Should We Engage in Farmer-Participatory Research in the UK?

Abstract

Farmer-participatory research has become almost commonplace in many developing countries, but despite the apparent benefits of such a research approach, it has not been widely adopted in the UK or elsewhere in the developed world. This article briefly discusses the differences between participatory research and traditional research philosophies, and then goes on to explore whether or not participatory methods could be useful in the UK situation. It is concluded that no scientific or technical reasons appear to invalidate the use of participatory methods in the UK, and indeed some good examples of participatory research in the area of cooperative livestock breeding do exist. The main barriers to adoption are probably related to the functioning of existing institutions, the difficulty in obtaining funding for such research, and the prevalent attitudes of agricultural researchers (and their evaluators). In the short term, participatory research could be utilized in peripheral rural communities, funded by rural development money, or in other regions funded by agribusiness.