Among the Social Sciences in Agriculture, the field of Agricultural Economics appears to be better placed when we look at the conferences being organized, level of participation, professionalism and continuous improvement in the quality of journals being published. Dr Mahesh Chander narrates the experience of his participation in the 24th Annual Conference of Agricultural Economics Research Association, India, especially in the Session on Strengthening Social Science and Policy Research.
THE CONTEXT
The 24th Annual Conference of Agricultural Economics Research Association (http://www.aeraindia.in/) was organized at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar, from 15-17 December, 2016. The conference was on the theme, ‘Agriculture for Nutrition Security’. As one of the panelists, I attended the s ‘Strengthening Social Science and Policy Research’ on the 17th, hosted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (http://www.ifpri.org/division/south-asia-regional-office-sao), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) (http://irri.org/) and AERA.
This session refreshed my memory of reading an interesting document titled – Social Scientists in Agricultural Research : Lessons from the Mantaro Valley Project, Peru (http://eprints.icrisat.ac.in/11896/1/RP-02589.pdf). For many, this might be an old story now. Nevertheless, it makes an important point about the significant role of social scientists in agricultural research and development (Box 1).
| Box 1: Social Scientists in Agricultural Research: Lessons from the Mantaro Valley Project, Peru
From 1977-1980, the International Potato Center, CIP (http://cipotato.org/ ) implemented a program of interdisciplinary farm level research in the Mantaro Valley of highland Peru. Unlike in many other agricultural research projects, , anthropologists, economists, sociologists, plant physiologists, agronomists, pathologists, and entomologists were involved in this project. The three main objectives of the program were:
The experience from the Mantaro Valley Project confirmed that the contributions of social scientists to interdisciplinary teams, were no less important than those of biologists. Nearly four decades after, the lessons from this important project have not been well noted. It is not a wonder that social scientists are still deliberating about their contribution toward making biological research more relevant to societal needs. |
Appreciably, social science professional associations in agriculture, especially those related to Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Extension Education are more frequently discussing the importance of social sciences in biological research. I attended a brainstorming session on the ’Role of Social Science in National Agricultural Research System’ organized by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India (http://naasindia.org/) on 23 May, 2015 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0TX5SvS4lMROTE2NXIycUQxQlU/view?usp=sharing).
Over 25 leading experts from the social sciences participated. This brainstorming session discussed two issues: the lack of clarity on the potential role of social scientists in the national agricultural research system, and the lack of critical mass of social scientists in many ICAR and State Agricultural Universities (SAU) in India.
I attended yet another brainstorming session last year on ’Strengthening Agricultural Extension Research and Education’. This session discussed the role of Agricultural Extension Education in agriculture development and emphasized on strengthening the discipline by enhancing core competencies of agricultural extension professionals in emerging areas (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0TX5SvS4lMRcjBoX05wTFExaUU/view?usp=sharing). These efforts indicate the growing concern and realization that social sciences can and should improve the quality of biological research by making research more relevant to the needs of the society.
EXPENSIVE MISTAKES: BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH WITHOUT INVOLVING SOCIAL SCIENTISTS
Some of the technologies found promising by the biologists under laboratory conditions, often fail in field situations. For instance, I shared the cases of urea treatment of straw (http://www.aps.uoguelph.ca/~gking/Ag_2350/straw.htm), which is highly extolled by animal nutrition specialists but remains not adopted by farmers across the world. It is still being promoted globally including India at the expense of time, resources and money spent on something which is not acceptable to farmers due to various reasons (www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2270e/i2270e00.pdf). Similarly, azolla as animal feed (http://www.feedipedia.org/node/565 ) that failed in Southeast Asian countries is still being extensively promoted in India (www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2270e/i2270e00.pdf). The Hydroponic fodder (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BYvgIlJ2Fo ) is the current craze in many parts of India as a miraculous option for livestock in India’s drylands, (http://www.icar.org.in/en/node/6737).
