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Participatory action research generates knowledge for Sustainable Development Goals
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Participatory action research generates knowledge for Sustainable Development Goals

Sieglinde S. Snapp, Rachel Bezner Kerr, Ann Bybee-Finley, Regis Chikowo, Laifolo Dakishoni, Philip Grabowski, Esther Lupafya, Wezi Mhango, Vicki L. Morrone, Lizzie Shumba, …
Frontiers in ecology and the environment, Vol.21(7), pp.341-349
09/01/2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2591
url
https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2591View
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Abstract

Ecology Environmental Sciences Environmental Sciences & Ecology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Science & Technology
New approaches to generating knowledge are needed to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Participatory action research (PAR) builds on and expands the scientific process through engagement of scientists (ecological, agricultural, and social) with stakeholders in a systematic manner. To illustrate iterative co-learning cycles, we report on two decades of PAR in rural communities in Malawi. Novel findings include the expansion of agricultural diversity beyond agroforestry to meet farmer requirements while enhancing redundancy and supporting a broad range of functions. Insights from farmers facilitated identification of the value of intermediate growth habits (such as those of shrubs and vines) as "goldilocks" crop types that tighten nutrient cycles in mixed farming systems while providing multiple harvests of nutritious seeds and forage. This illustrates how PAR involves co-design with stakeholders and learning by doing, to meet local needs and mediate trade-offs, as well as generate knowledge that addresses SDGs.

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