1. Overcoming barriers to social inclusion in agricultural intensification: reflections on a transdisciplinary community development project from India and Bangladesh.
- Author
-
Roth, Christian H, Cosijn, Michaela, Carter, Lucy, Chakraborty, Arnab, Das, Mahanambrota, Hamilton, Serena H, Jana, Alak Kumar, Lim-Camacho, Lilly, Majumdar, Subrata, Merritt, Wendy S, Mishra, Pulak, Mishra, Rajeshwar, Nidumolu, Uday, Rahman, Md Wakilur, Ray, Dhananjay, and Williams, Liana J
- Subjects
- *
COMMUNITY development , *SOCIAL integration , *AGRICULTURAL intensification - Abstract
We describe a research-for-development (R4D) strategy developed to address how investments and interventions in agricultural intensification as a means to achieve community development can be designed to be more socially inclusive and equitable. We draw on results from a 5-year project – Promoting socially inclusive and sustainable agricultural intensification in West Bengal (India) and southern Bangladesh (SIAGI). We reflect on a major pivot in the project's strategy, from being primarily research-driven to placing community concerns and priorities at the centre with a shift towards Ethical Community Engagement (ECE). This became the foundational framework which guided the definition and undertaking of all subsequent activities – including a rethink of methods and concepts to develop tools and frameworks fit for purpose and local context, and inculcating a culture of reflexivity and mutual learning in the project. We show that creating the conditions for true participation, where project beneficiaries and non-government organizations are equal partners alongside researchers and government actors, and for co-learning using the ECE framework, sets the foundations for increased and potentially enduring social inclusion in agricultural intensification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF