Comments on: Paradigms, lock-ins and liberations: Robert Chambers on rice and shit

By: David Gibbon

David Gibbon — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:34:34 +0000

Have a look at Contested Agronomy (2012) by Jim Sumberg and John Thompson.

By: Ian

Ian — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 21:07:00 +0000

I’d argue that maybe what you need is a two track approach to development work
1. A larger part that bases its approach on research, past experience etc. in the form of strategies, guidelines, tools etc. i.e. mainstream development
2. A smaller part (but bigger than it is now) which explicitly focuses on experimenting with new innovative approaches adapting as they go possibly with multiple, even contradictory experiments ongoing at the same time. The aim of these experiments is to identify breakthrough approaches independently of the mainstream and then study and share them and where appropriate link them back into the mainstream. More in this idea here http://kmonadollaraday.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/making-it-up-as-we-go/

By: Chris Hufstader

Chris Hufstader — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 14:00:17 +0000

SRI is a fascinating form of technology, one that challenges our assumptions about innovation and the role that farmers themselves play in unlocking, creating, and teaching each other new ideas. Oxfam has been working with the agriculture ministry in Vietnam to promote SRI practices and a million farmers now use them, see http://www.oxfamamerica.org/files/oxfam-exchange-winter-2011.pdf
(pp. 4-7)

By: Mark Robertson

Mark Robertson — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:10:30 +0000

This was very interesting. Identification of these lock-ins should be of prime importance as if the application of knowledge from a new or additional paradigm can result in productivity increases then this is critical. Maybe we should seek where there is supposed to be only one paradigm and take a very close look at the biology of the crop concerned to see if constraints are actually being addressed efficiently (as is being done). Farmers are often far more effective at convincing other farmers.