1

Bonga University College of Agriculture and Natural

Resource.
Department of Horticulture

Course: RESEARCH METHODS IN HORTICULTURE

By:

Gamachu .W. (MSc.): Horticulturist

2
 Chapter .1
Agricultural research methods
 Agriculture has developed rapidly in the last half century,
and however today agriculture and agricultural research is
faced with problems concerning nature and environment,
human health and animal welfare, as well as a general
concern for the sustainability of modern agriculture.
 Agriculture is characterized by an agricultural practice that
involves both social and ecological systems.
 Research into these socio-ecological systems faces the
dual challenge of understanding complex agro-ecosystem
interactions and the practices of human actors in social
systems.
 Cont,,,
Agricultural systems research is therefore inherently
framed in a social context, and necessarily involves
questions concerning different interests and values in
society as well as different structures of rationality and
meaning.
Agriculture today is an area in rapid development both in
terms of technological development.
Interms of the development of alternative production
systems.
 Agricultural research plays an influential role in these
developments.
 Agricultural science influences its own subject area.
 Cont,,,
 Agriculture in Ethiopia is an old aged practice, in which more 85 % of the people are
engaged.

 Agricultural research and education are expected to provide solutions for food shortage,
by developing integrated and efficient agricultural production technologies.

 Currently, agricultural production in Ethiopia is far lower than production in other

advanced nations, both on a calorie basis and a production level, so the improvement
of agricultural productivity and the strengthening of the constitution of agriculture
are desired.

 Adaptive and basic research is very important to increase the production and
productivity of the overall farming system to eradicate poverty and improve the
livelihood of the farming community in Ethiopia.

 So far agricultural research in Ethiopia has generated a lot of technologies for the
farmers. However, most of the technologies are not in search of the farmers due to socio-
economic constraints.
 What is research?
 Research is an ORGANIZED and SYSTEMATIC way of
FINDING ANSWERS to QUESTIONS.
 SYSTEMATIC because there is a definite set of procedures and
steps which you will follow.
 There are certain things in the research process which are always
done in order to get the most accurate results.
 ORGANIZED- it should be structured or method in going about
doing research.
 It is a planned procedure, not a spontaneous one.
 It is focused and limited to a specific scope.
 Cont,,,,
 FINDING ANSWERS is the end of all research.

 Whether it is the answer to a hypothesis or even a simple question,

research is successful when we find answers.

 Sometimes the answer is no, but it is still an answer.

 QUESTIONS are central to research.

 If there is no question, then the answer is of no use.

 Research is focused on relevant, useful, and important questions.

 Without a question, research has no focus, drive, or purpose.

 Cont’…
 Research is also defined as any gathering of data, information and facts for
the advancement of knowledge.

 Scientific definition of research is performing a methodical study in order to prove

a hypothesis or answer a specific question.

 Finding a definitive answer is the central goal of any experimental process.

 Research must be systematic and follow a series of steps and a rigid standard
protocol.

 Rules are broadly similar but may vary slightly between the different fields of
science.

 Scientific research must be organized and undergo planning, including

performing literature reviews of past research and evaluating what questions
need to be answered. 8
 Cont,,,
 Any type of ‘real’ research, whether scientific, economic or historical, requires
some kind of interpretation and an opinion from the researcher.

 This opinion is the underlying principle, or question, that establishes the nature
and type of experiment.

 The scientific definition of research generally states that a variable must be

manipulated, although case studies and purely observational science do not always
comply with this norm.

 General aims of research are: observe, describe, predict, determination of the

causes and giving explanation.

 Purpose of Research: the purpose of research is about testing theories, often

generated by pure science, and applying them to real situations, addressing
more than just abstract principles.
 The Scientific Definition

 The strict definition of scientific research is performing a

methodical study in order to prove a hypothesis or answer a
specific question.

 Finding a definitive answer is the central goal of any experimental

process.

 Research must be systematic and follow a series of steps and a

rigid standard protocol.

 Rules are broadly similar but may vary slightly between the
different fields of science.

10
 Cont’…
 Scientific research must be organized and undergo planning, including
performing literature reviews of past research and evaluating what questions
need to be answered.

 ‘Real’ research, whether scientific, economic or historical, requires some kind of

interpretation and an opinion from the researcher.

 Opinion is the underlying principle, or question, that establishes the nature and
type of experiment.

 Scientific definition of research generally states that a variable must be

manipulated, although case studies and purely observational science do not
always comply with this norm.
Definition of different categories of research
 Chapter .2

Research planning
• Research plan is the initial stage of preparation for research.
• First of all the research plan should identify the researchable
agenda and outline its relevance.
• Research plan should mention the importance and how it will
be conducted.

Steps in scientific research

• Starting point of most new research is to formulate
a general question about an area of research and
begin the process of defining it.
• This initial question can be very broad, as the later
research, observation and narrowing down will
hone it into a testable hypothesis.