While all these technologies are claimed promising by biologists, especially those who research and develop them, the social scientists should intervene with evidence generated through field research to establish the socio-economics and operational feasibility of these technologies under field conditions. This could save on a lot of time, money and resources that are wasted on developing technologies which are impractical under field conditions. Any research endeavor is ultimately meant to serve society and social scientists being close to society are aware of societal needs, aspirations and field realities. The social scientists, can add value to the work done by biologists by involving in agricultural research projects as partners in multidisciplinary teams. Moreover, feedback and impact assessment are important domains of any research outcome, where social scientists can contribute significantly.
WHAT SOCIAL SCIENCES COULD OFFER?
As social scientists, we study and analyze the needs and aspirations of different stakeholders in agriculture to ensure that science contributes better in improving efficiency of the system and welfare of humankind. We the social scientists can help organize research, education and training around societal problems in natural science research, by improving focus, design, implementation, evaluation and demonstration of evidences of impact.
The scope of social sciences in agriculture has been defined at national and international levels, to include economics, sociology, political science, geography, philosophy, psychology, anthropology including agricultural extension education and statistics. If these disciplines were to work in isolation without collaborating with biologists, their impact would reduce significantly in solving problems faced by different sectors in agriculture and by rural communities.
In addition, social scientists can significantly enhance their contributions by improving their skills in tools and methodologies of social research, which often is lacked by many, remarked Dr Pramod K Joshi, Director, IFPRI- Asia.
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) institutions (http://www.cgiar.org/about-us/research-centers/) in general, IFPRI and IRRI in particular are making efforts to enhance role of social sciences in agricultural research by taking up activities including organizing workshops, seminars, symposium and panel discussions like the one organized at ICAR-IVRI as part of this conference. These efforts are expected to yield in the coming years. There is a large scope for international institutions to improve the capacities of social scientists in developing countries through workshops and trainings.
It is much appreciated that social scientists like Dr Sam Mohanty (http://irri.org/blogs/item/sam- mohanty) travelled all the way from Manila to address the gathering at this small dusty town (Bareilly) in north India. “At IRRI, excellent work environment and logistics have been created at the Social Sciences Division to proactively work with multidisciplinary teams of researchers at various locations in different countries including India”, he remarked.
The participants also benefited from the presentation by Dr Pramod K Joshi (https://www.ifpri.org/profile/p-k-joshi), who elaborated on the initiatives of IFPRI to improve capacities of social scientists by equipping them with tools and methods of social research. The IFPRI in collaboration with ICAR undertook an important step during September 21-24, 2015 by organizing the ‘Capacity Building Program on Methodologies in Agriculture Extension Research ‘ (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0TX5SvS4lMRZHBiTlIwQVlmRjQ/view ), for the faculty and scientists of Agricultural Extension.
We need more such initiatives. In this regard, I am particularly happy to mention two workshops held recently on developing capacities of extension researchers in India.
The ICAR – NAARM in collaboration with the Centre for Research on Innovation and Science Policy (CRISP), Agricultural Extension in South Asia (AESA), ICAR – Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI) and National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), organized a workshop on ‘Good Practices in Extension Research and Evaluation’ during 29 November – 2 December 2016 in Hyderabad (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0TX5SvS4lMRLVZlbFExdmRpb1U/view).
A few months back, the Indian Veterinary Extension Forum (IVEF), Puducherry, P.V. Narasimha Rao Telangana Veterinary University (PVNRTVU), Hyderabad, and Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU), Bidar, co-organized a national workshop on ‘Mentoring Young Extension Professionals for Conduct of Scientific Research’ during 4-5, July 2016 in Hyderabad (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0TX5SvS4lMRWS1FdjFJSUpqbk0/view).
Such collective efforts would certainly help in creating a cadre of professional extension researchers who can carry out impact oriented quality research in extension.
Many participants of the 24th Annual Conference of Agricultural Economics Research Association were overwhelmed to hear Dr Prabhu Pingali (https://dyson.cornell.edu/people/prabhu-pingali) on ‘Redirecting Agriculture and Food Policy towards Nutrition Security’.
He said, it is time that countries realize to become nutrition secure and to understand the impact of ignoring nutrition sensitive agriculture.
While inaugurating the conference, Dr R B Singh emphasized the need for social scientists to help in prioritizing and solving agricultural problems by partnering with biologists (https://ccafs.cgiar.org/sites/default/files/RamBadanSingh-CV.pdf).
