Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Development and Extension

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Browsing Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Development and Extension by Advisor "Stroebel, Aldo"

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    Development of a systems model facilitating action research with resource-poor farmers for sustainable management of natural resources
    (University of the Free State, 2006-11) Smith, Hendrik Johannes; Walker, Sue; Stroebel, Aldo; Verschoor, Aart-Jan
    English: The focus of this research is a localised action research framework, or more specifically, the development of action-research theories based on experiences in a South African Landcare project. The Bergville Landcare project, implemented from 2000 to 2005, was aimed at developing conservation agriculture (CA) practices in a community of resource-poor farmers. These attempts culminated in the development of a soft-system platform on which participatory action research methodologies and techniques could be based in order to facilitate adult and action learning. The following six strategies were identified for the development of such a platform: awareness, local institution building, training-of-trainers, farmer-to-farmer extension, onfarm experimentation and partnerships. The main action-research methodology used to manage these strategies is monitoring and evaluation (M&E). The approach selected for this research is one in which multiple methodologies are deemed the most appropriate for developing theories within the paradigm of constructivism and interactive agricultural science, i.e. a combination of grounded theory, action research and soft-systems methodology (SSM). The design of the research process resulted in effectively using and analysing the different data sources within the following four phases: a) theory as an initial guide to design and data collection; b) application of initial theories in a Landcare project; c) theory as part of an iterative process of data collection and analysis; and d) gaining theoretical and practical insights into the focal research problems. A number of theories relating to action research were seen as critical in the formulation of the process which was applied in the Bergville project. Action research, experiential learning and action learning formed the foundation of the action research approach which was conducted with resource-poor farmers in the Bergville project. In a practical sense, action research was seen as the “umbrella methodology”, applied in harmony with other methodologies, such as SSM, the Farming Systems Approach (FSA), Farmer Participatory Research (FPR), Farmer Field School (FFS) and M&E. The “action research process” applied in the Bergville project was used as the so called ‘Acting’ phase, and was the primary data-source for the research process. The various documents and data used, i.e. project reports, a personal research diary, significant changes and M&E findings, are described comprehensively. A convergent interviewing process was used to obtain an indication of how sustainable the activities and results of the project were. The multi-methodological data analysis and theory development process proved to be successful in establishing local theories for practical application. Cognitive maps were used in combination with a general SSM framework to stimulate data analyses, reflection, learning and ultimately theorising. Three cognitive maps were developed in which local theories for on-farm experimentation, training-of-trainers, farmer-to-farmer extension, local institutionalisation and M&E are explicated. Since the cognitive map is a structuring (conceptualisation) of a complex situation, they were discussed in detail in an attempt to improve their understanding. The most suitable approach for a synthesis of the theorising results appeared to be the integration of the results into an improved theoretical framework addressing the main research questions of this study. This improved framework proved to be that of a systems model which included the major phases of the action-research cycle, and this was used to describe the proposed methodologies and techniques. The proposed six phases of this model are: a) Stakeholder analysis, b) Diagnosis (Situation analysis), c) Planning strategically, d) Implementing and managing, e) Learning and adapting, and f) Exit strategy. This model provides a means of creating a culture of learning that would allow people to be innovative and interactive in the management of natural resources and to collectively care for and manage these resources in a sustainable manner.
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    Redefining the role of the extension agent in commercializing South African agriculture: an Eastern Cape case study
    (University of the Free State, 2012-02) Van Niekerk, Johan Adam; Van Rooyen, Johan; Swanepoel, Frans; Stroebel, Aldo
    English: Agriculture and rural development in the Eastern Cape, and in South Africa, are in vital need of revitalization; especially since the people of the communal areas of the Province are often referred to as the poorest of the poor. Organizations, with specific reference to the Eastern Cape's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, use agricultural extension as a vehicle for developing agriculture and the rural areas. Presently, the Department uses the Farming Systems Research and Extension (FSR/E) model for this purpose. The objectives for this thesis are to determine: • if this extension model presently used is effective, as well as to determine how to strengthen this model; • the perceptions of extension workers and agricultural researchers on factors supporting effective agricultural extension; • the specific needs of small-scale farmers and how they foresee themselves to become more commercially orientated; • the thoughts of practicing extension workers on the public extension services' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and what they believe needs to be done to make the extension service more efficient and effective; • the thoughts of actors from the agricultural support services - namely actors from agribusinesses and agricultural economists - on what role they see the public extension service should play and the steps that the extension service should take in order to be more effective; and • a new extension model for the Eastern Cape will be determined. This was achieved by consulting relevant literature sources, including the experts in the field on the present developments in extension, as well as using a questionnaire to determine the perceptions of the extension workers and agricultural researchers, a Logical Framework Analysis was used to determine the perceptions the small-scale farmers faced as well as the ways that they believed would solve their problems. Another two Logical Framework Analysis wereused to determine the thoughts of practicing extension workers and actors from the agricultural support services on what they believed is needed to strengthen the extension organization. The results from the study revealed information on global extension developments: perceptions of extension workers and researchers; the actual needs of a rural community and their vision of how to become more commercially orientated; the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the public extension service as viewed by the province's extension workers; the views of the extension workers concerning the problems that they face and ways to solve these problems; the views of the actors from agribusinesses and agricultural economists - collectively known as the agricultural support services - on the problems they have with the public extension service, the envisaged role that they see for the extension service and their envisaged way forward for the extension service in the province; a matrix of the factors linked to effective extension and the actors involved in strengthening these factors; and proposed a new and strengthened extension model. This new model is a decentralized, market-orientated extension model, which incorporate all actors within the agricultural environment and the actual needs of farmers. Involvement of various actors in strengthening the public extension service and the extension workers' skills was also described and is included in the model.