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 Narrowing Down
 Research stage, through a process of elimination, will narrow and
focus the research agenda.
 This will take into account budgetary restrictions, time, available
technology and practicality, leading to the proposal of a few realistic
hypotheses.
 Eventually, the researcher will arrive at one fundamental hypothesis
around which the experiment can be designed.

Designing the Experiment

 This stage of the scientific method involves designing the steps that
will test and evaluate the hypothesis, manipulating one or more
variables to generate analyzable data.
 The experiment should be designed with later statistical tests in
mind, by making sure that the experiment has controls and a large
enough sample group to provide statistically valid results. 14
 Observation

This is the midpoint of the steps of the scientific method

and involves observing and recording the results of the
research, gathering the findings into raw data.

Observation stage involves looking at what effect the

manipulated variables have upon the subject, and
recording the results.

Analysis
• The scope of the research begins to broaden again,
as statistical analyses are performed on the data, and
it is organized into an understandable form.
• The answers given by this step allow the further
widening of the research, revealing some trends and
answers to the initial questions.

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 Conclusions and Publishing
 This stage is where, technically, the hypothesis is stated as proved
or disproved.

 Even if the hypothesis was incorrect, maybe the experiment had a

flaw in its design or implementation.

 There may be trends that, whilst not statistically significant, lead to

further research and refinement of the process.

 The results are usually published and shared with the scientific
community, allowing verification of the findings and allowing
others to continue research into other areas.

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 CONT,,,

A typical research plan has four main sections:

Specific aims, background and significance, preliminary
studies and progress report, and research design and methods.
The research plan should be written to address the
following questions:
What do you intend to do?
Why is the work important?
What has already been done?
How are you going to do the work?

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 Basic elements of scientific research

 In research planning scientific method, we have to follow the

following steps Choose a question to investigate.

 Identify a hypothesis related to the question.

 Make testable predictions in the hypothesis.

 Design an experiment to answer hypothesis question.

 Collect data in experiment.

 Determine results and assess their validity.

 Determine if results support or refute your hypothesis

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 Example of a Research Plan
Title: Fertilizer
rate study for
faba bean
Reference Investigators-
Name of the
researcher

Hypothesis, Research
Budget Questions, or Goals of the
Project

The Background
Work plan and Significance
Materials and
methods to be
used
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 Research problem and research questions

 Problems come in a variety of shapes and sizes. For example, in food security,
we can use the word ‘Problem’ to cover: -

 Impact of climate change, land degradation, lack of high yielding varieties,

fertilizer rate. All these could be termed problems, yet they are very different
and require different approaches to deal with them.

 Some problems are short term, some are long term. Some involve decisions.
Some involve a whole range of problems from which priorities must be chosen.
Some may not be completely soluble and may have to be coped with.

 There is no one way that will solve all problems. There are various approaches,
or ‘tools’, which will help to solve certain types of problems. Analysts must be
comfortable with a number of tools and should not be afraid of trying out several
on any given problem.
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 Identifying priorities

 Many problems are complex, involving a whole range of causes.

 Unfortunately for Ethiopia, not many problems are so easily
soluble, especially in the field of agriculture.
 However the principle remains.
 We must spend our limited time wisely.
 It’s no use spending many days solving a tiny problem of little
consequence when there is a big problem to solve that demands a
good solution.

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 Analyzing symptoms to find causes
 This is the heart of problem analysis.
 Before taking action, symptoms must be distinguished from
causes.
 Is poor soil fertility a problem of farmers, or is it a symptom of a
yield reduction? Often, the absence of a symptom may be just as
significant as its presence.
 Having a soil fertility problem on the productivity of crops, may
give a clue to its cause! What is wanted is a cause, or causes, that
will adequately account for poor crop productivity.
 Most approaches make ‘models’ or charts of the situation on
which all the known facts can be entered, so that to identify the
root cause through research.

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 Developing alternatives
 What we need are options to choose from – there’s always another
way if only we can find it!
Follow up
1. Having tackled the problem, what can be learned from it?

2. What new procedures will help prevent similar problems in the

future?

3. Where decisions have been made, can we monitor their

effectiveness?

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 Golden rules
 Do not confuse an Objective with a Problem Definition.
For example: ‘My problem is that I Need to eradicate poverty. This
could be a solution looking for a problem!
 Find out why a problem exists - don’t just accept the definition that
you’re given.
 Get inside the problem - see it, experience it, understand it.
 Just like Objectives, Problems must also be quantified. We often
find that particular solutions are requested by clients – and provided
by service providers.

