter and grain and eating quality of new varieties. In some cases,
varieties were also damaged by rats and birds because of their the variety must meet the latter criteria before yield will be a
early duration, according to farmers. factor for varietal preference. The most favorable comments
Shifting cultivation is a main cropping practice for sloping uplands in northern Laos. A field is burned (left) in preparation for sowing. Transportation infrastruc-
ture (right) is poor in these areas, and many other places are still accessible only by narrow mountain trails or by rivers through the mountain canyons.
28
were made on the glutinous variety Mak Hin Soung because
of its yielding characteristics plus its field performance,
grain and panicle characteristics, and the fact that it can be
hand-strip-harvested. It also meets households’ cooking and
taste preferences. It seems to have passed farmers’ rigorous
criteria as a suitable variety. Farmers would likely adopt new
varieties in the context of their usual diversification strategy,
and CURE’s PVS program seems to be the best approach to
let farmers decide what varieties are suitable for their highly
localized conditions.
A project that is opening new paddy lands is a welcome
development in these villages, and it seems to generate a lot of
interest in these villages. The newly opened paddy holds poten-
tial for stabilizing rice productivity under irrigated conditions
for some households. It has implications for sloping uplands,
as increased lowland productivity could take the pressure off
expanding shifting cultivation fields, which in some areas are
also benefiting from higher productivity through new varieties.
The qualitative evidence thus supports the landscape paradigm
promoted by CURE as a viable approach to achieving food
security and enhanced livelihoods that are consistent with the
ecological constraints of upland communities.
Indigenous knowledge as a proxy variable
We also found some observations from farmers that can be
regarded as proxy indicators of deeper underlying constraints
to crop productivity. One is that farmers associated gall midge
occurrence with soil types in sloping upland fields where non-
glutinous varieties grew. The association of a biotic stress with
soil type might be worth exploring as to whether a proximate
cause could be related to gall midge damage where farmers
observe it. One hypothesis could be that these sorts of soils
might favor alternate plant hosts for gall midge (B. Samson,
personal communication 2007).
Second, in lowland fields, farmers described “fog” as a These Khmu children are among the many ethnic minority groups of upland
Laos. Understanding each ethnic group’s indigenous knowledge system can
constraint to seedling growth. It is unclear whether “fog” has be valuable for developing culturally acceptable technologies.
been precisely translated from the local language. Farmers may
be referring to low-temperature stress that occurs when fog
lingers close to the ground during December and January (B.
Samson, personal communication 2007). Cooler temperatures has been investigating sticklac production in a ricepigeon
shut down the metabolic processes of rice, which causes yel- pea system for purposes of achieving an economic return on a
lowing and high mortality rates. The frequency and degree of marketable crop as well as a way to use a leguminous species
severity that “fog” has for crop production would have to be to renew the soil during short fallows. Pigeon pea would be
investigated to determine whether there are any implications an advantage over other leguminous cover crops that promote
for new technologies that are being introduced to this area. soil fertility but do not provide an economic return for farm-
ers’ labor in establishing those crops. In Laos, private traders
have already aroused farmers’ interest by providing pigeon
Testing ricepigeon pea intercrop to improve pea seed and the inoculum, Laccifer lacca, used for extracting
upland livehlihoods the sticklac resin from the pigeon pea tree. The CURE activity
Upland communities have been traditionally integrated into up- would allow farmers to assure a supply of rice, although at what
land-lowland trading networks for products such as nontimber appears to be some yield penalty, while the intercropped pigeon
forest products, opium, and other upland crops (Halpern 1963). pea reaches maturity for sticklac harvest in the following year.
However, high-value products that can be marketed to generate In 2006, CURE scaled up this system to farmers in Houay Hia
better incomes have eluded upland rural households. CURE Village, a Khmu community about 13 km from Luang Prabang.
29
A local marketing firm, Va Yo, was working with a few of the As for the pigeon pea pod, farmers said it had been pro-
farmers there for two years, and CURE’s work expanded on moted as a livestock feed, but they would more likely use it
that effort. The assessment involved interviews with several for household consumption. The young pods can be boiled and
farmers, and the analysis was limited as they had yet to harvest the mature pods are eaten for the seed. Farmers also mentioned
the first batch of sticklac. that the leaf could be used as a local remedy for skin rashes,
Houay Hia Village provided a good case study because it whereas the sticklac could be used as an adhesive for repairs
has good access on a sealed road about 30 minutes from Luang around the farm.
Prabang. Farmers’ interest was driven by four community Our visit occurred in late February, so the first sticklac
members who are growing pigeon pea for Va Yo. CURE scaled batch had yet to be harvested, which would be about 2 months
up the ricepigeon pea intercrop to seven households. We had away. So, neither yield data nor current pricing information
wanted to do a focus group discussion with these farmers, but, were available. Farmers provided us with sticklac pricing
upon our arrival, we were informed that there was an oversight data based on marketing to Va Yo. The company paid 2,000
in informing the farmers. Instead, we interviewed the village kip kg1. A reasonable yield would be 8001,000 kg ha1, and
head, his deputy, and another male farmer who were partici- the size of a typical household plot would be 0.50.8 ha, or a
pants in the ricepigeon pea up-scaling. projected sticklac harvest of 400800 kg ha1 per household.
Food security is relatively less serious at Houay Hia Given these assumptions, a potential gross income would be
than in other villages visited for this impact assessment. 800,0001.6 million kip ha1 per household, depending on
About half the village’s households were food secure, plot size. As one farmer put it, “Pigeon pea grown in rice can
whereas the other half had enough food for 8 months. New increase our income. If, in the future, the market is good, we
rice varieties introduced through participatory varietal se- would like to plant pigeon pea for sticklac and sell it.”
lection yielded 1.2 to 1.3 t ha1 compared with 0.8 to 0.9 However, this scenario has several constraints:
t ha1 for the 10 traditional varieties that are usually planted. Availability of seed and inoculum: So far, the sources
Farmers had adopted several new varieties through CURE, are either Va Yo or CURE. Once project support ends,
among which Laboun earned farmers’ favor. A constraint here it is unclear how the CURE participants will obtain
was seed availability, as seed multiplication had lagged behind these resources to continue the project, unless Va Yo
demand, farmers said. includes these farmers in its program.
In this upland system, farmers could sow pigeon pea in Marketing uncertainties: In addition to the usual
June, about 10 to 21 days after establishing upland rice. Rice boom and bust cycles of the market, farmers would
would be harvested in September, while the pigeon pea contin- be beholden to Va Yo as the only marketing outlet.
ued to grow. The pigeon pea was inoculated with the Laccifer Some sort of coordination is needed so that farmers
lacca parasite in November for the harvest of the first batch can be aware of the company’s pricing structure.
of sticklac in the following April. The next month, the pods
would be harvested, and the pigeon pea would be inoculated At the time of the visit, 3 ha were planted to pigeon pea
in June for extracting sticklac in November. and farmers said they would be willing to expand threefold if
Farmers liked the intercropping concept as the weeding the market were favorable for sticklac and if they could obtain
of rice also benefits the pigeon pea; therefore, labor could be inoculum. At this point, those were the two main issues that
applied to both crops at the same time. The interactions of a could affect the adoption and sustainability of this technology.
dual cropping system were also beneficial in that pigeon pea It appears that all of the right conditions are in place for this
canopy shaded weeds somewhat, and the legume improved technology to succeed, but sustaining it would depend on the
soil conditions for the following rice crop. However, there availability of materials to continue it and access to markets.
was some rice yield penalty for growing two crops in the
same field.
In terms of pigeon pea performance, farmers were pleased
with the crop. However, farmers indicated that dry weather in
November affected the inoculation of plants with the Laccifer
lacca parasite. They thought a second inoculation in June
would be more favorable due to wetter conditions expected
with the advent of the monsoon season.
