Introduction

Farmer participation in technology verification and technology transfer is becoming increasingly important if sustainable adoption is sought and better technology modification and refining is to be achieved. Farmer participation research was mainly focusing and mostly on development and transfer of technology related to crops. Experience with crop/livestock integration and participation in system research is limited. Furthermore, available experience in farmer participation in agricultural research was drawn from the high-potential environment where returns from technology are high and risk is relatively low. Farmers under such an environment are usually willing to experience “participation”. By contrast, low-production environments, such as the areas of the Mashreq-Maghreb Project are subject to many constraints resulting from a fragile production system, high risk and deteriorated resources. Under such conditions, it is difficult to secure farmer participation. The Mashreq/Maghreb (MM) Project is attempting, in its second phase, to develop a community-based approach as one way to enhance such participation.

Why a community approach?

During its first phase, 1995-1998, the project focused on testing and demonstrating of technology components at the farm level, with the results being evaluated within the whole-farm context. During the second phase, the project is shifting the scale of technology testing and adaptation to the community level. This approach is characterized by the following:

• Testing and evaluating combinations (or packages) of associated technologies at the community level, involving the local institutions as well as farm households. Resource-based approach rather than a commodity one is used, and this approach is implemented in a multidisciplinary and inter-institutionally system.
• Utilizing the community modelling in order to identify solutions that take account of the behavior of the community and how they manage their resources.
• Strengthening decentralization by transferring the decision-making power to local actors. Farmers of the community are involved in monitoring the performance of technology and its adoption.

The experience of the Mashreq/Maghreb Project

A. Community Selection

The most important and crucial step in the community approach is selecting the targeted communities. It requires meticulous work with full participation of local authorities as well as the project team, taking into consideration the achievements and lessons learned from the first phase of the MM Project and the experience gained from other developmental projects in the region. This process of community selection involves the following three interrelated steps:

I. Criteria for community selection

The main criterion is that selected communities should represent the low rainfall areas (LRA). In addition to representation, the following criteria are advised for community selection:

• Existence of one or more of the main production systems of the LRA, which are barley – and rangeland – based systems with clear example of on-farm crop/livestock integration.
• Participation in the technology testing and demonstration of the project in its first phase. The objective is to capitalize on and benefit from the results of the first phase.
• Potential to achieve a noticeable impact within the project life.
• Possibility to realize the project objectives within the specified duration of the project.
• Access to a common natural resource in the form of marginal land or rangeland.
• Linkages with on-going development projects and whenever possible existence of local institutions working in the LRA.

II. Process of Community Selection

Several field visits and meetings with farmers and local institutions are made with the participation of extension system and agricultural authorities in the district/province in order to select communities that better represent the LRA using above selection criteria. This process of selection aims at identifying all potential communities. The following two important points must be completed in order to fully select the communities:

• Understanding local institutions in the targeted communities.
• Characterizing functions and descriptions of local institutions.

The MM Project has selected the following sixteen communities in the eight countries involved in the project:

III. Community Characterisation

Description of the main characteristics of the selected communities is the necessary condition for a successful implementation of the community-based approach adopted by the MM Project. Rapid Rural Appraisals are used to collect the following baseline information and data related to the characterization of the selected communities:

• Resources inventory, their use and extent of deterioration.
• Identification of crop production system, crop rotation and crop cultivars used.
• Livestock population, production systems, feeding calendar, and health issues.
• Availability and type of extension services.
• Land tenure and property rights institutions and regulations.
• Level and extent of public sector intervention.
• Status and degradation of marginal lands and rangelands.
• Exposure to new technologies (mechanization, fertilizers, improved cultivars, agricultural practices).
• Sources of household income and the relative importance of on-farm and off-farm incomes to total household income.
• Household size and education.
• Land use, soil type and irrigation type.

The following is an example of a characterized Community (Aarsal) in Lebanon.

• Establish a multidisciplinary team to work at the community level. This usually is in the form of:
• A community steering committee which includes a project facilitator and/or coordinator, researcher from the project team, local extensionist, local community leaders, local agricultural authorities and local organizations/institutions. The role of a project facilitator and/or coordinator is very critical in integrating the activities of specialized working groups. He is also responsible for securing active and full participation of local population in the implemented activities and for monitoring the adoption process of the introduced technologies.
  

Structure of working mechanisms with communities

• Identify needs-based technologies and other intervention measures to tackle the main constraints hindering the development of the targeted communities. The identification of the introduced technologies is based on the experience gained from the first phase of the project and rapid rural appraisals, with full consultation with farmers and sheep owners of the selected communities. However, there are two points of caution in this respect. First, some of farmers’ demands and needs are beyond the reach of the project and may require decisions at the national level. Second, in introducing the project technologies into selected communities we should not give farmers high expectations but we do need their enthusiastic participation.
• Develop methodology for monitoring and evaluation.