The interactions between academics and farmers can be captured through an investigation into formal and informal modes. By distinguishing formal and informal, we wish to emphasise that besides formal interaction structures such as institutionalised organisations, planned projects, or organised classes that are prominently promoted in literature and practice, informal channels through kinship and social relations that are dynamic in reality should not be taken for granted. This differentiation is central to the purpose of this analysis. The formal and informal boundary, within a farmers’ thinking system, can be far more blurred or indistinct.
Interaction modes which will be discussed in detail below are illustrated over formal and informal spheres and knowledge specialisations and packages (Figure 4.3). We define three overarching formal modes including consultations, workshop and training courses, and projects (including knowledge transfer and community development). In the informal sphere, interactions motivated by kinship and social relations significantly translate scientific knowledge into local agricultural activities. It is important to note that an interaction mode can become rather plastic in spanning its inherited sphere when academics and farmers relations are not limited to one form of interaction. For example, academics and farmers maintain their
“informal” knowledge and information sharing beyond the end of a “formal” research project.
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Figure 4.4: Academic-farmer interaction typologies
(Note: consultation, training, projects, informal modus) Source: Own presentation
Interactions that are under discussion in this section mainly refer to knowledge flows from academics to farming communities, whether via uni-directional or communicative methods. Knowledge in diffusion can be specific within a subject aiming at an aspect or dimension of a problem or more comprehensive under a technical package towards complex and long-term issues.
Formal interactions
Consultation. Consultation sessions are a widely-applied knowledge transfer mode between academics and farmers in the Mekong Delta. They are increasingly diversified with the vast outreach of mass media and high-tech devices into the rural life.
Science-shop consultation. STTCs are established as the main and resource-concentrated gateway for transferring knowledge to wider rural communities under the old-styled education and research system.
This model has become less effective in processes of autonomy achievement of educational organisations with the state funding reduction and the growth and diffusion of knowledge. Newly-structured organisations that are more discipline-focused have been formed under colleges or faculties, such as SOFRI, apart from its STTC, forming a fruit clinic focused on plant pathology. Under CTU, besides Center for Agricultural Science Services under CAAB, a veterinary clinic is operated under the Animal Health Department, CAAB. Sub-CTU institutes such as MDI or CTU Biotechnology Research and Development Institute (BiRDI) organise centers, showrooms, or seed supply points. Such multi-purpose science shops sell agricultural input or technical products produced by local researchers as well as
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providing consultation, at a charge or gratis, for farmers and all types of customers. Farmers can bring their plant or animal samples to the centers for high-tech equipment-supported examination needs, and collect leaflets and brochures after the consultation for home reference. Consultation sessions can take place in person on fixed-schedule themes and consultants (see Figure 4.5) or via telephone in the case of the SOFI Fruit Clinic.
One advantage of science-shop consultation is prompt answers to simple problems that farmers are encountering. However, its access is more favourable for affordable households with telephone connections or residents in cities or district centers where most of the science shops are located. For academics, such consultation sessions are useful to be informed about the local current situation and over time provide directions for further research to more complicated issues.
Figure 4.5: Agricultural consultation provided for free at Center for Agricultural Science Services, CTU
Source: Author 2011
Mobile consultation. Institute research groups organise regular or urgent mobile trips to communities confronting plant or animal disease epidemics. A vivid example is the SOFRI mobile plant clinic.
Community selection is based on epidemic assessments by researchers or demands submitted by local authorities. While Mekong Delta communities are the focus, the team also operates trips to disadvantaged localities nationwide, such as the ethnic minorities in Lam Dong province, where they help with gardening improvements.
