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1161: Utilizing "Farmer Knowledge" in Africa for Technology Diffusion
1161. Utilizing "Farmer Knowledge" in Africa for Technology Diffusion
Guiding principle of the study: "How will your research improve our lives?"
This is what I was actually told by farmers in Kenya, where I had conducted my previous research. It is natural for farmers to think that they would like to receive money for their research without doing it. However, in the current situation in Africa, it is necessary not only to provide short-term material support, but also to develop new technologies through research, identify the best agricultural methods for the region, and disseminate them so that farmers can use them. The IAEA's research targets not only technological development but also social implementation (actual use by farmers), which has the advantage of allowing us to conduct research that is rooted in the local community.
Utilizing "farmer knowledge" for technology dissemination
My research is focused on Africa under the theme of "Understanding Farmers' Knowledge for Technology Dissemination." The word "knowledge" is associated with what we learn in school classes, but apart from such knowledge, farmers' experiential knowledge, which they acquire through their daily experiences, is called "farmer knowledge". To date, many technologies that are supposed to make sustainable agriculture possible have been disseminated in Africa, but there is a problem that farmers do not use them or stop using them soon after they are used. In sub-Saharan Africa, it is particularly difficult to spread these technologies. One possible solution to this problem is to understand "farmer knowledge." If we researchers can understand what farmers value and what they consider difficult in their daily farm work, and how they understand the characteristics of the soil and crops, we believe it will be possible to develop technologies that meet farmers' wishes and disseminate technologies in a way that is easily accepted by farmers. Our research targets countries are Ghana and Madagascar, with field crop farmers in Ghana and paddy farmers in Madagascar.
Ghana: How do farmers use organics?
In Ghana, we are interviewing farmers in rural villages in the north of the country about their use of organic materials. Organic fertilizers such as livestock dung are cheaper to obtain than pricey chemical fertilizers. In addition, the amount of organic matter in African soil is low to begin with, so if the amount of organic matter in the soil can be increased, it can improve the effectiveness of chemical fertilizers and reduce soil degradation. However, the amount of organic fertilizer currently used in Ghana is low, and it is necessary to know the current situation in order to consider the appropriate use of organic fertilizer in the future. From the survey, we learned about the actual problems and farmers' wisdom in using organic fertilizers, such as: although they keep livestock, the livestock feces are difficult to collect because they are free-range; the distance between the house and the field is long, making it difficult to transport the livestock feces; and because the amount of organic fertilizer is small, it is applied only to crops such as corn.
Madagascar: Where are the rice paddies low in phosphorus?
In Madagascar, as a result of past research conducted by JIRCAS, it was discovered that when organic fertilizers are added to paddy fields with low phosphorus (low phosphorus), which is one of the plant nutrients, their application is highly effective. So, we would like to tell farmers, "You should put organic fertilizers in low-phosphorus rice paddies!" But we don't know what kind of paddies are low-phosphorus paddies. So, we asked farmers what characteristics low-nutrient paddies, including low-phosphorus paddies, have, found something related to low-phosphorus paddies in farmers' knowledge, and told them, "You all know that this is a characteristic of low-phosphorus paddies! You should apply organic fertilizers there!" We are conducting our research with the goal of being able to say, "You know, that's a characteristic of low-phosphorus paddy fields!" We ask farmers questions in the form of interviews, but our method is a bit unique, and we dig deeper into the questions so that they can give us more detailed information. To introduce a few, I ask, "What are the characteristics of low-nutrient paddy fields?" The farmer says, "Low rice yields." I ask, "Why is the rice yield so low?" The farmer said, "...because the initial growth was poor." I ask, "Why is the initial growth so bad?" Farmer: "The soil is cold." I ask, "Why is the soil cold?" The farmer said, "...the soil is too hard, so it doesn't drain. I "Why is the soil so hard?" The farmer said, "I don't know! It's always been that way!" I kept asking until he could no longer continue to answer. I asked many times, and sometimes the farmer seemed to be bothered by my questions, but sometimes he would give me detailed information about the history of the paddy fields. It is very enjoyable to see the actual rice paddies and the surrounding environment, and to come into contact with the wisdom of the farmers that has been nurtured there, which I think is the charm of fieldwork.
The main requirement for field research is physical strength!
I love fieldwork, but my recent problem is that I don't have the stamina to run around in the field. In Ghana, I was made to walk endlessly to a field "just there" (do not believe local farmers when they say "just there"), and in Madagascar, I was exhausted from the ups and downs of narrow hillsides and steep slopes, and had to ask an old farmer for two rice crackers to use his wooden walking stick to waddle around. I was so exhausted that I could not do any good research at this point, and that I am now working on building up my physical strength.