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 Cont,,,
 It is always advisable to define the problem before jumping into solutions
Analytical techniques
 This technique is most useful when analyzing big problems or seemingly complicated
issues where all factors seem to be inter-related.
 Principle:
 Problems don’t just happen (cause)
 One thing leads to another (effect)
 Is this the problem or the effect of many other problems?
 The Cause and Effect Analysis tool uses a hierarchy to rationalize the factors that
contribute to the manifestation of a problem.
 It is a simple way of making sense out of what may be a confusing set of inter-relating
factors.
Pick one major problem
 List all those minor problems which contribute to this major problem
 Group into related sets
 Organize as an hierarchy
 Tabulate causes and effects using words leads to and caused by
 Quantify the causes for each effect – an estimated percentage 25
 QUIZE 10%
1.What is Agricultural systems research Ethiopia?(1)

2.Write the importance adaptive and basic research in Ethiopian

Country ? (2)

3.Research is organized and systematic way of finding answers to

questions briefly discussed what mean that ?(2)

4. Write the chain of research plan step: (1)

5. Write the typical research plan has four main sections (2)

6. Write the Purpose of Research (2)

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 CHAPTER THREE
Research proposal writing
 Research methodology and proposal writing, basic elements in
proposal writing include:-

1. A literature review

2. A clear objective or aim

3.Appropriate experimental design

4. Data collection methodologies

5. work plan

6. Budget
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 Literature review
 A literature review is a summary of all the findings from previous
research in a particular field.
 The review reveals:
1.What is already known
2.Gaps in current knowledge
3.Effective methodologies used in previous research
4.Inconsistent results from similar studies

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 CONT,,,,
 No single study is conclusive.

 Many similar studies have inconsistent results.

 After reviewing literature a researcher may often deduce the factors causing the
inconsistencies

 develop a new study which includes ways of controlling them.

 Whatever area of research is decided upon,

e.g. a gap in current knowledge or

 An area that has inconclusive or

 inconsistent results,

 it must have the potential to improve agricultural production.

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 Clear objective or aim
 Researchers review the current situation by studying research literature
relating to the specific area they are interested in.
 They identify areas that need to be explored or clarified and formulate a
clear objective.
Experimental design
 The design of the experiment is very important.
 The design impacts on the reliability of results.
 A well designed experiment minimizes the effect of variation due to factors
outside the experimental treatment and allows valid comparisons to be made
between treatments.
 A good experimental design must include replication, randomization, the use of a
control group (if appropriate), and standardized conditions.
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 A. Replication

 Replication involves using a treatment more than once in an

experiment.
 In any population there is natural variance, that is, differences
between individuals.
 Replication makes it possible to estimate the natural variance so
that it is not confused with differences between treatments.
 The estimate of the natural variance is called experimental error.
 Any differences between treatments that are outside the
experimental error are said to be significant.
 Replication improves the accuracy of results by:
1.Improving the estimate of the treatment mean
2. PROVIDING data for the estimation of experimental error.

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 B. RANDOMIZATION

 Randomization is the unbiased allocation of replicates to groups

and, treatments to groups.
 RANDOMIZATION prevents FAVORING particular treatments or
handicapping others.
 This ensures that the estimate of experimental error and treatment
means are unbiased.
 Randomization also guards against unidentified sources of
variation that may exist in the experimental material, e.g. in field
experiments adjacent plots are often more alike in their production
than plots some distance away.
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 C. Control group

 Control treatments are only required if it is necessary to compare

the effect of "no treatment".

 For example, the objective includes, assessing the gain from

adding FERTILIZERS, then a control treatment would be
necessary.

 If the objective relates purely to comparing the gain from different

FERTILIZERS, then a control treatment is not necessary.

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 D. STANDARDIZED

Conditions involve keeping conditions for all treatment

groups exactly alike except for the treatments received,
e.g. plants will receive the same amount of water and
sunlight.

Failure to STANDARDIZE conditions leads to invalid

results.

34
 Data collection
 The purpose for collecting and recording data include:-
1.TO record the variables from each treatment group, e.g. milk yield, weight gain.
2. TO explain unexpected sources of variation, e.g. disease or pest damage.
The researcher has to decide when data will be recorded and what measurements
are to be made.
 Measurements may be taken:
1. Before the experiment (to assess initial conditions)
2. During the experiment
3. AT the end of the experiment.
The data collected must be appropriate material for the statistical analysis
necessary to satisfy the researcher's objective.

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 Data analysis

Data analysis involves looking for differences

between treatment groups and deciding whether
the observed difference is within the range which
could easily occur by chance or whether it is so
large that it signifies that the treatment groups are
really significantly different.

36
 Cont,,,
 There are different types of statistical tests.
 The type of statistical analysis performed will depend on the number of treatment
groups, the number of variables to be tested and the amount of replication, i.e.
the design of the experiment.
 The simplest test is the student t-test which is used to compare the significance of
the difference between two treatment means.
 The F-test is designed to compare the significance of the difference between the
variance of two treatments.
 An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) can be used to test the significance of the
difference between three or more treatment means at one time.
 Most statistics are ANALYZED by computer.
 The General Linear Model (GLM) is used by researchers when there are a wide
variety of research outcomes to be ANALYZED.
 The GLM considers data which includes known variations within treatments
which the researchers want to test.

37
 Cont…
 Remember that statistics cannot prove there is a difference between treatment
groups.
 The best it can do is to tell you that an observed difference between treatment
groups is significantly different from what would be expected by chance.
 The chance value is the Probability value (P-value).
 In statistical tests such as the student t-test and the F-test, the researcher chooses
the level of significance at which they want to test any difference between
treatments.
 Computer generated statistical packages will identify which treatments are
significantly different and will give a P-value.
 This P-value is the level at which the testing becomes significant, e.g. if a
treatment difference is significantly different at P=0.05 then there is a 5%
probability of the difference being due to chance.
38
 Work plan and budget

 The research proposal should be accompanied with the budget and work
plan (when and what to do) during the execution of the experiment.

Ethics in Research
 All research must be conducted responsibly and ethically.
 Responsible and ethical conduct improves the reputation of the researcher and the
validity of results.
 Ethical issues which must be taken into account when carrying out research
include:
1.Proper research methodology.
2.Ensuring the safety of all those associated with the research.
3.Considering animal welfare issues when using animals in research.
4.Care should be taken for Research involving genetic manipulation 39
 REFERANCE
 Literature references should be collated at the end of the
report and cited.
 All references should be checked against the original
literature.
 Never cite a reference that you have not read yourself.
 Double check all journal year, volume, issue, and inclusive
page numbers to insure the accuracy of your citation.

40
 CHAPTER FOUR
Research report preparation/presentation
 A research report is a completed study that reports an investigation
or exploration of a problem, identifies questions to be addressed,
and includes data collected, analyzed, and interpreted by the
researcher.
 Types of research reports:- Dissertations and theses, Journal
articles, book chapters, proceedings, conference papers, newsletters,
brochures, reports (annual, biannual, quarterly).
 Any research report contains:- descriptions on methodology, results
obtained, and recommendations made.
 The basic orientation of a research report depends on its audience.
 Before writing the report the researcher must know his or her
audience.
 He/she may have to make assumptions about the composition,
background and interests of the target readers.
41
 Research report preparation/presentation
 The objective of organizing a research paper is to allow people to read your work selectively.
 When reading a research report, we may be interested in reading the methodologies followed,
 specific result, the interpretation, and want to see a summary of the paper to determine its
relevance.
 For most studies, a proper research report includes the following sections, submitted in the
order listed, each section to start on a new page.
 Some journals request a summary to be placed at the end of the discussion.
 Some techniques articles include an appendix with equations, formulas, calculations, etc.
 Some journals deviate from the format, such as by combining results and discussion,
 Combining everything but the title, abstract, and literature as is done in the journal Science.
 Your reports will adhere to the standard format.
 Most scientific papers follow the outline given below:-

42
43
 Cont…
Most scientific papers follow
the outline given below:-

1. Title page

2.Investigators

3. Abstract

4. Introduction

5. Materials and
Methods

6. Results

7. Discussion

8. Literature 44
 Style
 In all sections of your paper, use paragraphs to separate each
important point (except for the abstract), and present your points in
logical order.
 Use present tense to report background that is already established.
 For example, 'the grass is green.'
 Always use past tense to describe results of a specific experiment,
especially your own.
 For example, 'When weed killer was applied, the grass was brown.'
 Remember - present tense for background, and past tense for
results.
45
 1.Title Page

 Select an informative title, such as "social and economic aspects of the

reclamation of acid soil in Ethiopia ".
 Include the name(s) and address (es) of all authors, and date submitted.
2. Abstract
 Summarize the study, focusing on the results and major
conclusions, including relevant quantitative data.
 It must be a single paragraph, and concise.
 It should stand on its own, therefore do not refer to any other part of
the report, such as a figure or table.
 Avoid long sections of introductory or explanatory material.
 As a summary of work done, it is written in past tense.
46
 3. Introduction

 Introduce the rationale behind the study, including

 The overall question and its relevance to science

 Suitability of the experimental model to the overall question

 Experimental design and specific hypothesis or objective

 Significance of the anticipated results to the overall question.

 Include appropriate background information (but please do not

write everything you know about the subject).

47
 4. Methods and Materials
 The purpose of this section is to document all of your procedures so
that another scientist could reproduce all or part of your work.
 It is not designed to be a set of instructions.
 As awkward as it may seem, it is standard practice to report
methods and materials in past tense, third person passive.
 Your laboratory notebook should contain all of the details of
everything you do in lab, plus any additional information needed in
order to complete this section.
 While it is tempting to report methods in chronological order in a
narrative form, it is usually more effective to present them under
headings devoted to specific procedures or groups of procedures.
 Some examples of separate headings are "sources of materials,"
"assay procedures," cell fractionation protocol," and "statistical
methods." Try to be succinct without sacrificing essential
information. 48
 Cont…
 Omit any background information or comments.

 If you must explain why a particular procedure was chosen, do so

in the discussion.

 Report how procedures were done, not how they were specifically
performed on a particular day.

 For example, report "samples were diluted to a final concentration

of 2 mg/ml protein;" don't report that '135 micro liters of sample
one was diluted with 330 micro liters of buffer to make the proteins
concentration 2 mg/ml."

49
 5. Results

 Raw data are never included in a research paper.

 Analyze your data, then present the analyzed (converted) data

in the form of a figure (graph), table, or in narrative form.

