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Chitere, P.O. & Kiros, F.G. Résumé La participacion de petits fermiers aux projects agricoles dans des conditions qui leur assurent l'adoption et la durabilite des technologies agricoles est un defi pour la plupart d 'agences de recherche en agriculture. La recherche socio-economique interactive pour la gestion biologique intensive des insectes nuisibles est un projet de recherche adaptative qui explore entre autres des methodes associant les fermiers dans les diverses phases de son application. Cette participation est basee sur le concept propre a l'ICIPE, le developpement technologique de lutte dirigee (IPM), qui ne requiert qu'une supervision minimale du chercheur sur le terrain dans les essais experimentaux. Pour les essais en station experimentale qui ont ete menes en 1993, la participation des fermiers etait reduite a l'evaluation de quelques composants IPM concernant la culture du mai's et du sorgho et quelques formes de variees de cultures mixtes. Les sites des essais sur le terrain (localites et 8 villages) et 89 fermiers comme participants potentiels ont ete choisis en fonction des caracteristiques obtenues au moyen de GIS et comprenant les districts de Kwaie et Kilifi, en fonction de leurs conditions agro-ecologiques et socio-economiques, et sur base d'enquetes sur l'importance du village et sa composition. Lors des reunions ulterieures, les membres des villages pressentis ont choisi 8 fermiers pour les essais, un par village parmi ceux designes comme acteurs du projet. Le reste des fermiers qui ont satisfait aux criteres de selection sont appeles fermiers non-participants aux essais et ont pris part aux diverses activites d'education du chercheur et ont gere les essais pendant l'annee 1994. Au cours de l'annee 1995, tousles fermiers ont participe aux essais dans les champs. Mots Clés Recherche adaptive, la participation de fermiers, technologies de lutte integree

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Farmers' Participation in the Adaptation of IPM Technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa: Experiences from Kenya Chitere, P.O. & Kiros, F.G. Abstract Participation of resource-limited farmers in agricultural research projects in ways that can help ensure the adoption and sustenance of farm technologies is a challenge for most agricultural research agencies. The Interactive Socio-economic Research for Bio-intensive Pest Management (ISERIPM) project is an adaptive research project which, among other things, explores methods of involving farmers in various phases of its implementation. The involvement is based on the ICIPE's approach of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technology development which provides for minimal involvement at on-station trials, somewhat increased involvement at on-farm researcher managed trials, and a high level of involvement at on-farm farmer managed trials. At on-station trials which were carried out in 1993, farmers' participation was restricted to evaluation of some of the IPM components which included maize and sorghum cultivars and various forms of intercropping. The sites for the on-farm trials (4 sub-locations and 8 villages), and 89 farmers as participants were selected following GIS characterisation of the research districts of Kwale and Kilifi on the basis of agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions, and macro-, village- and household-level surveys. In subsequent meetings, members of the chosen villages selected 8 Trial Farmers (TFs)- one per village from among those chosen as project farmers. The rest of the farmers who met the selection criteria were termed non-trial participating farmers (NTPFs) and participated in the various educational activities of the researcher managed trials in 1994. In 1995, all of the farmers became participants in the farmer-managed on-farm trials. Keywords Adaptive research, farmers' participation, IPM technologies

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