Participatory Approaches for Development

Million Getnet Gebreyes received his first degree from Haramaya University, Ethiopia in Agricultural Education and Extension. His masters degree was in agricultural education and Extension. His research interest areas include participatory approaches, agricultural extension, climate change and pastoralism.

Participatory approaches have been advocated as important solution for problems related to conventional development approaches. However, experience from the field shows that they could be misused and the cost attached to them could discriminate against the disadvantaged. This research was conducted to assess the above issues on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Farmers Field chool (FFS) project of Save the Children-UK in North Wollo Administration Zone, Ethiopia. The results show that linkage within the schools and with other stakeholders was lacking. The growth of the schools was also stagnant. There was lack of role transformation. The level of self-reliance and autonomy in making decisions were high. The type of participation evolved through time from lower to higher levels. When it comes to cost of participation, the cost in terms of time spent on project activity was found to be high. The effect of participation on members' social relation was also considerable especially during the initial stages of the project and decreased through time. The financial and material costs of participation, however, were affordable.