A comparison of statistical and participatory clustering of smallholder farming systems - a case study in Northern Ghana
Typologies are often used to understand and capture smallholder farming system heterogeneity, and may be derived using different approaches and methods. This article aims to compare a quantitative, statistical typology based on a survey dataset and multivariate analysis, with a qualitative participa...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Elsevier
2016
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/76362 |
| _version_ | 1855516191833980928 |
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| author | Kuivanen, K.S. Michalscheck, Mirja Descheemaeker, Katrien K. Adjei-Nsiah, Samuel Mellon-Bedi, S. Groot, Jeroen C.J. Álvarez, S. |
| author_browse | Adjei-Nsiah, Samuel Descheemaeker, Katrien K. Groot, Jeroen C.J. Kuivanen, K.S. Mellon-Bedi, S. Michalscheck, Mirja Álvarez, S. |
| author_facet | Kuivanen, K.S. Michalscheck, Mirja Descheemaeker, Katrien K. Adjei-Nsiah, Samuel Mellon-Bedi, S. Groot, Jeroen C.J. Álvarez, S. |
| author_sort | Kuivanen, K.S. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Typologies are often used to understand and capture smallholder farming system heterogeneity, and may be derived using different approaches and methods. This article aims to compare a quantitative, statistical typology based on a survey dataset and multivariate analysis, with a qualitative participatory typology based on informal group sessions and activities with local stakeholders from three communities in Northern Ghana. The statistical typology resulted in six clusters, with farm households categorized on the basis of their structural (resource endowment)- and functional (production objectives/livelihood strategies) characteristics. The participatory typology identified five farm types, based primarily on endowment (farm size, income investment), gender and age-related criteria. While the entire household was adopted as the unit of analysis of the statistical typology, the participatory typology provided a more nuanced differentiation by grouping individual farmers; with possibly several farmer types per household (e.g. ‘small’ and ‘female farmers’) as well as ‘farm-less’ individuals as a result. Other sources of dissimilarity which contributed to limited overlap between the typologies included changes that occurred in the communities between the two data collection efforts and inaccuracies in the data. The underlying causes of the latter seemed to mainly relate to socio-cultural issues that distorted information collection in both typologies; including power and status differences between both the researchers and farmers, as well as the farmers themselves. We conclude that although statistical techniques warrant objectivity and reproducibility in the analysis, the complexity of data collection and representation of the local reality might limit their effectiveness in selection of farms, innovation targeting and out-scaling in R4D projects. In addition, while participatory typologies offer a more contextualized representation of heterogeneity, their accuracy can still be compromised by socio-cultural constraints. Therefore, we recommend making effective use of the advantages offered by each approach by applying them in a complementary manner. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace76362 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| publisherStr | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace763622025-03-11T09:50:20Z A comparison of statistical and participatory clustering of smallholder farming systems - a case study in Northern Ghana Kuivanen, K.S. Michalscheck, Mirja Descheemaeker, Katrien K. Adjei-Nsiah, Samuel Mellon-Bedi, S. Groot, Jeroen C.J. Álvarez, S. farming systems typology development Typologies are often used to understand and capture smallholder farming system heterogeneity, and may be derived using different approaches and methods. This article aims to compare a quantitative, statistical typology based on a survey dataset and multivariate analysis, with a qualitative participatory typology based on informal group sessions and activities with local stakeholders from three communities in Northern Ghana. The statistical typology resulted in six clusters, with farm households categorized on the basis of their structural (resource endowment)- and functional (production objectives/livelihood strategies) characteristics. The participatory typology identified five farm types, based primarily on endowment (farm size, income investment), gender and age-related criteria. While the entire household was adopted as the unit of analysis of the statistical typology, the participatory typology provided a more nuanced differentiation by grouping individual farmers; with possibly several farmer types per household (e.g. ‘small’ and ‘female farmers’) as well as ‘farm-less’ individuals as a result. Other sources of dissimilarity which contributed to limited overlap between the typologies included changes that occurred in the communities between the two data collection efforts and inaccuracies in the data. The underlying causes of the latter seemed to mainly relate to socio-cultural issues that distorted information collection in both typologies; including power and status differences between both the researchers and farmers, as well as the farmers themselves. We conclude that although statistical techniques warrant objectivity and reproducibility in the analysis, the complexity of data collection and representation of the local reality might limit their effectiveness in selection of farms, innovation targeting and out-scaling in R4D projects. In addition, while participatory typologies offer a more contextualized representation of heterogeneity, their accuracy can still be compromised by socio-cultural constraints. Therefore, we recommend making effective use of the advantages offered by each approach by applying them in a complementary manner. 2016-06 2016-08-09T12:59:05Z 2016-08-09T12:59:05Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/76362 en Limited Access Elsevier Kuivanen, K.S., Michalscheck, M., Descheemaeker, K., Adjei-Nsiah, S., Mellon-Bedi, S., Groot, J.C.J., & Alvarez, S. (2016). A comparison of statistical and participatory clustering of smallholder farming systems – a case study in Northern Ghana. Journal of Rural Studies, 45, 184-198. |
| spellingShingle | farming systems typology development Kuivanen, K.S. Michalscheck, Mirja Descheemaeker, Katrien K. Adjei-Nsiah, Samuel Mellon-Bedi, S. Groot, Jeroen C.J. Álvarez, S. A comparison of statistical and participatory clustering of smallholder farming systems - a case study in Northern Ghana |
| title | A comparison of statistical and participatory clustering of smallholder farming systems - a case study in Northern Ghana |
| title_full | A comparison of statistical and participatory clustering of smallholder farming systems - a case study in Northern Ghana |
| title_fullStr | A comparison of statistical and participatory clustering of smallholder farming systems - a case study in Northern Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | A comparison of statistical and participatory clustering of smallholder farming systems - a case study in Northern Ghana |
| title_short | A comparison of statistical and participatory clustering of smallholder farming systems - a case study in Northern Ghana |
| title_sort | comparison of statistical and participatory clustering of smallholder farming systems a case study in northern ghana |
| topic | farming systems typology development |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/76362 |
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