 Present the same data only once, in the most effective manner.

 Presenting converted data, you make your point briefly and clearly.

 Figures are preferable to tables, and tables are preferable to

straight text.

 Many times a figure is in appropriate, or the data come across more

clearly if described in narrative form.
50
 Cont,,,
 To give your results continuity, describe the relationship of each section
of converted data to the overall study.
 For example, rather than just putting a table in the paper and going on to
the discussion, write, 'In order to test the null hypothesis that dust
particles are responsible for the blue color of the sky, we observed the
results of filtering air through materials of decreasing pore size.
 Table 1 lists the spectrum of transmitted light at right angles to the light
path through air filtered through different pore sizes.'
 Then present your table, complete with title and headings.
 All converted data go into the body of the report, after the methods and
before the discussion.
 Do not stick graphs or other data onto the back of the report just because
you printed or prepared them separately.
 Do not draw conclusions in the results section.
 You should reserve data interpretation for the discussion. 51
 6. Discussion
 Interpret your data in the discussion.

 Decide if each hypothesis is supported, rejected, or if you cannot make a decision

with confidence.

 Do not simply dismiss a study or part of a study as "inconclusive."

 Make what conclusions you can, and then suggest how the experiment must be
modified in order to properly test the hypothesis.

 Explain all of your observations as much as possible, focusing on mechanisms.

 When you refer to information, distinguish data generated by your own studies
from published information or from information obtained from other students.

52
 7. Conclusion, discussion and recommendations
 The outcomes of a project may not be significant enough to make
any definite conclusions.
 Researchers will discuss in detail the reasons, and significance, of
the outcomes of the project.
 Recommendations are based on the need for further research and/or
whether the significance of the results is large enough to be of
commercial benefit to the rural industry.
 Recommendations may include:
 Further research into that particular area using different
methodology, e.g. controlling or varying certain influential factors
 The use of the research subject only under certain environmental
conditions.
 The use of the research subject under all conditions, e.g. a new crop
variety outperforming all other varieties in all conditions.
53
 8. Literature Cited

List all literature cited in your report, in alphabetical

order, by first author.

In a proper research paper, only primary literature is used

(original research articles authored by the original
investigators).

Some of your reports may not require references, and if

that is the case simply state "no references were
consulted."
54
 Cont,,,
 It refers to all sources of scientific evidence pertaining to the topic in interest.

 In the present era of digitalization and easy accessibility, there is an enormous

amount of relevant data available, making it a challenge for the researcher to
include all of it in his/her review.

 It is crucial to structure this section intelligently so that the reader can grasp the
argument related to your study in relation to that of other researchers, while still
demonstrating to your readers that your work is original and innovative.

 Literature should include supporting data, disagreements and controversies.

 Five ‘C’s may be kept in mind while writing a literature review.

55
Table 1: Five ‘C’s while writing a literature review

56
 Data presentation
 Data can be presented as text, in a table, as a chart, diagram
or graph.
 Text alone should not be used to convey more than three or
four numbers.
 Sets of numerical results should usually be presented as tables
or graphs.
 Well presented tables and graphs can concisely SUMMARIZE
information which would be difficult to describe in words
alone.

57
 Graphs
 Graphs are useful for indicating trends and making broad comparisons, or showing
relationships.
 Graphs should be self explanatory without the necessity for the reader to refer to the
text.
 Line graphs show more detail than bar charts.
 They should be used when the horizontal axis represents a continuous quantity, e.g.
quantity of FERTILIZER applied.
 It is useful to display more than one relationship in the same picture, e.g. response to
FERTILIZER of three different varieties.
 When there is more than one line in a graph, different line styles, e.g. solid line,
dashed etc., COLORS, and/or plotting symbols, should be used to distinguish the
lines.
 If a set of line graphs are used, then scale, plotting symbols and line styles should be
consistent. 58
CONT,,,

59
 Column Graphs

 Should be used when the horizontal axis is a qualitative factor, e.g.

crop variety.

 The graph is easier to read if it is sorted in order of height. If a

series of columns are used then the shading of the columns should
remain consistent.

 It is easier for readers to make comparisons between adjacent

columns than between distant columns.

60
CONT,,,,

61
 Cont,,,

Correct graphical representations

 Care should be taken to correctly represent data using

graphs.

The following are graphs which misrepresent data due to

their incorrect technique.

Exaggerated or incorrect scale.

The graph below makes small increases in live weight

seem significant due to the large scale on the Y-axis.
62
Cont,,,

63
 Not including enough contexts to make the graph meaningful.
 With data from all the years (see graph below), the information becomes more
meaningful.
 The sharp rise in chicken consumption from 1970 to 2000 indicates a significant
period in broiler production in Australia.

64
 Tables

 Tables are better than graphs for giving structured numeric

information. The table should be self explanatory. The title should
be informative and rows and columns of tables should be clearly
LABELED. The text should always include mention of the key
points in a table or figure. If it does not warrant discussion it
should not be there.