LESSONS
Unlike many conferences organized by professional societies in India, this conference focused on technical content, presentations and discussions rather than on awards, certificates, sightseeing, elections etc. The quality of speakers can be judged by the status of speakers drawn from International Organizations such as IFPRI, IRRI and The Tata – Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) in addition to the presence of eminent Indian scholars in the field of Agricultural Economics who shared their thoughts and vision on important issues impacting the society at large.
To attend this conference of AERA and especially to discuss in the panel on ‘sstrengthening social science and policy research’ was a gratifying experience for me. I am optimistic about more proactive involvement of social scientists in agricultural research in the days to come!
Dr Mahesh Chander, is Principal Scientist & Head, Division of Extension Education at ICAR – Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar-243 122 (UP) India. Email: mchanderivri@gmail.com
Thanks for circulating report of Dr. Mahesh Chander on his experience of participation in the 24th Annual Conf. of Agri Econ Research Association. I studied the report and was pleased to note from the report that in the Conf. there was stress on involvement of Social Scientists in Agriculture Research. It was my considered view since long that Agri. Res. can be more development supportive if scientists from SOFT and HARD sciences join hands..I wish to draw attention of AESA network members on the following Association / Involvement of Social Scientists, as also of Anthropologists, in Agriculture (crop and animal sciences) research is very useful only if the research is aimed at supporting development and is not purely academic research. However, in majority of cases researchers are not concerned about fate/usefulness to farmers of Products of Research. A Good Research recommendation or Technology is one that is not only Technically sound, Economically beneficial but is also Socially acceptable. I wish Dr. Mahesh Chander would have stressed that involving Sociologists and Anthropologists in Animal Science Research is essential since livestock production is much more influenced by Socio-Cultural aspects than crop production. Such approach in Livestock research was stressed a few decades ago. A good example is Small Ruminant Coordinated Research Project in Latin America taken up in 80s and early 90s (referred as SR–CRSP), supported by USAID and University of Missouri was involved.. A similar approach was taken by scientists of University of Chiapas in Mexico working on Chiapas sheep in late 90s. Reports / papers from these projects are worth referring. International Conf. on Ethnoveterinary Research and Development organized at Pune in 1997 provided good opportunity for scientists from hard and soft sciences to come together and discuss various aspects related to Ethnovet R & D. I am tempted to mention that Sociology background of my late wife (Sangeeta) was very useful in undertaking studies on women in livestock production and understand Perception and Priorities of women (different from men folk) and recommend changes in planning training and extension programs in the BAIF.working on Chiapas sheep. I sincerely wish that National Research Institutes like IARI, IVRI take initiative in changing research paradigm and adopt multidisciplinary approach to demonstrate usefulness of such research for livestock development.
A well-written meeting note about a well – organized scientific meeting. I would suggest extension scientists and students to attend conferences organized by IIMs especially Marketing departments (not agri – business management dept) to experience the true professionalism and intellectual experience. The Marketing conferences of IIM, Lucknow and Ahmadabad are of World class – highly competitive abstract selection (including high % of rejection), advance registration prior to publishing abstract/ extended summary book, no transportation to pickup delegates, no entertainment tours, collecting presentations about 15 days in advance and review of all oral presentations and posters, student research mentoring workshops, editor sessions, marketing legends sessions, specialized parallel workshops, few but highly competitive awards, and publishing most papers in high impact journals. Many delegates will get a chance to interact with legends in marketing disciplines, their down-to-earth behavior, highly interactive paper sessions, great venues etc.
It is time for change. To make real change in agriculture, social scientists should partner with biological researchers and other stakeholders…..Congratulations Dr. Mahesh Chander, recent times, it is one of the best written meeting notes……Very well structured notes…keep it-up….
Thanks a lot for your candid observations and positive feelings on AERA Conference and particularly about the interface between social science research and biological research and working independently is expensive and makes little sense. We have been arguing and working for closer interface but still a long way to go. Your observations and suggestions are encouraging and raise hopes for Achhe Din soon when biological science and social science are considered as two sides of the same coin.