LEI is known for farming research, documenting farm accounts and statistics and building models but it also has a worldwide experience in participatory research.
The brochure Joint learning in Applied Development Research presents situations all over the world where LEI researchers are using participatory approaches to help identify stakeholders, analyse problems and find solutions. The cases show that farmer-centred and demand-driven approaches generate solutions to very diverse problems. The issues range from soil, water and natural resource management, technology development and marketing in the South, to sector reconstruction, regional and corporate social responsibility in the North.
For example: LEI researcher Ben Kamphuis opted for a Rapid Diagnostic Appraisal (RDA) when he was invited to deal with declining water resources in Beijing. After a week of intensive work, the team had made a stakeholder analysis and resource and farming diagnosis. The joint learning process resulted in an overview of farming and land-use systems in the area, of water use and resources, environmental problems and the farms that could be part of the next project phase. According to Kamphuis, the most important result is probably the team spirit and the shared awareness that the problem needs a solution.