30
CHAPTER 6. Hazaribag, India: Working Group 5
for drought-prone plateau uplands
CURE’s Working Group for drought-prone plateau uplands is season, it is a precarious situation for household food security.10
a collaboration with the Central Rainfed Upland Rice Research Although improved varieties and, more recently, commercially
Station (CRURRS), Hazaribag, India. CRURRS is at the heart promoted hybrids are cultivated in lowlands, it is the uplands
of the undulating landscape of the Gangetic Basin of eastern where rice productivity is most unstable. Farm households may
India (Fig. 6). To the untrained eye, the uplands are not dis- (1) sow low-yielding traditional rice varieties, using little or
cernible from other levels of the plateau landscape, although no fertilizer; (2) convert these lands to nonrice crop produc-
farmers are well aware that the slight elevations in topography tion; or (3) abandon these lands from crop production during
make a big difference in crop productivity. Here, it is common the wet season. Farmers were interested in growing improved
to hear farmers complain that “rains come late,” and, combined varieties for uplands, but they lacked sources of information
with the uneven rainfall distribution throughout the growing about new varieties, or else the ones available were poorly
kilometers
Fig. 6. Jharkhand State, eastern India, CURE key site for drought-prone plateau uplands.
10 Actually, the last two growing seasons (2006 and 2007) of the ADB-RETA 6136 Project deviated from the usual patterns in that rains were timely and well
distributed.
31
efforts to develop varieties that are resistant
to the long-term shifts of blast populations
in this ecosystem.
Because of the positive results in on-
farm trials, WG5 scaled up Anjali and new
establishment practices in 2006 through 20
NGOs working in districts across the 440-
km border of northern Jharkhand. The NGOs
were to give CURE-developed technologies
a longer reach, as the Working Group has
limited human resources for dissemination
and follow-up guidance. This was particu-
larly important for the more remote areas
where public security was vulnerable to a
long-running insurgency movement. The
NGOs would be able to work in areas that
were poorly accessible to governmental
organizations.
Farmers’ indicate that Anjali gains a
Farmers in Amin village who sowed short-duration Anjali had harvested by mid-October 2006 and
were busy sowing a sequence chickpea crop in early November. Meanwhile, a nearby farmer’s field foothold
sown in a lower-yielding traditional variety (inset) was about 2 weeks away from harvest, which The fields in CURE’s villages were a bustle
would be too late for timely chickpea sowing.
of activity when we visited Hazaribag for
the qualitative impact assessment in early
November 2006. Farmers had harvested An-
adapted to local conditions. Consequently, low productivity jali 2 weeks earlier (mid-October) and now they were sowing
led to an untenable food situation that was a “push” factor for chickpea in bunded uplands as the sequence crop. Meanwhile,
off-season male out-migration toward wage-earning opportuni- neighboring stands of traditional varieties and other usual va-
ties in urban localities. WG5’s objective was to raise upland rieties were still 2 weeks away (about mid-November) from
rice productivity by introducing new germplasm and crop harvest. In field discussions, farmers said they liked Anjali’s
establishment methods that would allow for earlier sowing, yielding ability compared with Brown Gora, and favorably
higher rice productivity, better weed control, and a subsequent assessed its disease resistance. Farmers also appreciated
earlier rice harvest in order to better time a postharvest nonrice Anjali’s short duration, which avoided late-season drought
crop that would diversify the overall system. and gave them the opportunity to sow a postrice chickpea crop
in the same field in bunded uplands. Anjali is harvested early
when no other rice variety is ready, so rice is available during
Testing blast-resistant Anjali for the the otherwise food-scarce months prior to the main harvest.
drought-prone ecosystem Women also indicated that the short duration allows them to
Working Group 5 promoted two short-duration (9095 better distribute household labor over the harvesting season. If
days) varieties for the upland conditions of Jharkhand State. all fields were sown with late-maturing varieties, they would
Products of the CRURRS breeding program, the varieties have to hire labor to harvest all the fields at the same time (S.
were drought-tolerant Vandana and medium-drought-toler- Haefele, personal communication 2007). In summary, farmers
ant Anjali. These varieties have yield potential of 3.5 t ha1 said that Anjali could improve their overall livelihood as they
vis-à-vis traditional Brown Gora, which yields about 1.0 t had a suitable variety for a staple food crop in the uplands. As
ha1. Despite Anjali’s lesser drought tolerance, it caught the one farmer put it, “We will use Anjali next year. Of course, if
favor of farmers during the drought-stressed growing seasons there are any newly introduced varieties from the government,
in 2004 and 2005. Anjali tended to outperform Vandana due to we will try them again. Our main consideration is yield.”
its better blast resistance during disease outbreaks. This was Farmers’ comments varied about Anjali’s taste and cook-
apparent during a 2005 visit when we observed healthy fields ing quality. In some villages, farmers said they preferred a more
of Anjali adjacent to plots of diseased Vandana. Anjali cer- slender grain than Anjali’s coarser grain type. But, in Kuchu
tainly demonstrated its blast resistance, but blast pathogens are Village, farmers said that Anjali’s white grain color favorably
known to quickly adapt to new germplasm after its continued distinguished it from the reddish Brown Gora traditional va-
and widespread use. Plant breeders will have to continue their riety. In summary, though, farmers said that the variety’s taste
32
and eating quality were acceptable enough for them to consider also some flexibility in that farmers can market it when prices
it for household consumption. are favorable or consume it at home when they are not, thus
enhancing overall food security.
Evidence of Anjali adoption The other crop used in diversification trials, pigeon pea,
The CURE villages in Jharkhand are strategically located was intercropped with rice in unbunded uplands, and it got
in remote areas, but are on well-traveled sealed roads where a good stand in two villages. As a deep-rooted crop, pigeon
farmer-participants’ crops are visible to passers-by. At these pea is better able to access lower reserves of soil moisture in
sites, we often came across farmers from non-CURE villages this drought-prone ecosystem. However, continuous cropping
who inquired about how to obtain Anjali seed. As one farmer is susceptible to Fusarium leaf wilt, which is a subject that
said, “Other farmers have seen our fields, and they want seed needs to be addressed to make this system sustainable. By
from us.” A case in point occurred in Lupung Village, where a coincidence, the usual cropping system for unbunded uplands
farmer expressed regret that he and a group of co-agricultural- in Amin village alleviated this prospect. For 2007, these farm-
ists had opted out of the 2006 sowing. Their nearby upland rice ers planned to rotate the ricepigeon pea intercrop to a field
crop was still weeks away from harvest, while the participat- that had been sown with maize in 2006 and, vice-versa, they
ing farmers were busy sowing chickpea. A tomato producer would plant maize in the field where the ricepigeon pea was
there was also interested because he wanted to diversify into intercropped in 2006. Villages with this sort of rotational pat-
rice and needed suitable varieties for his upland fields. At tern would be able to immediately benefit from the ricepigeon
other villages, farmers who had obtained seed from NGOs pea intercrop in unbunded uplands. For villages without this
also indicated that nonparticipating farmers were request- option, CRURRS was testing Fusarium-resistant varieties
ing seed from them. For example, two farmers from Sangrhi provided by the International Crops Research Institute for the
Village, who were interviewed at an NGO training center in Semi-Arid Tropics. The downside was that testing would take
Chatra town, said that 10 to 15 farmers requested seed from a few years before suitable varieties could be confirmed for
them. Another village, Pawo, had not been involved in seed Jharkhand conditions.
distribution, but its farmers requested the NGO to provide
seed for 2007 plantings as they had observed Anjali growing Is two months’ food security improvement enough?
in neighboring fields. Given farmers’ enthusiastic acceptance of Anjali, it might seem
While all the above may be considered anecdotal, the to be disappointing for readers to know that farmers thought it
WG5 team did document that Kuchu Village farmers sold would improve food security by only 1 or 2 months. This might
about 500 kg of Anjali seed to farmers in nearby villages. If not seem like much improvement over the 6- to 8-month annual
all of the seed were sown, it would account for 5 ha of cover- food shortages that they attributed to low system productivity,
age, in addition to 10 ha sown by Kuchu farmers. In Amin and population pressure combined with inheritance patterns
Village, farmers doubled the area sown with Anjali from 2005 that reduced field sizes for succeeding generations. On the other
to 2006. This amounted to a total of 6 ha sown in 2006. In the hand, farmers’ assessment was based on their first few years of
third CURE village, Lupung, farmers indicated they wanted trials on smaller plots that they intended to increase in coming
to increase Anjali’s coverage in the next year. As Lupung years. Furthermore, a few additional months of rice production
was a new village added to CURE, 2006 was its first year of would ease their financial burden somewhat from having to
experience with Anjali. purchase rice for the household. A female farmer estimated
As for farmers’ enthusiasm for the sowing of a postrice that the additional rice could save about Rs 2,0002,500 that
sequence crop in bunded uplands, there are questions about they could invest in their two sons’ education.
