Formulating a common language for farmers and service-providers to use for monitoring soil condition

Abstract

The question this study is examining is do farmers and service providers (scientists, extension agents and agricultural consultants) have different conceptual frames for examining and determining soil health? In addition do these differences also manifest themselves in how service providers communicate their research findings or extension messages. The resultant outfall of poor communication between farmers and service providers is that the application of knowledge or information given by service providers is poorly accepted or alternatively farmers have difficulty accessing and adapting the knowledge gained by scientists to their situation. It also appears that scientists' appreciation of farmers' knowledge, diagnosis . and treatment of soil health is anecdotal and based on stereotyped characterisation by the scientific community. There seems to be little effort to reconcile the differing conceptual frames that exist between researchers and farmers, or, where efforts have been made, they have not worked well. The pursuit of praxis is a fundamental goal of education, and should be so for communication between service providers and those who need the service. It is known that when theory and practice work closely together information flow is improved and the transfer of expertise takes place with advantages to all.