FARMERS' STRATEGIES

• Introduction to Farming systems analysis File

• Step1. What is a typology? Why and how to use it?

  • We have formed an understanding of the landscape and looked at its history. We are now going to try to establish a famer typology according to their strategy.

  • What is a typology? Nicole Sibelet explains and illustrates this point through her own experience in the field in different locations across the world.
    

  • Nature and purposes of typology (7') File 67.7MB

    • What is a type?
    • How many types for a typology?
  • From Nepal to Costa Rica, contextualised typologies (8'30) File 88.1MB
  • Typologies cannot be composed according to recipes, but require reflection. Nicole Sibelet gives an example.

  • A typical case study (12'30) File 113.5MB

    • There is no "standard" typology
    • Typology: a typical case study
    • A few clarifications
    • Statistical tools and typology
  • Didier Pillot looks at the first results obtained to start forming a typology that represents the diversity of situations.

  • Theory: from the research question to typology (27') File 243MB

    • The sources of agricultural diversification
    • The strategies and decisions of those involved
    • The limited rationality of those involved
    • The qualitative approach and the reasoning behind the composition of the sample
    • The landscape and history for pre-typology
    • The reasoning behind the sample
    • Preparing the interviews of those involved
    • Creating an interview guide

• Step 2. Building a typology of farmers (Part 1): collecting information from interviews

  • We are going to undertake a qualitative survey: if you are not familiar with this practise, look at the lesson on “Qualitative survey methods applied to natural resource management” /Section 4.
    

  • 

    Didier Pillot presents how to synthesise the information collected during the interviews.

  • Presentation of the Synthetic fact sheet for a farm (14') File 145.7MB

    • Select the relevant information...
    • .. to deduce farmers' strategies

  • Exercise: Compose a synthetic fact sheet for a farm. Based on the interview with Emmanuel, synthesise the information collected into a synthetic fact sheet according to the model provided.

  • Resource: farming system model File

    Download and complete this Farming System model with the following extracts of the interview of Emmanuel. 

  • Interview of Emmanuel 1: semi-directive interview (14') File 202.7MB
  • Interview of Emmanuel 2: in the attic, accounting (16') File 154.9MB
  • Interview of Emmanuel 3: visit of the farm (5'30) File 78.5MB
  • Interview of Emmanuel 4: at the lake and dinner (15') File 243MB
  • Solution: synthetic sheet of Emmanuel's Farming System File

• Step 3. Building a typology of farmers (Part 2): grouping farms or farmers by type

  • Once all of the synthetic fact sheets have been informed, you can start composing the typology.

  • Didier Pillot presents the method and the results for the construction of the N'Kosy farmer typology.

  • Typology construction process and results produced by the students from N'Kosy (13') File 118.5MB

    • First cases define the first categories
    • How to classify the marginal farms
    • Refining the types: typology is an iterative process
  • Didier’s synthesis (24'30) File 393.1MB

    • Typology process
    • Type 1: Preparing retirement farmers
    • A specific case
    • Type 2: Struggling for diversification farmers
    • Discriminating factors that come out of analysis
    • Type 3: Struggling for surviving farmers
    • Type 4: Extensive cattle breeders
    • Types 5 and 6: Businessmen farmers

  • Final table: Farmers typology File 58.4KB
  • Exercise: Classifying a farmer according to type. You previously composed a fact sheet for Emmanuel. Where would you classify him in the typology presented by Didier Pillot?

  • Solution: classification of Emmanuel Page
  • 

    Reflection exercise (no solution): A questionable case. Watch the part of the interview, with this farmer, on farming practices. Then think about the following question: how should we treat this case in our study? (Should we ignore it? Develop it? Who can we question to find out more? etc.)

  • A different kind of banana farmer? File 106.2MB
  • Bonus exercise: Classify the synthetic fact sheets provided according to Didier Pillot’s typology.

  • • Resources: 5 synthetic farm sheets to be classified
      • Farmer 1.pdf
      • Farmer 2.pdf
      • Farmer 3.pdf
      • Farmer 4.pdf
      • Farmer 5.pdf
  • Solution: classification of the farms in the typology Page
  • Why is it useful to understand the different types of farming in an area? Didier Pillot provides a few illustrations.

  • Practical application of the process for projects (7') File 71.2MB