Reij and Waters-Bayer have gathered evidence of farmer innovation from more than a dozen countries in East, West and Southern Africa. Their research was a collaborative effort with two major, Dutch-funded, regional development programs. The individual field reports followed a clear set of selection criteria and reporting standards. The editors provided the framework, introduction and conclusion and invited a number of research and extension teams, mainly African, to present the individual case studies. The result is the portrayal of 'best farming practices' introduced and/or refined by African men and women farmers, which have proven successful against environmental and economic adversity.
The book is grouped by themes and relevant case studies from each region are summarized. For example, we find a report on how farmers "increase and diversify plant biomass" through the development of planting pits in Burkina Faso, or the use of such pits for improved maize production in southern Tanzania. "Farmer-to-farmer communication" among communities in Tigray (Ethiopia) facilitates the spreading of effective land management techniques, proving that building partnerships and sharing knowledge is an important practical trait of farmer innovators. Farmer Innovators do not work in isolation and their ideas and experiments can have a major impact on the neighbouring community and beyond. It will be important to study lessons from these experiences to influence policy and political and economic leaders: small-scale farmers have an important role to play if agriculture in Africa is to be successful and sustainable. In their concluding chapter, the editors also raise questions regarding the prevailing north-south technology transfer that has been the mainstay of African agricultural development intervention.
FARMER INNOVATION, although not a difficult read, is more designed for the research, extension and agriculture/development community than for the general audience. In order to demonstrate the consistency of their methodology, the editors allow for a certain amount of repetitive description of the consultation and investigation processes involved. The case studies themselves should motivate the reader to persevere. Anybody interested in agriculture and farming systems and techniques will find ample and interesting information in this collection.