CONSULTATIONS ON ARGICULTURAL PRODUCTION
Date Theme Consultant MON AM Vegetable cultivation tech. Dr. TTTB MON PM Aquaculture technology A/Prof.Dr. DNL TUE AM Land mgt. and pesticide A/Prof.Dr. VTG TUE PM Plant protection A/Prof.Dr. TVH WED AM Animal husbandry Dr. PND WED PM Bonsai techniques A/Prof.Dr. LVH THU AM Vegetable cultivation tech. Dr. TTTB THU PM Animal disease prevention A/Prof.Dr. LHM FRI AM Fruit tree cultivation tech. A/Prof.Dr. TVH FRI PM Agri. product proc. &pres. Dr. NMT SAT AM Rice cultivation tech. Dr. NND
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A trip usually includes 7-10 plant “doctors” with different specialisations (see Box 4.1). Information of local planting and disease situations has been collected via community representatives and relevant suggestions printed in advance. Farmers are asked to bring plant samples collected from both healthy and diseased trees to the consultation session. Most importantly, plant disease books are delivered and kept by individual farmers. With registered household information details and recorded disease symptoms, disease causes, symptom expression, and preventive methods, plant health can be monitored over a meaningful timeline. Mobile consultation sessions take place in a farmer’s garden or in a community house with the participation of 100–150 local farmers.
Researchers and farmers show interest in mobile trips because of the on-farm interactive contacts.
Previously-trained farmers from SOFRI are encouraged to join, learn, and share experiences on these trips.
One major challenge for arranging more regular mobile clinics in the face of mounting need applications is limited funding allocation, while researchers still have to fulfil their primary teaching and research tasks.
Figure 4.6: The schedule of a mobile trip by SOFRI Fruit Clinic
Source: SOFRI website www.sofri.org.vn, translation by the author
Scientific-conference consultation. Universities conduct annual or biennial research conferences to inform academics and the public of their recent research results and innovations. At such scientific conferences organised by CTU CAAB, ‘advanced’ or project-involved farmers from all over the Mekong Delta are also invited.
In attendance at plenary and thematic sessions, they have a valued chance to understand, from both the scientific and practical perspectives, the significance, processes, results, and impacts of projects in which they participated. In an advanced scientific environment, they can share information and experience with agro-scientists, businesspeople, and other farmers. Due to attendance requirements, this consultation service is mainly restricted to leading farmers who are well off and are large-scale producers; however, their role in brokering new knowledge and technology to their wider communities is still questionable.
Epidemic outbreaks on longan trees are currently widespread and seriously affect longan-planting areas especially in Cai Be, Tien Giang. In addition, diseases are causing damage on citrus plants in many other localities.
Therefore, the Mekong Delta Fruit C of SOFRI has planned mobile trips to help local farmers check and treat diseases on fruit trees. The scheduled timetable is as below:
- 24 August 2011: to Dong Hoa Hiep and Hau Thanh communes, Cai Be district, Tien Giang province (issues on longan trees)
- 25 August 2011: to Ngai Tu commune, Tam Binh district, Vinh Long province (issues on citrus plants) Participating plant “doctors” include:
- Dr. Philip Neil Tayloran, expert from U.K.
- Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa , director of the Mekong Delta Fruit Hospital, plant pathologist - MSc. Le Quoc Dien, entomologist
- MSc. Huynh Thanh Loc, entomologist - MSc. Dang Thuy Linh, plant pathologist - MSc. Nguyen Van Son, bonsai expert - Eng. Nguyen Thi Kim Thoa, entomologist
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Public-event consultation. There are increasing periodical international- and national-level agricultural fairs organised in rotation among Mekong Delta provinces with various rice, fruit, fish, aquaculture, and rural handicraft themes. These fairs usually combine exhibition sessions for the public and more closed thematic seminars and conferences as a scientific forum between researchers and policy makers. Farmers who visit institute or university stalls can be brought up to date about research activities and advancements and engage in consultation sessions provided free of charge. This kind of consultation shares similar features to the science-shop consultation, though the former typically has a more diverse audience.
Our one-day observation of CTU consultation provision at an international agriculture fair held in Can Tho in 2010 indicated 35 visits by farmers (including five women) from eight Mekong Delta provinces (see Figure 4.7). Farmers’ questions focused prominently on disease treatment and technical solutions for their fruit, rice, and vegetable crops and on animal husbandry.