sustainability as the project provided high-quality chickpea To make up for food deficits, male householders migrate
seed. It is a truism that farmers participate in crop diversi- to urban areas, such as the state administrative center, Ranchi,
fication trials to get good-quality seed that they would not or even as far as India’s major urban areas, such as Kolkata,
otherwise be able to afford or to which they would not have New Delhi, and Mumbai. In the cities, they are able to obtain
access. This was evident in comments given by some farm- unskilled jobs as rickshaw pullers or construction work. The
ers who were sowing chickpea at the Hazaribag key site. The daily urban wage rates are Rs 70, which are more than double
sustainability of sequence cropping will depend on whether what they would earn in agricultural employment. Whatever
farmers will invest in new seed once current stocks start to de- way they can accomplish it, the farmers said they would prefer
teriorate. Conceivably, this might depend on improved system to stay and make a living on the farm rather than have to mi-
productivity that could lead to a more secure financial situa- grate for work. That was their rationale for wanting to learn the
tion, possibly motivating farmers to continue investing in this new technologies. “When we are able to fill our bellies, why
system. Regardless of outcome, chickpea is a versatile option would we leave the village?” one farmer said. “If we can grow
for bunded uplands. They can harvest it for leafy biomass for enough food, why would we need to leave the village?”
salads, and it provides an end-crop of garbanzo beans. There is
33
Testing dry line-seeding establishment systems Table 10. Three years of data on crop establishment practices,
Jharkhand, India.
for drought-prone uplands
Average yield (t ha−1)
New germplasm was only part of the equation for improving Establishment
upland productivity in Jharkhand. The other part of the formula practice 2004 2005 2006 (favorable
was improved rice establishment practices compared with (drought) (drought) moisture)
farmers’ traditional establishment system known as tiwai. This
Tiwai 1.17 1.43 2.27
practice involves broadcast sowing of rice with high seeding Line sowing 2.21 2.29 2.87
rates followed 3 days later by a plowing of the field. The prac- Difference (%) 81 60 42
tice loosens the upper crust to promote faster rice emergence,
Source: Variar (2006).
and it arrests early-germinating weed seeds. As the practice can
also reduce the rice plant population, farmers sow at a higher
seeding rate to compensate for this loss.
After testing several line-sown crop establishment prac-
tices with farmers, WG5 settled on two methods: (1) seeding away from equally important topics. This is especially critical
behind a plow and (2) broadcasting in furrows followed by as the research plan was designed to raise system productivity
planking. Although CURE research showed seeding behind through the introduction of new germplasm in the context of
a plow to be more effective, farmers tended to prefer broad- better establishment practices.
casting in furrows as it required less labor. WG5 research We had the most detailed discussion in Lupung Village,
showed that either practice eased the weeding task because of where farmers were already using line sowing for other crops,
the establishment of defined rows compared with a scattered so they were more willing to test it for rice. These farmers
stand from broadcasting in a nonfurrowed field. A plow pass mentioned three advantages of sowing behind the plow: (1) it
at 1520 days after sowing in light- and medium-textured soils avoids seed decay that occurs when broadcasting is done under
uprooted early weeds with about one-tenth of the labor used in puddled conditions, (2) the covered seeds are protected from
handweeding, and the crop needed only a light hand weeding preying birds, and (3) covered seeds have better germination
later, which also used less labor. The less labor is appreciated than uncovered ones. Farmers also observed that better tillering
because upland crop establishment must be coordinated with and higher yield occur as a result of the more efficient seeding
transplanting in the lowlands and, furthermore, women found rates required by seeding behind a plow. Using this method
handweeding easier to do in fields with defined crop rows. The also requires better plow control to achieve a seed depth of 5
plow pass also promotes in situ moisture conservation, allows cm and for even row spacing at 20 cm, which is easier done
sunlight penetration, and allows farmers to topdress nitrogen using traditional plows. The newer plows in common use cut
to get a better response from modern varieties, according to 810-cm furrows, which are too deep for Anjali. Farmers like
the WG5 research. the fact that straight rows make it easier to handweed the crop,
Three years of data showed that the new line-sown prac- which was a comment also made by women in focus group
tices achieved yields in drought-stressed years comparable to discussions in other villages in 2005.
what the tiwai could achieve only under conditions of favor- Farmers in the other villages were more convinced that
able moisture (Table 10). Tiwai exceeded 2.0 t ha1 only in broadcast sowing and the higher seeding rates gave better
the favorable-moisture season of 2006, whereas line sowing weed suppression. They contended that seeding behind the
achieved those levels even in the unfavorable seasons. The plow “wastes space,” and it reduces rice’s weed competitive-
results showed that yields of line-sown crops were 81% and ness. Researchers argued, however, that line sowing uses seed
60% higher than those established by tiwai for the two drought more efficiently and results in better tillering because of a less
years, and had a substantial increase even in the favorable dense stand. The best that could be said is that farmers were
year. The WG5 data suggest that new establishment practices still experimenting with these practices under the supervi-
could potentially stabilize rice yields over the range of erratic sion of the WG5 field assistant. Many of these farmers were
climatic conditions expected in this ecosystem. younger, so it appeared they would be more open to changing
practices if they experienced an advantage over the usual
Establishment systems still waiting to take hold practices. On the positive side, farmers said the availability
We admit that we were swept up with farmers’ enthusiasm for of a short-duration variety, such as Anjali, is an incentive for
Anjali and the sequence cropping, and that it overshadowed trying a new establishment practice. This may be a pathway
an investigation of the improved line-sowing establishment for farmer adoption of improved establishment practices. We
practices introduced to the CURE villages. This demonstrates foresee a scenario whereby farmers will want to fine-tune their
the need for tight discipline when conducting farmer discus- management with the new establishment practices once Anjali
sion groups, as their open-ended nature can veer the discussion reaches its full potential under farmers’ usual techniques.
34
CHAPTER 7. Arakan Valley, Philippines: Working Group 6
for intensive systems with a long growing season
CURE’s key site for intensive systems with long growing to the implementation of this Project, good-quality Dinorado
seasons is in Arakan Valley, Philippines, the upland “rice seed was scarce. Farmers also lacked access to better-yield-
belt” of North Cotabato Province on Mindanao Island (Fig. 7). ing modern varieties for the uplands. Consequently, upland
Here, CURE collaborates with researchers at the University rice area declined sevenfold from 1994 to 2002 (Table 11).
of Southern Mindanao (USM) and the Municipal Agricultural The local government’s figures showed that upland rice area
Office (MAO) who have been working to raise the productivity dropped from 2,753 to 377 ha during that period. Furthermore,
of a traditional variety, Dinorado, and to reduce rural house- upland rice yields averaged only 1.58 t ha1 and rural house-
holds’ vulnerability to food insecurity. Identified by its pinkish holds annually produced enough rice for only 4 to 6 months,
grain, Dinorado is known for its aroma and good eating qual- depending on the availability of lowland paddy (Villanueva
ity. Dinorado fetches a good price because of its demand for et al 2004:21). Because of rice seed scarcity, upland fields
weddings, fiestas, and as a menu item at specialty restaurants. were converted to maize, which farmers sold in order to have
However, farmers have been sowing Dinorado for 30 years money to buy food.
and the genetic purity of their seed stocks has declined. Up
kilometers
Fig.7. Arakan Valley, North Cotabato Province, southern Philippines, CURE key site for intensive
upland systems with a long growing season.
35
Table 11. Rice planting area, Arakan Valley, North Cotabato Prov- tant trained farmers in proper seed health practices, and on-
ince, Philippines.
farm seed health was monitored during the project duration.
