Abstract:
Understanding and addressing farmers' needs are important to enhance the effectiveness
of the agricultural sector of Sri Lanka where livelihoods of many depend on small scale
farming. In that context, participatory rural appraisal techniques (PRA) play a key role by
identifying and prioritizing the problems of farmers and guiding implementing strategies to
solve them by using local knowledge. PRA is conducted with the help of outdoor facilitators
using a set of participatory and visual techniques that can be easily understood by
participants from rural backgrounds. This study was conducted in the Ratemulla Grama
Niladhari Division in the Pahatha Hewahata Divisional Secretary’s Area of Kandy District
to understand the usefulness of PRA in agricultural development. Specific objectives of this
study were a) to investigate the current situation of the village, b) to identify and prioritize
problems that farmers are facing, and c) to suggest solutions for the identified problems.
Eighty two villagers participated actively in this exercise.
Four PRA tools; resource mapping; Venn diagrams; pair wise ranking; and matrix ranking
were used in the process. Findings indicate that the majority of people in the village are
engaged in agriculture, and mainly in paddy cultivation. In addition they cultivate minor fruit
crops, and export agriculture crops. It is revealed through Venn diagrams that relationships
between government officers, institutions, organizations and the farmers are weak. Matrix
ranking depicts that pepper is the most suitable crop for commercial cultivation. According
to pair wise ranking, the major constraint faced by the farmers is lack of technical
knowledge in farming practices. In order to solve the problems of farmers, the relevant
authorized officers should frequently visit the farmers, examine the current practices and
identify the prevailing weaknesses. At the same time, the relevant authorities should
identify suitable crops and disseminate appropriate technical knowledge among farmers in
order to enhance their livelihoods. This study thus shows that participatory rural appraisal
techniques can be used to identify farmers' needs in agricultural development.
