CONCENTRIC SAMPLING IN FARMING SYSTEMS RESEARCH

A preliminary case is made for intensive and long-term socio-economic survey work in farming systems research (FSR), as opposed to a reliance on rapid appraisals. A sampling methodology is described, based on collection of a detailed sample frame, which allows the selection of samples which can be related directly to each other, through common respondents. Thus causal relationships can be determined in one sample and, by extrapolation, linked to attributes found in another. The sampling method also makes it easy to select farmers with specific attributes for on-farm trial sites, and allows a more informed interpretation of agronomic results in relation to farm management criteria.