Area (ha) The CSB cooperators also hosted farm walks during which
Year neighboring farmers could discuss their crops and manage-
Lowland (irrigated & rainfed) Upland ment practices. Although the team intended the CSB to be an
informal organization of seed producers, farmers observed
1994 731 2,753
positive results, and they institutionalized the organization in
1995 680 2,000
1996 804 398 order to sustain its benefits in the eventuality of project termina-
1997 1,041 1,590 tion. In 2006, farmers inaugurated the network as the Arakan
1998 1,452 550 Community Seed Bank Organization (ACSBO). In addition,
1999 694 950 the MAO used the CSB model to revive a similar traditional
2000 603 1,050
practice in the nearby Manobos indigenous community. WG6’s
2001 1,094 539
2002 1,035 377 sister site at Lampung, Indonesia, established a CSB based on
2003 677 2,969 the Arakan Valley model.
2004 500 2,218
2005 600 2,958 Community seed bank achieves farmers’ favor
2006 641 2,960
Farmers related a “before” and “after” scenario regarding the
Source: Municipal Agricultural Office, Arakan Valley, as quoted in Villanueva effect of the community seed bank in rural household rice pro-
(2004:20). duction. The “before” part of the story refers to the scarcity of
Dinorado seed, the lack of improved varieties, and chronically
low yields. The “after” part involves two principal ideas. One
Results were dramatic after CURE, USM, and the MAO is that farmers learned the practices for producing good-quality
joined forces to enhance agricultural productivity. In the years seed, which has improved the supply of Dinorado seed. Not
after 2003, rice area not only rebounded to mid-1990 levels, only did they employ the practices but they also observed field
but was trending toward the 3,000-ha mark (Villanueva et al results that have raised their consciousness about how seed
2004:20). In discussions about qualitative impact assessment, purity can improve rice production. In other words, they are
farmers said that rice yields doubled to 4.0-plus t ha1, but, convinced about the efficacy of the practices. The second idea
more importantly, the hungry months have been reduced to involves better yields due to the introduction of new varieties
just June and July. Now, the municipal agricultural officer, Mr. of upland rice. This refers to modern varieties such as UPL
Edgar Araña, has a vision that the remote district of Arakan Ri5 that has more stable and better yield than Dinorado. The
Valley will revive its once-widespread reputation as a producer better yields have reduced the food-short months from about
of high-quality Dinorado seed. 6 to 8 months to only 2 months.
The WG6 team was able to achieve its aims by applying In addition, participating farmers distinguished themselves
social science methodologies and technical expertise. Through from the nonparticipants in terms of the latter’s continuing
sensitive interaction with the farmers, the team employed vulnerability to food insecurity. When asked which house-
participatory methods that built rapport to understand the holds were most likely to be affected by poor seed quality,
farmers’ cultural and socioeconomic context in order to adapt the responses were
the technologies to the local situation. The dynamics of this “Households without access to seeds are most af-
relationship were apparent during the FGDs and on-farm visits, fected.”
in which farmers actively engaged with researchers to discuss “They don’t have seeds.”
the constraints and positive aspects of the technologies. “Others said they no longer have seeds because they
consumed them.”
The community seed bank: organizing farmers for bet- “They don’t have seeds because they consume them
all.”
ter seed health management “Those who were not able to access information.”
The WG6-Arakan Valley team was guided by the principle that
rice seed scarcity = food insecurity. Following that principle, These comments support the research team’s wisdom in
the team set its objective to improve seed health/quality and adopting the seed scarcity = food insecurity model to address
the availability of modern varieties for Arakan Valley’s rural rice productivity problems in the Arakan Valley. It has been
households. The primary mechanism was the establishment the practice for food-insecure households to eat their stored
of a network of seed producers who agreed to follow proper seeds during food-short months, which further exacerbates
seed health management practices. This network is known as their food shortages. If the comments above are true, the farm-
a community seed bank (CSB). An IRRI seed health consul- ers who have not taken advantage of seed health management
36
techniques continue to follow this practice, which threatens relating actual field conditions they had observed to support
their seed supply for growing the succeeding season’s crop. their statements. Other examples of these comments follow:
An interesting finding was that seven of the nine CSB “The crop stand of rice is uniform because we now
participants in the discussion group were actually tenant know how to purify (seeds).”
farmers. The 2004 benchmark survey indicated that about “If there is a mixture, or off-type (seeds), the rice
28% of rural households farmed under tenancy arrangements will not mature uniformly because the panicles did
(Villanueva et al 2004:10). This would seem to indicate that not come out at the same time.”
CSB technologies can be exploited by land-poor households. “Pure seeds have better tillering than the impure seeds
The farmers also explained that many are tenants who farm we used before.”
land owned by relatives, which results in a familiar, stable sort “With seed mixtures, the crop matures earlier, and it
of landlord-tenant relationship. attracts birds and insects. The mixtures ripen ahead
Transportation infrastructure was a problem in Arakan and can attract diseases and pests.”
Valley, which constrained farmers’ participation in these ac- “The seed mixture or presence of off-types will reduce
tivities. For example, it was noted that farmers had problems yield.”
crossing a certain river lacking a bridge. Even though boat “We are more conscious of proper seed quality prac-
access was available, they were afraid of the dangerously tices.”
rough waters. Of the cooperators who dropped out of the
project, it was said that the road situation discouraged them This deeper understanding of the “why” of seed health
from attending the various activities, such as the farm walks. management is likely to go a long way toward sustaining
There also seemed to be poor communication in spreading these practices, as it has changed farmers’ thinking about
information about the Project to rural households, which could crop management. It is one thing to use a new technique but
be a function of poor roads. However, farmers were able to use it is another thing to understand its overall ramifications and
their informal communication networks to spread some of the to experience positive effects of behavior modification. This
technologies to nonparticipants. Farmers said that they taught approach is also supported by educational theory that states
new practices to laborers who work in their fields, as well as that interactive, hands-on learning is an effective approach
to other farmers in the area. In fact, on a windshield tour of because learners can relate new knowledge to the conditions of
the district, the research team was able to point out fields of their everyday experiences (Freire 1970, Kolb 1984). In other
nonparticipants who had adopted the technologies. words, learners are empowered to change their lives.
The CSB affects farmers’ understanding CSB success: the proof is in the yield
of seed health practices This statement in the local language sums up farmers’ opin-
Farmers’ comments indicated that they not only learned ions of the yield performance of new lines/varieties accessed
the seed health practices but that they also understood the through the Project: “Nag improve gid ha!” translated as “It
principles that informed the techniques. Abstract principles really improved!”
can become highly relevant if they can be applied to real-life Through the project’s participatory trials, farmers were
experiences. In this case, farmers could explain how a crop able to obtain new lines of Dinorado and related traditional
performed when it was sown with good-quality seed versus a materials of Azucena through IRRI’s gene bank, as well as
crop sown with poor-quality seed. For example, seed producers improved varieties (Table 12). Farmers reported that yields as
described fields with a “flat top,” or rice plants with uniform much as doubled from 2030 cavans (sacks) per hectare to 60
height, as an indication that pure seeds had been sown there. cavans per hectare. A cavan is the local unit of measurement
In contrast, fields sown with seed mixtures had a ragged ap- roughly equivalent to 1718 kg. Using the farmer-generated
pearance. Farmers also mentioned that, by following good seed data, yields would have increased from 1.22.1 t ha1 to
health practices, they observed that the seeds matched the ideal 2.44.2 t ha1, a considerable increase given that the project
morphological characteristics associated with the variety/line. benchmark survey reported an average upland rice yield of 1.58
For example, pure Dinorado seed had pink coloration, whereas t ha1 (Villanueva et al 2004:21-22). Furthermore, for the 10
a seed mixture tended toward white coloration. Seed size and years prior to the project (1994-2003), upland yields ranged
shape were also criteria that farmers used to judge the purity from 0.80 to 2.0 t ha1. As one farmer said, “One hectare before
of the lot. produced only 30 cavans; now, with the new varieties, we can
Thus, the evidence from the discussion showed that farm- harvest more than 60 cavans per hectare.”
ers had learned that “seeing is believing.” This is significant It also appeared that better yields have resulted in a pro-
because, in a focus group discussion, farmers could easily duction increase as farmers also reported fewer food-short
recite what researchers wanted to hear. In this case, they were months. Farmers said that the food-short months were reduced
37
Table 12. Upland varieties/lines used at the CURE WG6 Arakan did not exchange seeds that much before, because “we didn’t
Valley site, 2007.
even have enough seeds for ourselves.” Seed exchanges also
Traditional Improved varieties indicate that a particular line/variety approximates farmers’
performance criteria as they seek out seeds to try in their own
Dinoradoa UPL Ri-5a fields. Thus, the availability of these lines/varieties for testing
Azucenaa PSB Rc-9a stimulates this sort of demand, which is a credit to the PVS
Guyod NSIC Rc-9 (Apoa)
program and to the research managers who identified appropri-
Handurawan Dilion Ricea (DR90/Lorsbar,
IR72768-8-1-1) ate materials to test in participatory trials.
