Major Findings

1997-2002 PRGA Program Synthesis (low graphics/970 KB | high graphics/ 1.4 MB) | Summary (124 KB)

Participatory Research & Gender Analysis is:

• Scientific - embodies rigorous systematic methods that are scientifically grounded and whose results are valid
• Delivering broad impacts - compared to conventional research, participatory approaches produce technologies and resource management options that are better suited for the end-users, hence increasing the economic benefits from adoption. In addition, participatory research produces process impacts, which are associated with generating human and social capital, and are more enduring than most technologies
• Beneficial to women, the poorest and marginal groups- enables research to target these groups that are often overlooked by conventional research; and helps scientists understand the relations among women and menfarmers/stakeholders and how these affect, and may be affected by research and development interventions
• Cost efficient - reduces the overall time required to produce relevant technologies, and significantly reduces the possibility that technologies are rejected by farmers once they have been developed
• In wide use and growing demand - a large number of respected CGIAR scientists are using PRGA approaches in their research while there is a growing (and as yet, unmet) demand for training in the scientific use of PRGA methods in agriculture.

Accomplishments

Demystification of Participation and Gender Analysis:

As a scientific community we now know much more about the variable nature, and potential applications of participatory research and gender analysis. Not all participation is the same. We know that an array of different "divisions of labour" between farming communities and researchers can be used during various stages in the research process to produce distinct outcomes. The institutional environments in which these research approaches are implemented also affect the way in which the research unfolds. Moreover we have learned that different kinds of participatory approaches give diverse clusters of both product and process impacts that have a bearing on the wellbeing of rural communities. These findings help us to make sound judgements about when and how to apply participatory and gender sensitive methods when planning our research. For more information on this please refer to Working Documents 2, 4, 6, 8, and 15 in PRGA Publications.

Global assessment of state of the art and emerging issues:

Participatory research and gender analysis is being implemented in many places around the world. The institutions, the purpose, and the way in which the approaches are implemented vary. As a result of several key studies commissioned and/or conducted by the PRGA Program, as well as an extensive inventorying process we now have a global benchmark of the quantity, quality and scope of participatory and gender sensitive research being conducted around the world by different types of institutions. For example we can know what types of institutions are using which types of participation at different stages of their research projects, with what objectives and results. A close assessment of these cases tells us what are the main achievements and obstacles, and also the emerging challenges and issues for further research. For more information on these please refer to Working Documents 7 and 10 in the PRGA Publications area.

Support and engagement in cutting-edge research:

As one of its strategies for pushing forward the field of participatory and gender sensitive research the PRGA Program has run a competitive small grants program. There have been 9 projects funded for work in NRM and 13 projects funded for work in PPB. Results show that good progress was made in addressing gender needs. In Peru, for example, targeting technologies to women and involving them in selecting new potato clones enabled development of different clone options for men and women. Progress was also noted in increasing women's decision-making power and control over resources. Participatory approaches applied in Uganda resulted in men working more with women, and in Kenya, they led to increases in the number of women in the local management committee and better representation of women's issues. In Nepal, training provided to over 600 farmers (> 50% women) contributed to farmers taking the initiative to cross local varieties with improved varieties. Farmer-led maize breeding influenced the National Maize Research Program of Nepal to undertake research on improving a local variety of maize important to subsistence farmers. Further information on these studies can be found in, Assessing the Benefits of Rural Women's Participation in Natural Resource Management (CGIAR-PRGA, 2002) and An Exchange of Experiences from South and South East Asia (CGIAR-PRGA, 2001) available in the PRGA Publications area.

The small grant projects have been the PRGA's main arm in the field. However, the program staff have also engaged directly in cutting edge research. For example, a PRGA staff member together with outside legal expertise have conducted a study that addressed the challenging issue of how to attribute intellectual property rights which emerge from collaboration between researchers and farming communities. This work starts to fill a major gap in the international arena, where current agreements draw prime attention to Plant Breeder Rights and Farmers Rights, but fail to address the division of benefits which could result from collaborative work. For more information on these studies and findings please refer to Leskien & Sperling, 2001.

Rigorous evaluation of impacts and costs of participatory approaches:

Compelling evidence of the impact of using participatory approaches is the only way that scientists and research managers will begin to incorporate these approaches into their research. While the impacts of participatory research have been recorded, the differential effect of using participatory, in contrast to other approaches has rarely been systematically analyzed and documented; neither has the effect of using varying types of participation during different stages in the research process. The PRGA Program has developed and applied tools for empirical impact studies in both PPB and NRM. Four impact cases studies have been completed and three more studies are in progress and expected to be completed in 2002. Both impacts and costs were studied, with a particular focus on documenting process impacts of different types of participatory research, as well as impact of involving farmers at different stages of research. The studies evaluated impacts on technology and adoption, human and social capital, and feedback to formal research. Both qualitative and quantitative data were used, including existing project documentation; open-ended interviews with project staff, farmer participants, and other key informants and statistical and econometric analysis of survey data.

Initial findings suggest that higher degrees of farmer involvement and control in the research process yield higher levels of empowerment, give voice to farmer's technology priorities - including women's priorities, speed technology adaptation, increase human capital, boost adoption and have positive impacts on farmer profits. There is also empirical evidence that participatory research reduces the costs of developing technologies that are not adopted by intended users. In Indonesia, participation at an early stage of sweet potato research resulted in researchers changing the proposed technology as a direct consequence of farmer input. For more information on these studies and findings please refer to Working Document 7, 12, 17 and 19 in the PRGA Publications area.

PRGA Community of knowledge and practice:

The PRGA Program has used several strategies to build and articulate a community of knowledge and practice focused on participatory research approaches. We have stimulated a worldwide exchange of expertise through various listservers, organized three biannual international seminars that have gathered over 500 PRGA practitioners from around the world, created three publicly accessible databases with information on projects using these approaches, and established a network of PRGA liaisons and gender focal points in all the CGIAR centers. In addition, program staff have organized and participated in numerous capacity building events on participatory research and gender analysis methods and several guides and handbooks have been published.