65
 CHAPTER FIVE
Definition of on-farm research (OFR)
 On-farm research (OFR) can be defined in its simplest terms as
research carried out on farmer's fields and in a farmer's
environment.
 From this simple definition, one can identify four key elements in
OFR. These are: -
1. The farmer,
2. The farmer's land,
3. The farmer's involvement
4. The farmer's environment.
66
 1. The Farmer
 In OFR, it is essential to specify the type of farmer for which a particular
intervention is aimed, whether for development or for testing.

 Thus if one is developing a technology for low-resourcebase, smallholder

farmers, it will be incorrect to sample commercial, large-scale farms for
the OFR.

 Equally, for a technology which requires use of costly inputs - seeds,

fertilizer, herbicide, insecticide, etc.,-one would have to deal with medium
and large-scale farmers who could afford the essential inputs for the
technology, rather than deal with smallholder, low-resource farmers.

67
 2. The Farmer's Land

 Any experiment carried out on a plot of land outside the

experimental station could be described as off-station research, but
not all such research qualifies as on-farm research.

 For research to be classified as on-farm, it should be carried out on

a plot of land belonging to the farmer and within the farm
environment of the farmer.

 Off-station research is, therefore, not synonymous with on-farm

research, though all on-farm research is by definition "off-station."

68
 3. Farmer's Involvement

 The nature of farmers' involvement in any OFR activity is very

important as it influences the interpretation of output and results
obtained.

 OFR scientists seek varying degrees of farmer's involvement in OFR.

 The exact nature and degree of farmer involvement is determined by

the objective of the OFR and the nature of the research in terms of
components, systems, or technologies being assessed.

 The degree of farmer involvement also has an effect on the design of

the experiment and the interpretation of results obtained.
69
 Cont,,,
The four possible ways in which farmers are usually involved
in OFR are:

1. Land lord/tenant relationship

2. Active involvement researcher controlled

3. Farmer’s managed

4. Active involvement farmer controlled.

70
 4. Farmer's Environment
The farmer does not live as an independent entity.
 He lives within a family structure, which in itself is embedded within a community structure.
 Thus, the farmer's input, assessment, and eventual adoption of a system will have to be viewed
and assessed within the framework of the community in which the farmer operates.
 The second aspect of the farmer's environment has to do with the cropping and farming system in
which the farmer operates and the big-physical base within which the farming activity goes on.

 For example, farmers' fields may have many more problems associated with soil fertility and
drainage than the research station fields where on-station experiments have been conducted.
 Farmers may also be practicing a much more complex cropping system than is used in on-station trials.

 All these factors underline the need for OFR,

 The need to take into account the farmer's environment in the design and testing of technologies.

71
 Types of on-farm research

 There are basically two types of OFR:

 Experimental OFR,

 Developmental OFR.
 The range of objectives for which OFR may be carried out is very wide.

 Thus, it is inconceivable that a single OFR activity will embrace all

these objectives.

 It is essential in carrying out OFR to define the objectives clearly.

72
 Experimental OFR

 This is the more commonly known and practiced of the two types of
OFR.

 It is performed for big-physical, technical, and economic assessment

of alternative systems or treatments within the framework of
standard experimental designs.

 Bio-physical assessment aims at determining the system's biological

and physical yield and productivity, while economic assessment
inquires into the availability of labor, cash, and other resources for
meeting the projected needs of the alternative system, and looks into
the level and dependability of profit.
73
 Cont,,,

 Experimental OFR trials emanate directly from on-station research.

 Their structure and design are very similar to those used on-station.

 Generally, however, on-farm experimentation is kept as simple as

possible to ensure effective

 Farmer understanding of issues

 Meaningful involvement and contribution.

74
 Researcher-managed Trials
 Researcher-managed trials are very similar in structure to on-station
trials.
 The researcher is responsible for directing and implementing the
treatments in accordance.
 With the chosen design and methodology of the trial.
Joint Researcher/Farmer-managed Trials.
 These are trials in which management and operation are the joint
responsibility of farmer and researcher.
 Such trials need to be made simpler than the researcher-managed
trials, since an increased level of farmer's involvement is required.
Simplicity insures a better understanding of the trial by the farmer.
75
 CONT,,,

 Farmer's role may be termed active involvement (researcher-

controlled), as the farmer is directly involved in carrying out
some or all of the management operations in the trial.
 However, the farmers' contribution is very clearly defined
and controlled by the researcher.
 He is therefore unable to use his initiative, and does what the
researcher has programmed for him to do in terms of
treatment applications and management requirements.

76
 Farmer-managed Trials
 In farmer-managed OFR, the farmer is responsible for carrying out
almost all management operations for the trial.

 An even higher level of simplicity is thus required, and the number

of unit plots within a single farmer’s field is kept at a minimum to
avoid complications for the farmer.