Figure 4.7: Consultation for farmers by CTU academics at the Viet Nam International Agriculture Fair 2010 in Can Tho City (Date: 8 December 2010, N=35)
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Gender Residence Field Problem
Male Female Can Tho
Vinh Long Hau Giang Soc Trang
An Giang Dong Thap Tra Vinh
Tien Giang Fruit Animal husbandry
Rice Vegetable Pesticide
Diseases Techniques Source: Own presentation
Mass media-based consultation. Consultation sessions led by academics are transmitted by printed newspapers or via radio and television programs. Most agricultural newspapers at the national and local levels have a column where farmers ask and experts answer, such as the “Extension Bridge-Span” in the Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper. Radio programs on agriculture and rural development allot a certain amount of time to respond to farmers’ inquires. In a general sense, this kind of communication is characterised by a selection of representative questions and a concise amount of information in response, mainly related to
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pesticide use, particular agricultural practices, or market information. As such, at the end of several replies,
“direct expert consultation” is widely recommended.
Our farmer focus group discussions confirm that television is one of the most popular and important knowledge sources for farmers in the Mekong Delta. With their longer history, agricultural extension programs concentrate on technical procedures of specific agricultural activities and good models of production. The recent boom of agricultural and rural development television series with regular live programs offers viewers a more communicative channel to interact with an agriculture expert trio including an academic, government official, and agribusiness representative (see Figure 4.8). Themes of the programs are determined based on the purpose of implementing a governmental program or policy, evaluation of the significance by the television staff, and in accordance with the farming seasonal calendar (a Mekong Delta local television survey in 2011 by the author). Around 20 farmers are purposely selected by the television station and invited to the studio to pose direct questions to the experts while other viewers can send their questions via a hotline system. Unanswered questions from a live broadcast will be collected and sent to experts for answers when possible.
Figure 4.8: A highly-presented expert trio on a live agricultural television program
Source: Author 2010
Many of our interviewed farmers agree that television programs provide them with updated, comprehensive, and visualised information and knowledge. However, effective knowledge acquisition requires an uninterrupted and attentive (with note-taking) viewing, which is practiced by few of the farmers (Interview 199, farmer, male, Can Tho, 25.10.2010). Others become critical of the objectivity of suggestions made by experts in agribusiness-sponsored programs (Interview 333, senior plant protection expert, male, Tien Giang, 14.03.2011). Also, the generic nature of agricultural programs that place an
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emphasis on technical presentation or general situation description without evidence-based analysis discourages farmers whose technical knowledge has been strengthened over time or those who need more comprehensive knowledge for their intensive farming (Interview 294, senior researcher, male, Can Tho, 14.12.2010).
Based on the entertainment-education soap opera or drama formats, several radio and television programs have been also designed to promote farmers’ perceptions and practices of integrated pest management and sustainable agriculture (Heong et al. 1998; Heong et al. 2008). In the recently-developed series Ke hay nong nghiep (New Agricultural Ideas) broadcast over Vinh Long Television once a week, each 15-minute episode comprises a dramatized conversation in which farmers meet and discuss an agricultural issue or concept in the confusion of negative, transitional, and positive values, and then a scientific consultation that legitimises and clarifies the issue or concept discussed in the drama segment (Ho Van Chien and Escalada 2011).
Internet-based consultation. E-consultation is often used in the recent agricultural extension, via either website or email. Some university faculties and institute centers also set up websites through development projects that provide farmers with technical and market information and e-consultation. Although there have been a number of commune-level projects of computer and internet infrastructure improvement for farmers, only a small group of progressive farmers take advantage of internet-based knowledge for agricultural production. Such progressive farmers include:
Advanced large-scale farmers who have to invest in high technology because of their intensive large- area farming. Examples include aquaculture or fruit commercial farmers.
Advanced collective farmers: They are head of agriculture cooperatives, clubs, or groups.
Concentrated resource allocation from government and non-government organisations on farmer grouping greatly benefits group elites, including access to new technologies (Nguyen Quy Hanh and Nguyen Ngoc Khanh Van 2011).
Advanced small-scale farmers: They cultivate on their limited land area with rigorous scientific knowledge application. They are supported to learn from and work with academics. Case 2 in the section below is an illustration (see Nguyen Quy Hanh and Evers 2011, Section 6.5 for detailed analysis).
