Fundamental of Extension Methods: Tools and Techniques of PRA

B.S.Meena

Extension Methods“What a man hears, he may doubt.

What he sees he may possible doubt.

But what he does himself he cannot doubt.”

Seaman Knapp

Extension Methods

• Program based on the needs of people

• Plan of Work, Plan of Action

• Implementation

• Evaluation

Extension Methods by Nature of Contact

• Individual Contact– Farm or Home Visit– Office Visit– Telephone Calls– Personal Correspondence– Result Demonstrations

Extension Methods by Nature of Contact

• Group Contact– Meetings, Workshops and Short

Courses– Method Demonstrations– Leader Training– Tours and Field Days– Organized Clubs– Camps– Teleconferences

Extension Methods by Nature of Contact

• Mass Contact

– News Stories and Personal Columns– Radio and Television– Newsletters– Publications– Exhibits– Interactive and Computer-aided

instruction– Telephone Message Services– Web Sites– Satellite and Internet Conferences

Extension Methods by Form of Communication

• Written– Bulletins, Fact Sheets, Publications,

Newsletters, News Articles, and Personal Letters

• Spoken– Meetings, Farm and Home Visits, Office

Visits, Calls, Radio

• Visual– Demonstrations, Exhibits, Slides,

Videos, Television, Web Pages

Extension Methods by Function

• Information Delivery– Meetings, newsletters, bulletins,

correspondence

• Skill Building– Workshops, demonstrations, role-

playing

• Problem Solving, knowledge applying– Synthesis of information and skills to

solve real world problems of farms, families and communities

Advantages of Individual Contacts

• Individualized instruction

• First hand knowledge of local problems

• Climate of readiness for learning

• May be a quick and easy way to give information

• Immediate feedback

• Builds confidence in agent as a source of help

• Can be used to contact hard to reach

Disadvantages of Individual Contacts

• High cost per contact

• Limits the total number of contacts

• Requires good time management

• Time for follow-up

• Public perceptions if replies are not timely

• May not reach priority audiences

• Responses may not be well planned

Advantages of Group Contacts

• Low cost per participant• Can reach large audiences• Adaptable to different learning styles• Experiential learning, group learning

process• Use of demonstration methods• Programs can be repeated with one

preparation• Recognizes need for social contact

Disadvantages of Group Contacts

Requires high level of organization, equipment, resources

Requires showmanship and skills at public speaking

Ability to use variety of teaching techniques

Limits meetings to locations appropriate to groups

Programs must be presented when a group can attend

Instruction must be planned for diversity of audience

needs and interests

Advantages of Mass Contacts Reaches large audience

Reaches those who might not attend meeting

Can be very timely, reaches audience quickly

Builds recognition and reputation of Extension

Adaptable to variety of topics and audiences

Used at learner’s convenience

Can build a sustainable audience

Disadvantages of Mass Contacts

• May be more expensive

• Requires constant revision to stay current

• Limited interaction or feedback

• May create poor image if not well done

• Radio and TV at convenience of station

• May require extensive production time

• Competes with “entertainment” programs

Newest Delivery Methods

• Web Sites

• Interactive Video Conferences

• Interactive Web Conferences

• Other New Methods

• Pros and Cons

Week Six Discussion Questions

• Identify at least six “Extension Teaching Methods”• Determine if the method is designed for: individual contact, group

contact or mass contact. I prefer that your methods cut across more than one group.

• For each of the six methods, describe the strengths and weaknesses of each method and be prepared to share in class discussion.

• Think about which methods are more cost effective and which are higher in teaching and learning effectiveness

• Think about what methods may be emerging and what methods may be decreasing in popularity.

• Please base this weeks study on more than the reading assignments. Think about your own program observations and what you know of different teaching methods in Extension.

Audience Guidelines Individuals

• Treat clients as equals rather than as persons of lower rank

• Listen and guide interaction through open-ended questions

• Be empathic rather than neutral, self-centred or judgmental

• Discuss problems descriptively rather than evaluatively

• Make sure advice is appropriate for the individual

• Be able to demonstrate nutrition behaviour(s) recommended

• Help people find individual solutions to their nutrition-related problems

Groups

• Acknowledge group members and their individual experiences

• Tolerate silence• Halt side conversations• Help the groups stay on the topic

• Guide and encourage involvement without intimidation

• Know when and how to resume control• Discourage unpleasant or dominant interactions• Balance speaking with listening and asking questions

• Extension work requires numerous methods and teaching tools.

• Each has its place, and they supplement one another.

• Together they provide the stimulus for interest, desire, action, and achievement.

Extension Teaching Methods

Tools and techniques of

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)

PRA: Introduction and Definition• PRA : Participatory Rural Appraisal• Components:

– People– Knowledge– Participation– Planning– Action

• It is a combination of different approaches to– Share– Enhance– Analyze– Plan– ActFor the betterment of the rural people with their participation

• The secrets behind the success of PRA are– Decentralization– Empowerment

PRA: Origin• PRA has been evolved from RRA (Rapid Rural Appraisal)• In mid 80’s the necessity of participation in rural development

became evident and the term PRA was born• The understanding of PRA came mostly from field rather than

academia• PRA mostly focuses on the empowerment of people through

participation• The sustainability rate of PRA is high due to the participation of

the local people • The sense of ownership and belongingness helps to the success

of PRA

Principles shared by PRA

• Reversal of learning

– To learn of the local people• Learning rapidly and progressively

– Exploration, flexible methods, adaptable

• Offsetting bias– To be receptive rather than preconceived ideas

• Optimizing tradeoffs– Understanding the usefulness of information

• Triangulating – Crosschecking and approximation

• Empowerment– The authority to local people through decentralization and

confidence building

• Self critical awareness– Mistakes are lessons to learn and to do better next time

• Personal responsibility– The belongingness and ownership to the participants

• Sharing– To discuss and argue about ideas in open forum with all

stakeholders

What it is? Participatory research is not an alternative research

method, but an approach that can be applied to any methodology – survey, experimental, qualitative (Lilja and Bellon 2008).