77
Criteria for Adopting Researcher-managed or Farmer-managed Trials

 The main consideration for carrying out one or the other type of
experimental OFR is the level of knowledge and confidence about the
technology in question.
 Technologies for which sufficient information is not available are
generally tested under researcher-managed trials with a high degree of
control by the researcher.
 But technologies for which enough accurate information is available are
carried out under researcher/farmer-managed trials or under farmer-
managed trials.
 A rough generalization about the three type of trials is that researcher-
managed trials are technology generation trials while the other two aim
at technology validation or demonstration.
78
 Why do on-farm research?
 While some amount of time devoted to purely on-station research
will be necessary.
 In order to screen and evaluate multipurpose trees, and to
experiment with management practices.
 Quick initiation of on-farm research will help the research and
development process.
 Research should be aimed at solving farmers' problems and at
involving farmers in the research process quite early on,
 Rather than involving them as passive recipients at some future
date.

79
 Testing and Validation
In actual farm conditions, the best-practice on-station
technology rarely performs at the same level.
On-farm research is commonly used as a means to
ensure that technologies developed on station will be
relevant to the problems and priorities of the targeted
client adopters.
In the case of alley farming, the target adopters are
typically resource-poor small farmers.
To validate on station results, OFR is carried out to
assess the performance of particular systems or
technologies on-farm, with or without the farmer's
involvement.
80
CONT,,,

81
 Development and Adaptation

 On-farm research is often used to generate new or modified

technologies.
 Moving to farmers' fields and interacting with farmers allows the
researcher to have an appreciation of the farmers' conditions and
problems.
 It also provides a great opportunity for the identification of problem
areas and researchable issues that may arise following farmer use of
developed technology.
 This leads to a continuous process of refining, improving, and re-
testing the system.
82
 Demonstration and Extension

 For any new technology or technology component to be

accepted by farmers, it has to be shown to be superior to the
existing system.

 The most reliable means of proving this is through OFR, in which

the farmer is involved and the trial is run within the farm
environment.

 Such OFR trials provide an excellent opportunity to compare the

performance of the proposed system and farmer's traditional
practice in a reliable way.

83
Demonstration of the new systems' improved performance.

84
 Cont,,,
 Researchers and farmers are testing agricultural technologies in
the field, they are also demonstrating the system to the local
community.

 On-farm research thus creates links with extension in at least

three ways.

 Firstly, if on-farm research clearly demonstrates the viability of

the technology, it may create a "neighborhood effect," whereby
innovation waves spread outward from the research sites.

85
 Cont,,,
 Secondly, OFR promotes collaboration with extension and development
agencies which helps in improving the efficiency of the technology
generation and diffusion process.

 Involvement of extension and development agencies as partners and

participants in the technology generation process will bring them directly
into contact with the farmers.

 Thirdly, the OFR stage may test the suitability of the existing
institutional framework for proper delivery of the technology to the users.

 For example, in most countries, crop, livestock, and forestry extension

services are independent with little collaborative activity.
86
 Cont,,,
 The traditional view of links between stages of agricultural
research and extension.
 Scheme is more appropriate for single component technologies such
as fertilizers.

87
Relationship between developmental OFR and other stages of research and extension.

88
 CHAPTER SIX
Farmers participatory research (FPR)
 Farmer Participatory Research refers to the active involvement
and participation of beneficiaries (farmers) and other stakeholders
in the agricultural research process.

 This approach evolved as a response to earlier agricultural research

methodologies (on-station research and Farming Systems
Research) that were found to be unsatisfactory in producing
appropriate and sustainable research results for the target
beneficiaries.
89
 Cont,,,
 Farmer-participatory research describes a process for developing
and testing agricultural technologies.

 This approach encompasses diverse research and research-related

activities that range from informal surveys with a few farmers, to
conducting research with farmer involvement.

 To community empowerment

 To technology development

 To dissemination by extension services

 To other development institutions.

90
 Cont…
 In principle FPR describes a process that is based on dialog between
farmers and researchers in order to develop improved technologies that
are practical, effective, profitable, and will solve identified
agricultural production constraints.
 Few would question the need for farmer participation in the research process.

 It is widely viewed that in corporating farmers' priorities and assessment

can improve the effectiveness of technology development, raise adoption
rates, and increase the pay off to agricultural research.

 Practice there is wide diversity of opinion about the scope and nature of
farmer participation in the implementation of FPR.

91
 What is Farmer Participatory Research*?

 Farmer Participatory Research refers to the active involvement

and participation of beneficiaries (farmers) and other stakeholders
in the agricultural research process.

 This approach evolved as a response to earlier agricultural research

methodologies (on-station research and Farming Systems Research)that
were found to be unsatisfactory in producing appropriate and
sustainable research results for the target beneficiaries.

92
 The aims and objectives of FPR include the following:-

 Increase the understanding of the complexities and dynamics of

local agricultural and socio-economic systems;

 Identify priority problems, constraints and opportunities;

 Identify, develop, test and implement new technologies and

techniques (based on the knowledge and research capabilities of
local communities and institutions.