Intellectuals as farmers: They are elementary and secondary school teachers who are engaging in agriculture activities for extra income generation. Statistics show that emails for research institute consultations are mainly sent by these teacher-farmers (Interview 332, researcher, female, Tien Giang, 14.3.2011).
“Pseudo” farmers: They are officers or workers in urban areas who at the same time own and work on their farming land in rural areas, either as an income-generation activity or for leisure purposes (hobby farmers). Taking advantage of their internet competence, they become active participants in internet-based consultations and other services.
Workshops and training courses. Organised in class form with separated or combined theoretical and practical components, workshops and training courses (or training in general) provided by academics aims
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to diffuse new research results and achievements or new applied technologies and knowledge throughout the agriculture sector. Interactions between academics and farmers are observed in the types of training described below.
Extension-collaborated training. Multi-level extension agencies relied on their schedule and budget to organise regular extension activities. University and institute researchers are invited to report new research outcomes, deliver lectures, or instruct on new technologies. In case of epidemic outbreaks, extensionists cooperate with academics to conduct on-field investigation and provide disease prevention and control measures:
Our organisation has several plans on technology transfer for agricultural groups and cooperatives annually. Demanded types of technology are determined by members of groups and cooperatives, such as fish farming in the paddy, high-quality seed production, etc. Then, we will work out a plan based on their needs and invite lecturers from Can Tho University to teach new technology. We are responsible for training aids and facilities while the cooperative or group has to arrange time and place for the meeting (Interview 17 & 18, senior staff, res. female & male, Can Tho, 31.5.2010).
Research-driven training. Providing involved farmers with research results is very much dependent on the research’s ethical practices or the research project design. For research implemented by individual or group researchers, local farmers are hired to conduct activities without being sufficiently informed of research processes, potential findings, and applications. There are two corollaries of this deficiency: first, the loss of opportunity for new technology improvement and application with trained farmers and on pre-piloted sites and second, the misapplication of immature technology by involved farmers who want to take risks.
In well-designed research projects, training is always a component. Workshops with various stakeholders are held to inform research objective and disseminate findings.
These training courses and workshops take place in a commune’s hall, community house, or farmer’s land.
Presenters usually use PowerPoint presentations and handouts (see Figure 4.9). Some scientific terms and illustrations and foreign language expressions lead to a very confused message delivery. Our observation is that farmers are passive listeners and do not take notes. What makes the training sometimes irrelevant is the open discussion section at the end of the course is that farmers pose questions about agriculture policy, market information, or financial support, which is beyond the authority and capacity of trainers to answer.
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Figure 4.9: A half-day training course on new aquaculture regulations, fish diseases and climate change provided by provincial aquaculture officials and CTU researchers for Can Tho City farmers
Source: Author 2010
Project-based training. Training is part of technology transfer and community development projects. As such projects aim at farmers’ capacity building, training focuses on know-how and practice-based transfers.
Accordingly, academics work with farmers in more intensive and long-term interactions.
Special training. Education organisations offer special courses for farmers to take up a new profession or position. For example, when the CTU School of Aquaculture and Fisheries (SAF) successfully developed artificial breeding of Pangasius (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus and Pangasianodon bocourti) or giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) in the 1990s, intensive courses were opened to transfer the technologies mainly to extension workers. Shrewd and large-scale farmers who wished to grasp and apply the new technologies to their commercially-oriented farming registered without delay for such courses. The course fee was paid by farmers themselves or funded by local governments. Each course lasts a few months with theoretical and practical parts over the biological cycles of studied objects.
Another example is half-month certificate courses given by SOFRI to selected fruit farmers in the Mekong Delta and other parts of Southern Vietnam. The training is currently free of charge, as it is covered by an international cooperation project. To achieve the goal of training fruit farmers as expert farmers (chuyen gia nong dan), participants are equipped with (1) technical and specialised knowledge and skills, and (2) computer, PowerPoint presentation, and public speaking skills. During the course, they also work in a laboratory to diagnose diseases in plants and are asked to integrate their practical knowledge and experience into the lecture they are supposed to prepare and deliver in front of the entire class. Graduated farmers are expected to maintain an active role in vertical and horizontal knowledge diffusion upon their return to their communities: