Participation : for improved adoption, research, or both : two case studies

Participatory approaches are commonly interpreted as processes for ‘extension’. Yet, we use case studies of Farming Systems RDE in Australia and India to show that participatory approaches can increase adoption and support people to improve farming practices by targeting research questions that are meaningful to the end-users, and simultaneously address research questions of interest to the research community using statistically sound methods. Indeed, participatory action research allows the pursuit of shared research questions of genuine interest to both farmers and researchers. This contribution of knowledge from both farmers and researchers, and the opportunity to reconcile their different interpretations of results, is what underpins the universal appeal of participatory research for people learning to implement change. However, ‘participation’ is a contested term with uncertainty about its meaning and rationale for use. Consequently, the appropriate level of participation in Farming Systems RDE activities may depend on how important the issue is to each participant and the diversity of their understandings and values