Farmers facing rapid agricultural land condition changes in two villages in the Upper Amazon, Peru: can action learning contribute to resilience?
by Kristina Marquardt, Lennart Salomonsson, Ulrika Geber
International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology (IJARGE), Vol. 8, No. 5/6, 2009

Abstract: The article presents findings of local experimentation for managing land degradation problems in swidden farming, and the institutional setting for such experimental activities within a resilience theory framework. By using action research (AR) methodology, which included in-depth interviews and joint field experiments, the research process facilitated collective learning related to land degradation management. Framed by a local institution (choba choba), learning situations of field experimentation were created in order to speed up the joint learning process between farmers, a local NGO and researchers. The authors argue that AR, as methodology, not only enhances contextual learning processes by working within farmers' existing institutional framework for learning, but also has the advantage of integrating local and scientific knowledge into a joint learning process. AR methodology can therefore be one answer to the question of 'how' to build up and maintain resilience of an agricultural system, particularly its adaptive capacity.

Online publication date: Fri, 09-Apr-2010

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology (IJARGE):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com