 Stimulate and strengthen the experimental capacity of farmers to

analyze their situations and develop relevant feasible and useful
innovations.
93
 The reasons for promoting FPR can be classified into three
groups:-
1) Pragmatic objectives: to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of research
through increased adoption rates of technologies and techniques, and reduced
research and extension costs;

2) Ethical objectives: to increase equity and ensure that stakeholders, especially the
resource-poor, play a role in activities that affect them; and

3) Political objectives: to empower the poor and strengthen their bargaining power.

 The literature documents a wide array of methods that can be used to facilitate a
FPR approach to agricultural research.

 it is now commonly appreciated that a combination of methods is the most

beneficial in providing a holistic approach to FPR.

94
 Methods include:

 Participatory on-farm trials

 Group/community meetings/workshops/discussions

 Case studies with individual households/farmers

 Study tours (to other farmers’ fields and research

stations)/exchange visits.

95
 The FPR methodology

 Farmer Participatory Research is defined as research in which

farmers play leading decision making roles in identifying
 Designing research as well as in implementing and evaluating it.
 The FRP sought to increase the sustainable incomes of resource
poor households in different parts of the country.
 It is believed that FPR promotes farmer participatory research as a
cost effective method of generating.
 Disseminating improved agricultural technology.
 The FRP has demonstrated the viability and usefulness of a program
of components/activities which provide a framework within which
participatory research in Ethiopia can be successfully carried out by
either government organizations or nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs).
96
 The key components of this framework are:
 Diagnostic/PRA studies, supported by other research studies
 A wide mix of training activities, including formal training in PRA and POFTs,
and travelling seminars for farmers
 A program of participatory on-farm trials.
 The Farmers’ Research Project has had considerable success in raising the
awareness and improving the technical capacity related to farmer
 Participatory research, in the collaborating governmental organizations, i.e. the
Bureau of Agriculture, the regional Research Centers and higher learning
institutions.
 It has brought about a huge, positive change in attitudes to local farmers and
their farming systems among research and extension staff, coupled with the
spread of practical experience in the use of farmer participatory research methodologies.
97
 Overview of FSR

Farming systems research is an approach for generating

appropriate technologies for studying existing farming
systems and involving the technology users - usually the
small farmers in the planning and evaluation process.

The approach is justified on the basis of three vital

considerations.

Firstly, the farmer and his family are rational in their

decision-making.
98
 CONT,,,

 Secondly, the production systems of small farmers embody an

integrated set of husbandry practices that have developed over
centuries so that these systems are stable.

 Complex and very sensitive to the ecological, biological and socio-

economic environment.

 Thirdly a farming system belongs to the goal-setting and

purposeful category of systems and its direction is determined by
the farmer and his family.

99
 Types of on-farm research trials
 The results of the design process set the stage for and define the terms
of reference for the following activities:-
 Further analysis of existing systems (complementary single-visit
surveys, farm monitoring or case studies);
 Technology testing under farmer conditions and management (on-farm
farmer-managed trials)
 Component technology development under farmer conditions but under
the shared management researchers and farmers (on-farm researcher
and farmer-managed trials);
 Component technology development under farmer conditions but
under the exclusive management of researchers (on-farm research-
managed trials);
 Component technology development on experimental stations (on-
station researcher managed trials); and it is conceivable to have
 Component technology development on experimental stations but under
partial management of researchers (on-station researcher and farmer-
managed trials). 100
 CONT,,,,
 Accordingly, there are three types of on-farm trials: 1. researcher-
managed (RM), 2. researcher and farmer-managed (RFM) 3.
farmer managed (FM). These are compared in terms of design and
evaluation criteria based on the experience of cropping systems
research.

Key characteristics of Farming Systems Research

 To summarize, Farming Systems Research has three core

characteristics: 1.It uses systems thinking

2. It relies on inter disciplinary.

3. It builds on a participatory approach.

101
 Understanding the dynamics of farming systems

 Since systems thinking focuses on interactions and relationships

between elements, farming systems researchers typically study
interactions.

 The focus might be at farm‐level (e.g. interactions between

cropping and animal husbandry, between on‐ and off‐farm
work, between technologies and agro- ecosystems)

at territorial level (e.g. interactions between production methods

and cultural Landscapes, between economic incentives and farm
diversity, between farmers and other rural actors).
102
 The challenge of systems thinking

 What is a system?
 Farming Systems Research implies that farming and related
activities are understood as systems.
 Systems are about drawing attention to the relationship between elements,
rather than focusing on specific elements and studying them in isolation.

 It is about interaction, entanglement, dependencies, exchange,

connections, relationships and co‐evolution.

 Farming Systems Research seeks to understand how actors interact

and influence one another.

103
CONT,,,

104
 Cont,,,
 When analyzing a farming system, at least three sets of
interacting factors need to be taken into account:

1.The farm family or community

2.The farm and with its resources and assets

3.The environment which is constituted by social networks,

economic opportunities, political incentives and bio‐physical
context.

105
 END!!!
Have you QUESTION?
If Not thank you !!
Gamme .W. !!! (MS.c in Horticulture)
[email protected]
[email protected]

GOD THANKS!!!