Farming Systems Research

 Here is an interesting article about Farming Systems Research:

"Central to FSR is the farming system:
"The entire range of human and technical aspects, which influence the living of a farming family" (Gilbert,
et al., 1980).
The primary target of FSR is then:
"To increase the productivity of the farming system in the context of the entire range of private and societal goals, given the constraints and potentials of the existing farming system"(ibid). Important differences between this concept and traditional concepts on agricultural research are:
1. FSR recognizes that not only production but also consumption is a major issue in the farming households
decision-making. Farmers' objectives are not only to yield high production, but also to avoid risks of drought or pests and to have a varied and assured food supply and a sustained ecological balance.
2. FSR recognizes that socio-economic constraints are important. FSR dedicates explicit attention to farmers'
objectives and constraints. Traditionally, research focussed on biological and technical constraints only.
3. FSR criticizes the single crop or commodity approach and recommends concentration on the whole range
of farming household activities. Essential activities such as off-farm employment and livestock production
are included in the research.
4. Although FSR is essentially a method for the improvement of agricultural research and therefore tends to
search for technical solutions, it also recognizes that socio-economic constraints such as land scarcity, a
bad marketing situation or infrastructural problems, can be important.
5. FSR promotes the effort to enhance communication and contact between researchers, extension workers
and farmers to avoid the isolation and top-down contact of traditional research.
FSR should be complimentary to the work on a research station, and feed the research on the station with
ideas."

Below you may find a simplified diagram of farming systems research:

 (source: Food and Agriculture Organization)