Palawenya PR 23813-2-53a (PR 53) Farmers mentioned that they are gaining a reputation as
Davao Rice UPL Ri-7a good seed producers, which has generated demand for their
aIntroduced
seed. As ACSBO President Mr. Nestor Nombreda said, “We
through the project; traditional materials would include new lines ob-
tained through IRRI’s Genetic Resources Center (the gene bank). hardly have seeds for ourselves because of the strong demand.”
One NGO has recognized his good-quality seed by contracting
to grow organic Dinorado for 500 Philippine pesos per cavan,
whereas the usual Dinorado price is 425–450 pesos per cavan.
to just 2 months, June and July, which is right before harvest. Another farmer said that he has exchanged seeds as far away
This is an improvement over former times when food short- as Alamada Municipality in the far northwest corner of North
ages occurred from January to August, depending on the extent Cotabato Province (Arakan is in the northeast corner).
of land the household held in lowland areas (Villanueva et al Our CURE collaborators at USM were quick to point out
2004:30). Better production has had social effects that have that seed exchanges are more than a transfer of useful products
strengthened the participants’ families and community ties, from one party to another. These exchanges are a form of social
which will be discussed later. capital that is reciprocal in nature and can build community
As farmers’ described it, there is a dynamic relationship relationships. The community is strengthened because rural
about how they use traditional and improved varieties and to households can draw on their relatives, friends, and neighbors
what ends. Farmers prize Dinorado for its economic value, as it in times of need, and vice-versa. Comments from farmers
is sold to meet the demand of niche markets, but they also keep bear this out:
a small amount for their own consumption when they miss the “We (our household) don’t sell seeds, but we are
taste for it. These comments correlate to the benchmark survey happier now because we are able to share seeds with
that described a “savings” function for Dinorado, in that it was our children so they can also plant.”
set aside for buying food in lean months (Villanueva 2004:18). “We are able to share seeds with neighbors. I am able
As one farmer said, “It is easier to save palay (unmilled rice) to share seeds with our children so that if they have
than to save money.” Also, farmers said that it is easier to save a good harvest, and mine is a failure, I can get seeds
rice because stored maize is susceptible to insect damage. The from them.”
higher-yielding UPL Ri-5 provides some flexibility in terms of
household livelihood. It can be kept for household consump- Social scientists’ interest in the theoretical aspects of
tion, but, if prices are high, it can also be sold to earn money to exchange can be traced back to Marel Mauss’ seminal work
buy cheaper imported rice, as Vietnamese rice is now available The gift: forms and functions of exchange in archaic societies
in the local market. The availability of rice as a food staple is (1970), which was a springboard for further analytical refine-
in stark contrast to the situation described in the benchmark ments of exchange theory in traditional societies (Sahlins
survey. In that report, farmers saved Dinorado for selling it 1974). One political scientist, James C. Scott (1976), even
to earn money to buy cheap maize for the lean months. Now, theorized that the breakdown of traditional institutions that
they have rice available for household consumption because guarantee a minimal level of food security can lead to wide-
of the improved productivity of the improved varieties, which spread social unrest, resulting in peasant rebellion against
can also be sold to buy cheaper rice. Farmers reported that government authority.
households may still consume maize during the lean months, So far, the seed traders have been reluctant to reward the
but the number of lean months has been reduced to 2, which better seed producers with higher prices. The USM team has
reduces the amount of time in which they consume maize. been working at raising stakeholders’ consciousness of seed
quality through a “value chain” concept. Stakeholders along
The CSB affects rural households’ livelihoods this chain strive for a good-quality product once they realize
Farmer-to-farmer seed exchange indicates that the seed sup- each’s contribution to creating the value of it. Once that aware-
ply has improved because farmers have sufficient seeds to ness is achieved, each works together to harmonize his efforts
share with other farmers. Not only do they have seeds for that result in a good-quality product. WG6-Arakan Valley has
their household needs but they also have a sufficient quantity conducted rice sensory tests involving farmers, traders, and
for sharing with relatives, neighbors, and friends. Farmers consumers to start a dialogue on the quality traits demanded by
38
the market. The team is working to keep quality consciousness Table 13. Farmers’ and researcher-managed yields, CURE mixed-
cropping trials, Arakan Valley, Philippines, 2006.
foremost in farmers’ minds in the long-run hope that traders
will become aware that their livelihood is closely linked to No. of On-farm CURE
farmers’ productive capacity. Crop farmers yield range site
choosing (t ha–1) yield
Testing mixed cropping as a buffer against crop failure Mungbean 7 0.20–2.53 0.63
Groundnut 4 0.24–0.71 0.36
Taking one step more, the Working Group sought to buffer Maize 4 2.9–5.90 5.18
rural households against crop failure by diversifying the upland Rice
rice-based cropping system. Should rice fail, farmers could fall Dinorado 12 0.54–2.33 1.67
back on nonrice crops, which are also remunerative because UPL Ri-5 12 1.75–3.93 3.27
of marketing potential. Farmers had already diversified their Source: CURE Working Group 6-Arakan Valley (2006).
cropping systems with sporadic maize plots aside from the
main upland rice crop. But this sort of diversification reflected
a retreat from the lower-producing rice cropping, rather than a
strengthening of the overall system. The Working Group ex- Alamada and Mlang, North Cotabato; Surrallah, South
panded upon the farmers’ nonrice cropping choices by testing Cotabato; and Tacurong City, Sultan Kudara Province. The
legumes, which are good sources of protein and can fix nitro- distances concerned are significant as road infrastructure is
gen to improve soil fertility. The experimental setup involved poor, which is a constraint to exchanging these materials in
strip plots of rice with groundnut, mungbean, or maize in the far-away areas.
same field. A postseason cropping analysis showed that rice The mixed cropping system, as proposed by CURE, poses
+ mungbean gave the highest production advantage, followed constraints to adoption. Farmers said that the row widths for
by rice + groundnut and rice + maize. A rice monocrop of an crops, as suggested by the researchers, consumed time and
improved variety planted with Dinorado gave the least produc- labor at sowing and harvest. They said that the women and
tion advantage (Somera et al 2005). WG6-Arakan Valley’s data children were “confused” when they were involved in sow-
also showed that cooperating farmers shared mungbean and ing and harvesting operations. “It is time-consuming and
groundnut seeds with other farmers, which indicated a wider labor-consuming, and difficult to harvest,” as one farmer said.
interest in these crops. When given a choice of crop combina- However, farmers seemed to be able to adjust the field layout
tion in the Project’s third year (2006), farmers tended to choose to their farms’ circumstances.
rice + mungbean because of its earlier harvest (1 month before Another constraint mentioned was land tenancy, as some
rice), a desire for household consumption, soil conditioning farmers do not necessarily have the final say-so on the kinds
properties, and investors’ expressed interest (Table 13). of crops that can be cultivated in the landowners’ fields. One
Farmers viewed the mixed cropping of rice and nonrice farmer-tenant said that he is able to plant mixed crops, but, for
crops as a way to buffer themselves against food insecurity. If others, this depends upon the landlord’s permission. In some
the rice fails, they could fall back on the nonrice crop, and vice- cases, a landowner might allow the tenant to grow only rice.
versa. In the discussion, farmers mostly discussed mungbean, This could be a setback, especially as these technologies are
which probably reflects the composition of the participants in promoted to help resource-poor farmers, and land could be
the discussion. They said that mungbean is harvested right one of the resources they are lacking. To be sure, the tenancy
before the rice harvest, so it is a buffer against food shortages situation may not be so onerous as many farmers said that the
at that time. Farmers also appreciated the legume’s effect on landowners are usually relatives, which results in a familiar
soil conditions. land-use agreement. Still, this issue was important enough for
The multiple benefits of mungbean are reflected in the the farmers to bring it up in the focus group discussion, and
following comments: ultimately it reveals that farmers are beholden to landowners
“If our rice fails, we still have mungbean.” for implementing this technology.
“While waiting for rice to be harvested, we have
mungbean because it matures earlier than rice. Mung-
bean also helps in restoring the fertility of the soil;
Two are better than one: testing rice genetic diversity
besides, it can help feed my family.”
for improved household food security
WG6-Arakan Valley’s third technology for improving food se-
Farmers were pleased to have access to the higher-yield- curity was to introduce a concept of planting two different rice
ing Pagasa-7 mungbean variety, which has better cooking and varieties in specified row ratios in the same field. Researchers
taste quality than the usual variety, Australian 124. Farmers have promoted rice genetic diversity as a practice to reduce
also reported success at selling mungbean seeds both within the occurrence of disease, but it was also introduced in Arakan
and outside of North Cotabato Province. These areas include Valley as a buffer against food shortages, as one variety would
39
CURE has introduced two sorts of crop diversification practices to Arakan Valley. At left, a farmer stands between two varieties sown in strips, which is an
adaptation of the research design’s row interplantings. At right, a farmer and his son are in a field mixed-cropped with rice and mungbean.
likely produce a crop when another incurred losses. In addition, “Children provide labor for planting. When they
it was thought that farmers who grew several varieties would plant, they get confused on the design. They must
be better able to meet their household needs and consumers’ be supervised at all times so the seeds will not be
demand. The experimental setup involved two rows of Dino- mixed.”
rado interplanted with four rows of the improved variety UPL “There are instances when the harvesters mixed the
Ri-5. The latter variety has characteristics similar to those of Dinorado and UPL seeds while harvesting because
Dinorado, but it is higher yielding. they got confused.”
The interplanting of traditional and improved rice variet-
ies in the same field proved to be the most problematic of the Recognizing that rice genetic diversity may serve a useful
new technologies introduced to Arakan Valley. Farmers did purpose in their cropping system, farmers reported that they
understand the ecological benefits for crops. Throughout the were adjusting the research design to make it easier to man-
discussion, they understood the higher yields from using the age. They were planting the varieties as different sections in
practice and that the shorter variety, UPL Ri-5, tended to keep a field rather than using the row ratio technique prescribed by
Dinorado from lodging in the event of high winds. However, researchers. It is uncertain whether the modified version gives
farmers expressed difficulty in following the research design the same effects on crop performance as the original design.
that called for a ratio of two rows of Dinorado to four rows But the farmers’ search for a suitable method demonstrates
of UPL Ri-5. Family members had a hard time keeping track that they are engaged in a process of discovery just as are
of the varietal ratios at planting, and especially the children researchers steeped in the methodological canons of science.
needed supervision. At harvest, the family members had This is a classic example of farmer experimentation that has
problems keeping seeds separated by variety, which reflects been documented throughout the developing world (Chambers
their seed health training to avoid mixtures. If anything, this 1983:91-92).
demonstrates that they were able to use their seed knowledge
to critically analyze a new technology that contradicted it. In
that way, there is an internal validity to their discussion, as
they gave consistent answers that demonstrated what they had
learned in their training. Some comments were
“It’s confusing and very laborious.”
“If you would ask me to plant (rice genetic diversifica-
tion), I will still plant it. But if it will be my decision,
I think it would be better if I do not continue because
the design is really confusing.”
40
PART 3
What have we learned from
qualitative assessments?
CHAPTER 8. Pathways to impact: lessons learned
from CURE qualititative assessments
CURE’s model for pro-poor technology development “strategically positioned” because effective farmer participa-
tory research is still a work in progress for CURE. As the case
Throughout this publication, we have described an array studies showed, some sites are better than others, and much
of environmental conditions and stresses that affect rainfed more capacity building is needed. Our observation has been
rice-based system productivity in the countries served by the that sites get the best results when scientists commit themselves
CURE network. Given their diversity, these ecosystems can to the painstaking application of farmer participatory methods.
present perplexing challenges to agricultural scientists used to Despite the range of skills in the network, it is clear that the in-
a narrowly defined discipline-focused approach to research. stitutionalization of farmer participatory methods in the CURE
At another level, some social and cultural factors outside the paradigm offers a corrective to what development critic Robert
purview of the natural scientific disciplines need to be con- Chambers (1983:10) coined the “rural development tourism”
sidered for making progress in unfavorable environments. It syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by six biases that
is here that CURE shows its strengths, as the work is holistic render the poor invisible to the research process. These are
and it brings to bear that “critical mass” of scientific expertise worth repeating here because they are a reminder of why we
for generating, developing, and validating technologies for do farmer participatory research (Chambers 1983:13-23):
these stress-prone environments (Bennett 2005). Combining 1. Spatial biases: In some research projects, there is
scientific knowledge with farmers’ experience of making a a tendency to situate the experimental sites where
living in these difficult environments, the developed technolo- they are easily accessible for the convenience of
gies are more likely to make a difference in resource-poor researchers and visitors. Although CURE’s key
rural households’ livelihoods. This is important for effectively sites are necessarily positioned at host institutions,
contributing to achieving Goal 1 of IRRI’s 2007-2015 strategic the farmer participatory research occurs in villages
plan, which states: located in distant locales and often accessible only on
poor roads. A balance is struck here between being
Reduce poverty through improved and diversified distant enough to capture rural households’ liveli-
rice-based systems hood systems, but visible enough to showcase the
technologies to familiarize the area’s farmers with
This is also aligned with the United Nations Millennium these technologies.
Development Goals (MDG) that aim to make substantial prog- 2. Project bias: These are “showpiece” and “nicely
ress in improving the living standards of the world’s poor by groomed pet project or model” villages that receive
2015 (www.un.org/millenniumgoals/). Further, IRRI’s Goal a preponderance of project support at the expense of
1 operationalizes the first MDG (“Eradicate extreme poverty poorer areas. The CURE village is only a showpiece
and hunger”) for the unfavorable environments where many to the extent that it gives visibility to technologies to
of the world’s rural poor live. Not only does CURE attempt catch the interest of nonparticipants. CURE’s goal is
to improve rice production, but many of those improvements, not to concentrate technologies at one ideal location,
such as earlier rice establishment systems, aim toward diversifi- but rather it is to work with farmers to test technolo-
cation into nonrice crops. In this way, CURE uses rice research gies so they can be scaled out over a wider area.
as the entry point into rural households’ livelihood system for 3. Person biases: It is common for researchers to want
raising overall system productivity. to work with the so-called better-off “progressive
Organized five years before development of the IRRI farmers” who can bear the risk of adopting new
strategic plan, CURE and its use of farmer participatory technologies. To some extent, CURE’s experience
methodologies strategically positions it to do the kind of pro- shows that it is difficult to reach the “invisible” poor.
poor work mandated by IRRI and the UN’s MDGs. We say However, CURE strives to incorporate poorer farmers
42
by offering a basket of technologies that can be suited to continue progress in technology development in the unfa-
to a household’s socioeconomic status. For example, vorable rice ecosystems.
the qualitative assessments revealed that landless
households were able to use the new technologies. Suitable germplasm identified for the
Furthermore, CURE considers women’s perspec- surveyed sites
tives through activities such as PVS, and researchers Through participatory varietal selection and in demonstra-
continually assess the impacts of technologies on tions under on-farm conditions, CURE was able to identify
“women’s work.” germplasm that achieved farmer acceptability beyond farm-
4. Dry-season bias: Project evaluators may limit their ers’ traditional varieties. This was evident at Cuttack (salt-af-
trips to research sites when the weather is favorable fected lowlands), Hazaribag (drought-prone lowlands), and
for travel. In CURE’s work, researchers work in vil- Arakan Valley (intensive upland systems with a long growing
lages throughout the growing season, and not just season), where new varieties could yield at least 1 t ha–1 (or
when conditions favor easier travel. This interaction at least double) more than traditional varieties. At Hazaribag
is necessary to introduce the new technology, observe and Rangpur (flood-prone lowlands), farmers also valued the
how farmers adapt new technologies, and provide any earlier-maturing varieties because these allowed farmers to
backstopping support. intensify the rice-based system with better timing of a post-
5. Diplomatic biases: Project workers may insulate rice crop. The iterative process of varietal testing in farmers’
visitors from poor areas so as not to offend their fields was able to identify germplasm suitable for the stresses
sensibilities. By its nature, farmer participatory of these ecosystems. In Cuttack, these were older-developed
research makes the CURE village an “open book,” varieties that could perform well under coastal saline con-
which raises researchers’ consciousness of the socio- ditions. At Hazaribag, it was the blast-resistant Anjali that
economic categories in the community. earned farmers’ favor despite its lesser drought tolerance for
6. Professional biases: Researchers may tend to con- this drought-prone ecosystem. In Arakan Valley, new acces-
duct research within narrowly defined disciplinary sions of Dinorado reinvigorated the production of a valued
boundaries without regard to the implications for traditional variety, while researchers also introduced improved
the overall farming system. CURE’s Working Group varieties with similar characteristics for improving overall
structure integrates knowledge of various disciplines food security. At Rangpur, the early-maturing BRRI dhan 33
to achieve a technological product. Good examples was distributed to a limited extent, but there appeared to be
are the establishment systems that integrate new demand as neighboring farmers observed its performance in
germplasm with crop management practices, which participating farmers’ fields.
also take into account the social and economic cir- Although yield was an important factor, other consider-
cumstances of the rural household. ations became apparent, especially at the coastal salinity site
of Cuttack. Here, farmers appreciated multistress tolerance of
CURE is not perfect; many of these biases persist to a the germplasm. The introduced salt-tolerant varieties survived
certain degree, just as they do in any research program. But a wet-season flood because of elongation ability. This may be
a good start has been made upon which further progress can important information for plant breeders to widen the search
build. CURE’s downstream approach means that agricultural for traits that can improve varietal performance under a range
research extends beyond the highly controlled research sta- of conditions in unfavorable ecosystems. For the dry season,
tion or outside the confines of a well-supported showpiece farmers were interested in varieties with high tolerance of
village. Instead, scientists collaborate with farmers to solve saline water irrigation, to which researchers responded for the
real-world problems in real-world conditions of the unfavor- 2007 on-farm tests.
able ecosystems. The two Oudomxay Province villages assessed in Laos
present a different set of circumstances, as 2006 was their first
exposure to the new varieties. The discussion that ensued re-
CURE’s achievements under ADB-RETA 6136 flected how farmers sort out the advantages and disadvantages
Through support from the Asian Development Bank, CURE of new germplasm, especially for the microenvironmental
was able to conduct adaptive research to validate new technolo- conditions of the sloping uplands. It is here that cultural factors
gies, which were then scaled out during the one-year project come into play because the ethnic minorities each may have
extension in 2007. As indicated by the qualitative data, some differing criteria for evaluating germplasm. This surfaced in
of these technologies can have considerable impact on farm- regard to the acceptability of nonglutinous varieties for the
ers’ livelihood systems, while constraints were identified that Khmu, who prefer glutinous rice for household consumption.
would hinder their uptake. Here, we discuss these achieve- Some households may be able to use nonglutinous entries
ments, how the farmer participatory approach contributed to for making noodles for marketing, or else they would have
their development, and shortcomings that need to be addressed to change their cultural preferences to the consumption of
43
nonglutinous rice. Also, rice varieties that can be harvested for the purpose of advancing the harvest, which allows earlier
through the Khmu traditional hand-stripping method may timing of a postrice nonrice crop. At Hazaribag, this involved
be more preferable than those requiring sickle-harvest. The direct-seeding the early-maturing Anjali, which could either
Khmu do not raise bovine species, so the straw is not neces- be intercropped with pigeon pea or followed after harvest with
sary for their livestock. This also begs the question about the sowing of a chickpea sequence crop. At Rangpur, the strategy
disposition of straw if they adopt varieties that must be sickle- to mitigate monga involved the introduction of direct-seed-
harvested. That cultural factors are important in agriculture is ing by a drum seeder or lithao, which had multiple effects on
not to say that these cultural preferences will never change. the cropping and social system. Early establishment not only
The anthropological literature is copious on culture change, advanced the rice harvest to reduce hunger and to provide job
although bereft of any widely applicable models of it. However, opportunities to agricultural workers, it also provided better
innovations that fit as unobtrusively as possible into a culture timing for potato sowing. The better timing for potato likewise
are probably more easily adopted in a development context had multiple effects in providing jobs to the rural poor and in
as they require minimal adjustments in the social and cultural reducing inputs for controlling biotic stresses. Farmers were
system. We believe that the Khmu will adopt the most favored also interested in an early-maturing rice variety that could be
of the new varieties as an addition to the many varieties that introduced to this system. At Arakan Valley, new rice variet-
they already grow, rather than a wholesale replacement as ies were integrated into a mixed cropping system that could
occurs in the adoption of mega-varieties in the lowlands. The buffer households against rice losses, but they also provided
Khmu discussion also revealed that inputs could give dramatic sources of protein for the family’s diet. The mixed-cropped
yield results, but, under current policies, the cost would make legumes also improved soil conditions for subsequent crops.
them inaccessible to resource-poor households. In this case, Another practice, rice genetic diversity, was less favorable
any immediate yield gains will be incremental as fertilizers because farmers found the design too confusing for family
are too expensive for farmers to adopt. members to implement.
All the above discussion points to the exchange of in- Another theme is that crop management practices can
formation between farmers and scientists to find the kinds improve the genetic potential of stress-tolerant traits bred into
of varieties suitable for these quite diverse ecosystems. This new germplasm. This was shown at Cuttack, where a basket
illustrates the strength of the farmer participatory approach of technologies—nutrient management, aged seedlings, and
used in varietal introduction. Although yield is an important closer seedling spacing in transplanting—raised the perfor-
consideration, farmers choose among various agronomic, plant mance of newly introduced rice. For the dry season, earlier
type, and cultural criteria in finally deciding to choose a variety. nursery establishment and transplanting before mid-January
Involving farmers in the process of germplasm introduction were optimal for avoiding the seasonal higher salinity levels.
thus improves the chances of adoption and the realization of At Hazaribag, on-farm results consistently showed that new di-
the research investment in developing these new varieties. The rect-seeding practices could stabilize rice production between
dialogue fostered also gives scientists valuable information on years of favorable and unfavorable moisture.
the sorts of farmer-preferred criteria that need to be considered What emerges from the above research is that new crop
in the future development of new varieties for these difficult management practices have to fit into the social and economic
ecosystems. systems of rural households in order to be acceptable. Crop
management practices are more complicated to develop be-
Viable crop and natural resource management prac- cause they require farmers to change long-practiced patterns
tices to raise system productivity of household labor allocation and timing of seasonal tasks.
Although rice breeding is a core mission of IRRI and many col- Rangpur’s monga mitigation practices are a classic case, as
laborating NARES institutes, the new varieties must be situated they introduced new technologies at a time of year when labor
in an ecosystem context in order to have the greatest impact was available due to a slack seasonal employment period right
on a livelihood system. Improved rice production can reduce before the usual rice harvest. The new system was able to mo-
hunger and also improve households’ financial situation as it bilize unused labor not only for rice harvesting but also for field
reduces the need to have to buy rice. However, rice scientists preparation for the sequenced potato crop. In the meantime,
in CURE have also gone a step further by developing ways in the effects of these technologies radiated throughout the social
which rice-based systems can be diversified into nonrice crops. system, which benefited both medium-landholding farmers
This is an integrated approach, and farmers appreciated the op- and landless agricultural workers. This system also had some
portunity for ways to diversify their production systems, either effect on improving relationships between large-landholding
for improving food security or for having an additional crop farmers and their poorer relatives, who could borrow rice at
to market. One theme is to establish rice earlier, which gives needy times. At the other sites, Hazaribag and Cuttack, farmers
an opportunity for better timing for a postrice crop. This may seemed to be motivated by the prospect of being able to grow
involve the introduction of early-duration varieties and/or new remunerative nonrice crops to avoid their seasonal off-farm
direct-seeding crop practices for early rice establishment, both migration for wage-laboring jobs.
44
The largest constraint in these new systems is the avail- Progress in household food security has been made
ability and affordability of good-quality nonrice seed. It is but in varying degrees
common to hear farmers say that they are participating “to The evidence from the qualitative assessments indicates that
get seed,” indicating that it might not be easily available from progress has been made toward improving household food
any source except the researchers. To make a difference in the security at most of these CURE sites. The amount of progress
livelihood system, researchers must be able to anticipate how ranges from villages that indicated they are growing surplus-
farmers can continue with these technologies once project es (Cuttack) to other sites where annual food shortages have
support ends. That is the ultimate test for adoption. This may been reduced to about 2 months (Arakan Valley) or to where
require entering the policy arena to advocate government only a 2-month annual improvement (Hazaribag) occurred. In
support for seeds. There may be a role for extension services each of these cases, farmers reported that food shortages had
or NGOs here to make good-quality nonrice seed available. ranged from 3 to 9 months. Although progress was made, we
This was evident at Rangpur, where some farmers indicated must take into account that farmers are still testing the varieties
that NGOs marketed good-quality potato seed. In this way, and management practices on a small scale. Further gains can
the research program needs to be better integrated with the likely occur once they continue to build their confidence in
distribution sources of nonrice seed. the technologies and expand the area of adoption. They may
need to test these technologies over the range of conditions that
Community organizing for improved frequent these unfavorable ecosystems. After all, unfavorable
seed health management rice environments are characterized by the erratic nature of the
Arakan Valley’s development of a community seed bank model stresses that confront crop production. Drought and flooding
would seem to extend CURE’s role from purely technology can occur at various points of a single growing season, whereas
development to organizing an effective mechanism for technol- problem soils, such as saline soils, add another layer of com-
ogy delivery. It is through the CSB that seed health practices plexity. Achieving stable rice production in these ecosystems
and new varieties are disseminated to farmers, and through needs to take into account this variability.
which follow-up monitoring is conducted. This may appear to The Lao site in Oudomxay Province is more problematic
blur the boundaries of IRRI’s and NARES partners’ missions because 2006 was the first year for the selected village to
away from a strict function of research for technology develop- test the varieties for sloping upland conditions, which CURE
ment. However, we propose that the CSB is a technology in was able to introduce through an IFAD development project.
itself, if one considers a broader definition of that concept to However, the qualitative research was able to elicit the sorts
include “the use of tools, the pattern of work, the information of cultural and agronomic criteria that a specific ethnic group,
or knowledge employed, and the organization of resources for the Khmu, uses to evaluate new cultivars. This underscores
productive activity” (Seymour-Smith 1986:276). Furthermore, the strength of the farmer participatory approach, as “one size
the social science literature shows that linking technology to doesn’t fit all” when introducing technologies to unfavorable
a social organization is a people-centered approach that is environments. This approach is particularly apt for the sloping
likely to sustain technologies introduced by a project (Cernea uplands, where farmers have to take into account highly local-
1991, Kottak 1991). ized microenvironmental factors in choosing new rice variet-
Just as other technologies may be diffused to other areas, ies. By giving farmers a choice in varietal selection, CURE
we found that the CSB model is portable, as it was implemented is able to mobilize farmers’ own knowledge and expertise in
in a nearby Manobos indigenous community, as well as at the cultivating rice in this ecosystem.
WG6-Arakan Valley’s sister site in Lampung, Indonesia. At
those sites, farm communities can adapt it to their particular Partnering with farmers to achieve impact
circumstances. It would seem inconceivable that a CSB could Whether or not a research project employs farmer participatory
be developed without a farmer participatory approach, as it approaches, it is the farmers who will always have the final
requires a sustained scientist-farmer partnership to teach new say in whether they will adopt or not adopt a new technology.
seed health management practices, and the follow-through to CURE’s experience shows that partnering with them in the
ascertain that farmers are properly using these practices. The technology development process can bring about favorable
WG6 team sensitively accomplished this with field schools, outcomes as it allows researchers to apply scientific knowledge
farm walks, and on-farm monitoring, in addition to raising to farmers’ realities in the unfavorable environments. This is
farmers’ and traders’ awareness of their supporting links in the the essence of what former World Bank sociologist Michael
value chain of seed production. The farmers have responded Cernea (1991:7) calls “putting people first” by marrying
by instituting the CSB into a formal organizational structure, technical requirements to social realities to achieve progress
the Arakan Valley Community Seed Bank Organization. This in agricultural research. The concept of farmer participatory
assures that a formal network is in place that can sustain and research may appeal to our philosophical sense of benevolence
build upon the gains already achieved through CURE’s seed and goodwill toward the beneficiaries of new technologies. But,
health management program. Cernea pointed out that a people-centered approach has very
45
important ramifications for the effectiveness of programs that Cernea M. 1991. Knowledge from social science for development
are intended to bring about positive change in the developing policies and projects. In: Cernea M, editor. Putting people first:
world. The accomplishments documented in this report tell sociological variables in rural development. New York: Oxford
that story at several CURE key sites. University Press for the World Bank. p 1-40.
Chambers R. 1983. Rural development: putting the last first. London
Acknowledgments (UK): Longman Group Limited.
Chambers R. 1994. The origins and practice of participatory rural
WG2-Rangpur: Dr. Abdelbagi Ismail, Working Group leader, Dr. appraisal. World Dev. 22(2):953-969.
M.A. Mazid, key site coordinator; Mr. Anarul Haque, scien- Chambers R. 1997. Whose reality counts? Putting the first last. Lon-
tific officer, Rangpur Regional Station; Mr. Roy Durlov, field don (UK): Intermediate Technology Publications.
technician; Ms. Tahmina Banu, IRRI-Dhaka office. Chevalier JM, Sanchez A. 2003. The hot and cold: ills of humans
WG3 Cuttack: Dr. R.K. Singh, Working Group leader; Dr. M.P. and maize in native Mexico. Toronto (Canada): University
Pandey, director, CRRI; Dr. P.K. Singh, key site coordinator; of Toronto Press.
Dr. Sanjoy Saha and Dr. K.R. Mahata, team scientists; Mr. CURE Working Group 6-Arakan Valley. 2006. Consortium for Un-
Shaildendra Kumar, Mr. Prempal Kumar, Mr. Minaketan favorable Rice Environments Working Group 6–Philippines,
Sahoo, and Mr. Chittaranjan Sahoo, field assistants. July–December 2006. Accomplishments. Unpublished semi-
WG4 Luang Prabang: Dr. Sushil Pandey, Working Group leader; annual report. Kabacan (Philippines): University of Southern
Mr. Khamdok Sonyihkhangsutor, key site coordinator; Dr. Mindanao.
Ben Samson, IRRI resident agronomist; Dr. Gary Jahn, IRRI Donner W. 1978. The five faces of Thailand: an economic geography.
coordinator for the Greater Mekong Subregion; Mr. Ban- New York (USA): St. Martin’s Press.
thasack Vongphutone, upland rice technical assistant; Mr. Halpern JM. 1963. Trade patterns in Northern Laos. Proceedings
Somsai Yasongkua, driver; Mr. Ounheane, Luang Prabang of the Ninth Pacific Science Congress, 18 Nov.-9 Dec. 1957,
office manager. Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok: Secretariat, Ninth Pacific Sci-
WG5 Hazaribag: Dr. G.N. Mishra, acting head and principal scien- ence Congress, Department of Science. p 242-245.
tist (at time of site visit), CRURRS; Dr. P.K. Sinha (head and IRRI (International Rice Research Institute). 2007. Bringing hope,
principal scientist, CRURRS); Dr. Mukund Variar, key site improving lives: strategic plan 2007-2015. Los Baños (Philip-
coordinator; Dr. D. Maiti and Dr. V.D. Shukla, team scientists; pines): IRRI.
Mr. Mohktar Medhi, field assistant. Kottak CP. 1991. When people don’t come first: some sociology les-
WG6-Arakan Valley: Dr. Casiana Vera Cruz, Working Group leader; sons from completed projects. In: Cernea M, editor. Putting
Dr. Edwin Hondrade, key site coordinator; Dr. Rose D. Fe people first: sociological variables in rural development. New
Hondrade, social scientist and extension specialist; Mr. Jack York (USA): Oxford University Press for the World Bank.
A.S. Herrera and Ms. Jo-Anne Lynne Joy Duque, field staff. p 431-464.
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CURE coordinator (2005-07); Dr. Thelma Paris, Dr. Hari search. London (UK): Sage Publications.
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47
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