by Rowell C. Dikitanan, SEARCA-RDD
14-July-2008 SEARCA RDD News Release
Not anymore. People from the community: men and women farmers and field agents of various government and non-government agencies—they can do research as well. This is what we call participatory research and development (PRD). PRD involves farmers in the research process at a basic, decision-making level, and recognizes that their knowledge and experience can assist the process.
With SEARCA’s Seed Fund for Research and Training (SFRT) support in
2005-2006, Dr. Truong Tan Khanh of Tay Nguyen University utilized the
PRD approach in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
As an outcome of the project, 50 participants from different
institutions began applying the PRD knowledge and skills in their
respective activities/works, training materials and research proposals.
PRD also strengthens local research and adaptive capacities by
incorporating local realities, potentials and limitations from the
start. The approach greatly reduces the time spent between problem
identification and development of applicable solutions, especially for
problems that can and should be tackled at the farmers' level.
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Related Links:
About the Seed Fund for Research and Training
About Participatory Research and Development
