Institut für Sozialwissenschaften des Agrarbereichs

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    Seeing through two lenses: applying actor-centred and structural perspectives to understand farmer innovation and technological change
    (2022) Pircher, Thomas; Knierim, Andrea
    Science and technology can make a major contribution to ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition. Developing and spreading of innovations in agriculture and nutrition therefore is a main objective of international agricultural research. Despite decades of research, understanding the complex processes around technological change by small-scale farmers remains a challenge for researchers. Whereas behavioural approaches often neglect the influence of the wider innovation systems, approaches that focus on larger systemic challenges tend to downplay human agency. Research approaches that analytically differentiate structural and actor-centred perspectives and their interplay hold potential for more nuanced understanding of farmer innovation and technological change. This thesis reviewed and explored the application of approaches that aim to understand farmer innovation and technological change through the interplay of two analytical lenses: actor-centred and structural. The three empirical research studies addressed different aspects of agriculture and nutrition, and included multiple study locations. Although each of the studies had its own objectives, they all relate to analytical dualism. In this regard, the study approaches separately focused on actor-centred and structural perspectives, and analysed how these influenced each other. Data collection and analysis in the empirical chapters followed these principles by developing and applying adapted conceptualisations of seed systems and agricultural innovation systems. The systematic literature review in Chapter 2 provided an overview on methods for studying farmers’ choices and demand for seed of roots, tuber and banana crops. The review identified 46 studies in which researchers studied various aspects and types of farmers’ demand for seed of five crops in 18 countries. The qualitative analysis and categorization of the identified studies have led into a classification scheme. In one type of studies farmers expressed their preferences and choices through surveys or engagements in trials, auctions, choice experiments and interviews (explicit demand articulation). In another types of studies, researchers characterized farmers’ use of varieties through determinants of adoption, current seed management practices or the functioning of their seed and farming systems (implicit demand articulation). The study of the cassava seed system in Chapter 3 developed and applied a research approach that recognizes the interplay between farmer’s demand for seed and the seed supply functions of the cassava seed system in Nigeria. The farmers maintained and gradually replaced a portfolio of varieties from multiple sources that reflected individual trait preferences. The national agriculture development program alone did not have the capacity to supply farmers with sufficient seed of desired varieties. Exchange between farmers and informal seed sellers contributed to the distribution of seed and new varieties. Informal seed sellers and decentralized seed multipliers have the potential to respond to farmers’ heterogeneous demands. However, they would need continuous support from formal seed system actors to reach underserved markets. The study of innovation and scaling in Kenya and Uganda in Chapter 4 analysed innovation processes in agriculture and nutrition through farmer-centred and structural perspectives. In an international research and development project, researchers introduced farmers to new agriculture and nutrition practices in action learning activities. The farmers selected, adapted and combined the promoted practices according to their individual preferences and needs. In addition to the researchers from the project, a wide range of innovation support providers encouraged farmers to develop innovations in farming, marketing, and nutrition. Promoting farmer innovation processes beyond the project sites and duration would require the engagement of multiple innovation support providers in creating an enabling environment for experimentation and demand articulation. Analysing the empirical chapters with the overarching theoretical framework of the thesis highlights how structural conditions of seed systems and agricultural innovation systems influenced farmer innovation or technological change processes. The cases also illustrate how farmers reacted upon these conditions through social interactions. As a major finding, the analysis points out that the process of structural elaboration – how the agency of farmers influenced structural conditions - remains limited across the empirical chapters. This indicates a need to empower actors in articulating their demands for research and extension services and shaping their institutional environments.