“PRA methods, as they are often called, are visual and tangible and usually performed by small groups of people”. (Chambers 2007)

PRA comprised of different research tools to facilitate local people in Analyzing information Practicing critical self-awareness Taking responsibility Sharing their knowledge of life and conditions to plan and

to act.

Definition

• As it has diverse application and has been changing rapidly any effort to define it might be folly and ‘unhelpful’.

• “ An approach and methods for learning about rural life and conditions from, with and by rural people”. (Chambers 1994)

WHY PRA:

PRA is a means to people’s participation

• To understand the social aspects of the village

• To develop common understanding on the

village conditions and natural resource

situation

• To learn the criteria of farmers which

influence their decision making process

• To select appropriate technology available to

encounter a problem (i.e. exotic or indigenous

technologies)• To observe the facts directly on the field, to

discuss problems and solutions with farmers• To encourage resource poor and women to

share their grievances • To identify and prioritize the needs

Principle Components of PRA

Source: Chambers 2007.

Adopted from Chambers 2007

PRECAUTIONS IN THE USE OF PRA TOOLS

• A tool (any tool) is only as good as its user. Much on the validity of PRA outputs depends on its users creativity, integrity and the situational appropriateness of the method selected

• The user must clearly distinguish between perceptions, opinions and hearsay in analysis and planning

• The selection of informants has to be done with care. Every body does not know everything neither does every body hold a view on all subjects

• The views expressed by a few members cannot be taken as a general view held by all

• Cross-verification of data is a necessary part of a complete PRA exercise

• Documentation poses several difficulties due to the wealth of information generated and the need to keep track of both process and output in ways understandable to all parties involved.

• PRA exercises may raise the expectations of participants, therefore, have to be carefully initiated with proper explanations.

Important tools of PRABasic InformationGeneral TransectAgro-ecological map

Social mapResource mapSeasonal calendar and analysisGender disaggregated activitiesTime lineTime trend

Technology mapMatrix rankingConsequence diagramBio-resource flowWealth rankingVenn diagramMobility mapIndigenous traditional knowledgeProblem Identification TechniqueProblem tree and solution tree

• Number of families living in the village and

their population data

• No.of farm families

• Economic status

• Educational status

• Infrastructure facilities like roads, electricity,

transport, storage and other public amenities

• Interdependence of families on each other

Informal/local leaders

SOCIAL MAPPING

Natural Resources Map

• Land types (class 1 to 8 )• Land use patterns, area and percentage • Cropping pattern and main crops• Ridges and valleys, erosion / extent of land

degradation• Irrigation sources • Waterbodies • Forest area• Type of trees in the forest• Existing farming systems

TRANSECT WALK

Transect walk taken along with farmers

helps to observe the facts directly on the field.

The Land utilization pattern, the soil gradient,

percentage of slope, the amount of soil erosion,

water erosion and other problems associated

with soil and water and opportunities to mend

them and the potentialities to further develop

the resources can be understood by farmers and

the PRA practitioners.

Problems associated with input management

pests, practices, low productivity can be

observed and analyzed.

SEASONALITY DIAGRAM:

Seasonal Variations in amount of rainfall,

availability of residual moisture, fodder,

employment opportunities, migration pattern,

expenditure pattern, income flows and

availability of minor forest products can be

understood by making seasonal diagrams.

TIMELINE EXERCISEOver a period of time what changes are

taking place in the status of land, water, vegetation and their effect on Socio-Economic pattern of the villagers can be known by using this technique.

Trends in the amount of top soil and their lossesTrends in land utilization patternSoil coverAmount of rainfallWater retention capacity of the soilWater bodies, their size and location

Vegetation

Usage of timber

Transport facilities

Migration pattern

Influence of outside forces

Cattle production

Changes in predominant occupations

Matrix Ranking:Preferences for various items and factors influencing and contributing for decision making process can be understood through this technique

Selection of crop in a particular piece of land Variety preference of a crop Watershed treatment works Trees ranking for social forestry in common lands Trees ranking for horticultural crops either in

private or common lands Seeds, fertilizers, pesticides brands Markets Agricultural credit Agro-processing facilities

Focussed Group Discussions (FGD):

FGDs help in understanding an issue

thoroughly those who are either positively or

negatively affected by an action / work in the

village.

VENN DIAGRAM

Helps us to understand the network of

relationships of various institutions working for

the village.

The information and understanding developed by

using these PRA techniques has to be consolidated

for use in planning. PRA can be used as a tool to

bring about participation of villagers in the

planning process.

Bibliography

• Lilja , Nina and Mauricio Bellon ; Some common questions about participatory research: a review of the literature, Development in Practice, Volume 18, Numbers 4–5, August 2008.

• Chambers, Robert; The Origins and Practice of Participatory Rural Appraisal. World Development, Volume 22, No 7, pp 953-969, 1994.

• Chambers, Robert; From PRA to PLA and Pluralism: Practice and Theory, Working Paper 286, IDS, 2007.

• Cornwall, Andrea; Towards participatory practice: participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and the participatory process in De Koning, Korrie and Martin Marion (1996). Participatory Research in Health: Issues and Experiences. Zen Books Ltd., London.