Implementing on-farm agroforestry research: lessons learned in Talamanca, Costa Rica

The rapid appraisal and farmer selection procedures, preceding the establishment of over fifty agroforestry research trials on farms in Talamanca, Costa Rica are described. The highest probability of success and impact of these long-term collaborative trials is obtained by selecting innovative, experienced, motivated and locally respected farmers. The methodological lessons learned from implementing three types of researcher managed trials (shade-cacao: black pepper on living support posts; timber production in boundary lines) are discussed. The importance of fitting farmer selection criteria to project objectives, experimental designs to on-farm limitations, and project goals to farmers' goals, are emphasized

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Beer, J. CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, Turrialba, Costa Rica autor/a
Format: biblioteca
Language:eng
Published: Amsterdam (Países Bajos): Springer, 1991
Subjects:AGROFORESTERIA, EXPLOTACIONES AGRARIAS, INVESTIGACION, ZONA TROPICAL, COSTA RICA,
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00120190
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Summary:The rapid appraisal and farmer selection procedures, preceding the establishment of over fifty agroforestry research trials on farms in Talamanca, Costa Rica are described. The highest probability of success and impact of these long-term collaborative trials is obtained by selecting innovative, experienced, motivated and locally respected farmers. The methodological lessons learned from implementing three types of researcher managed trials (shade-cacao: black pepper on living support posts; timber production in boundary lines) are discussed. The importance of fitting farmer selection criteria to project objectives, experimental designs to on-farm limitations, and project goals to farmers' goals, are emphasized