Learning by Doing, an Innovative Approach to Sharing Knowledge with Indigenous Farmers and Elderly Adults

Abstract

In the Mexican southeast, subsistence agriculture is practiced, with elderly producers, speakers of indigenous languages, with no or little schooling, who have been subject to the attention of various agricultural extension programs, which have not had the expected results, derived mainly administrative and methodological problems. The aim of the work is to describe the stages to carry out technology transfer work with peasant and indigenous producers using the field school model, as well as an analysis of the results obtained in various studies with this method in order to contribute alternative schemes for technology transfer in rural areas of the country. The results identified that administrative problems in linear methods have frequently been that programs started late, fee payments were inopportune, and for the most part the technicians were dedicated to covering administrative tasks. As for the methodological aspect, it refers to the fact that field technicians do not have the capacity or preparation to work with elderly producers, speakers of indigenous languages, who understand little or no Spanish, little or no schooling, which requires an appropriate work method. However, the attention of the extension service has been conventional, with practices aimed at covering operational goals. The results, measured in the adoption rates of the technological components, indicate an average of 60% adoption of the technological components, in basic crops, lemon and tomato in the greenhouse. It is concluded that the andragogical method, mainly learning by doing, has demonstrated its efficiency in the training of adult producers.