science

Participatory technology development

Participatory technology development is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Participatory technology development rather than just read about it. In short: Participatory technology development (PTD) is an approach to learning and innovation that is used in international development as part of projects and programmes relating to sustainable agriculture. The approach involves collaboration between researchers and farmers in the analysis of agricultural problems and testing of alternative farming practices.

Key takeaways

Participatory technology development belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Participatory technology development to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Participatory technology development from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Participatory technology development (PTD) is an approach to learning and innovation that is used in international development as part of projects and programmes relating to sustainable agriculture. The approach involves collaboration between researchers and farmers in the analysis of agricultural problems and testing of alternative farming practices.

Origins The origins of Participatory Technology Development can be found in a number of approaches, concepts and techniques that became popular in the 1970s and 1980s:

Farming systems research and extension, is an approach that introduced social-economic issues into organisations previously dominated by biological and chemical scientists. FSR/E also promoted the idea of 'on-farm' trials; Appropriate technology, is a concept that recognises the importance of matching the design of technology to the resources and culture of the user. Indigenous technical knowledge, is a concept that recognises the importance of local expertise and traditional wisdom; Participatory rural appraisal, is a set of techniques that promoted the involvement of rural people in decision-making.

Process One of the leading authorities on this process is the Centre for learning on sustainable agriculture - ILEIA based in the Netherlands. ILEIA has described PTD as “a process between local communities and outside facilitators which involves:

gaining a joint understanding of the main characteristics and changes of that particular agro-ecological system; defining priority problems; experimenting locally with a variety of options derived both from indigenous knowledge … and from formal science, and enhancing farmer’s experimental capacities and farmer-to-farmer communication”.

Facilitators PTD facilitators are usually researchers, sometimes consisting of a team that includes both biological and social scientists. While PTD is closely linked to research, it often crosses the boundary into agricultural extension because it involves learning activities with farmers.

See also Agroecology Farmer Field School Farmer Research Committee Participatory development Participatory rural appraisal Public participation

References

External links AgriCultures Network magazines (Formerly known as LEISA magazines, articles on PTD can be downloaded from this site, available in five different languages Archived 2018-06-30 at the Wayback Machine Field Manual:Participatory Technology Development, produced by GTZ and Rockefeller Brother Fund International Institute for Sustainable Development at Colorado State University Explanation of Participatory techniques for extension, Learning AgriCultures education series, Module 7 Archived 2016-03-22 at the Wayback Machine

Illustrations

Participatory technology development: Indonesian farmers carrying out their own research into control of tungro disease on rice (Photo by FAO Community IPM Programme). — Indonesian farmers carrying out their own research into control of tungro disease on rice (Photo by FAO Community IPM Programme).

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Participatory technology development

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Participatory technology development claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Participatory technology development before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Participatory technology development ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Participatory technology development

In research: Participatory technology development appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Participatory technology development in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Participatory technology development is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics International development, Rural community development, Sustainable agriculture, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Participatory technology development outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Participatory technology development in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Participatory technology development means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Participatory technology development out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Participatory technology development in simple terms?

Why does Participatory technology development matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Participatory technology development?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Participatory technology development.