small) experiment station in the area, farm trials, tests by questionnaires are used; so farmers are interviewed in an
farmers of promising technology, evaluation of the acceptability informal manner that does not alienate them. At the same time,
of the technology tested by farmers, and economic production or the use of a multidisciplinary team serves to provide information
farm records maintained by farmers with the help of the from many different points of view simultaneously. Depending on
technicians. In order to provide the original orientation to the the size, complexity, and accessibility of the area, the Sondeo
team, the Sondeo, or reconnaissance survey, is conducted by should be completed in from 6 to 10 days at a minimum of cost.
members of the Techology Testing Team who are going to work in Areas of from 40 to 50 km2 have been studied in this period of
the area, sometimes personnel from an appropriate program, and a
team from socioeconomics comprised of one or more of the time. The following is a description of the methodology for a
following: anthropologists, sociologists, economists, agri- six-day operation.
cultural economists and/or engineers. Usually, there are five
people from socioeconomics and five from the Technology Testing Day 1
:eam who form a ten-man Sondeo team for an area. The The first day is spent in a general reconnaissance of the
purpose of the Sondeo is to provide the information required to area by the whole team as a unit. The team must make a prelimorient the work of the technology generating team. The cropping inary determination of the most important cropping or farming
or farming systems are described, the agro-economic situation of system that will serve as the key system, become acquainted in
the farmers s etesarminesied,a the reckon s tufacen ae general terms with the area, and begin to search out the limits
defined, so that any proposed modifications of their present to the homogeneous system. Following each discussion with a
technology are apprpropiate to their conditions, If ICTA is to farmer, the group meets out of sight of the farmer to discuss
tecnolgyareappopiat tothir ondtins.If CT istoeach one's interpretation of the interview. In this way, each
work in an area that is not previously defined, such as by the ea mnbs in to ofe intevi hn th wa, ec
bounds of a land settlement or an irrigation project, one of the think. Interviews with farmers (or other people in the area)
objectives of the Sondeo is to delimit the area. thinld Ievews with far ern(orgot eaepe the ea)
As well as delimiting the area of this homogeneous system, should be very general and wide-ranging because the team is
the tasks of the Soideo team are to discover what agro- exploring and searching for an unknown number of unknown
socioeconomic conditions all the farmers who use the system have elements. (This does not imply, of course, that the interviews
in common and then to identify which are the most important in lack orientation.) The contribution or point of view of each
determining the present system and therefore would be the most discipline is critical throughout the Sondeo, because the team
idetertantn t conseint aystem m iaon thfore mlde by the tm does not know beforehand what type of problems or restrictions
iiqm rtant to consider in any modifications to be ma de by th e team m y b n o n e e T e m r i c p i e h t a e b o g t t in the future. Finally, the end purpose of the Sondeo is to may be encountered. The more disciplines that are brought to
orintth frs yars or infam rilsan vritybear on the situation, the greater is the probability of
orient the first year's work in farm trials and variety encountering the factors that are, in fact, the most critical to
selection. it also serves to locate future collaborators for the the farmers of the area. It has been established that these
farm, trials and for the farm record projects. restrictions can be agro-climatic, economic or socio-cultural.
Because the farm trials are conducted under farm Hence, all disciplines make equal contributions to the Sondeo.
conditions, during the first year they provide an additional
learning process about the conditions that affect the farmers and
are invaluable in acquainting the technicians with the realities Day 2
of farming inteae.Tefr eod hc r loThe interviewing and general reconnaissance of the first day
initatedg in the area. The farm records which are also serve to guide the work of the second day. Teams are made up of
initiated in the first year -- provide quantifiable technical and pairs: one agronomist or animal scientist from the Technology
cost information on the technology being used by the farmers. At Testing Team and one person from socioeconomics who work together
the end of the first year's work, then, the technicians have not in the interviews. The five teams scatter throughout the area
only been farming under the conditions of the farmers in the in the inei The fe teamsrst througou the area
area, but they also have the information from the farm record and meet again either after the first half-day (for small areas
project. For this reason, it is not necessary to obtain or areas with good access roads) or day (for larger areas or
rojetifiable information in the Sondeo, which is not a benchmark where access is difficult and more time is required for travel).
study. Quantifiable information for impact evaluation in he Each member of each team discusses what was learned during the
area is available from farm records which increase in value each interviews, and tentative hypotheses are formed to help explain
year. the situation in the area. Any information concerning the limits
of the area is also discussed to help in its delimitation. The
tentative hypotheses or doubts raised during the discussion serve
THE SONDEO PROCEDURE as guides to the following interview sessions. During the team
discussions, each of the members learns how interpretations from
The primary purpose of the Sondeo, then, is to acquaint the other points of view can be important in understanding the
technicians with the area in which they are going to work. problems of the farmers of the region.
3cauSe quantifiable information is not n the Sondeo can be Following the discussion, the team pairs are changed to
needed, maximize interdisciplinary interaction and minimize interviewer
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