Towards Integrated Soil Fertility Management in Malawi: Incorporating Participatory Approaches in Agricultural Research

In order to effectively develop integrated soil fertility management strategies and disseminate the resulting technologies, we need new approaches that will enable farmers and researchers to build working partnerships. Participatory research is one option, but it is often considered too time-consuming and criticised for not generating quantitative data. Researchers in Malawi have taken up the challenge to overcome these constraints, and have developed both a short-term and a longer term approach to participatory research. This working paper documents the development of these two approaches, discussing the methods, highlighting the problems and the lessons learned during the process