- Wageningen, Netherlands
Harro Maat
Wageningen University, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty Member
- My research area is the history and sociology of agricultural technology and food production. The major approach is t... moreMy research area is the history and sociology of agricultural technology and food production. The major approach is to trace and analyse local responses to policy plans and technology introductions. Most cases focus on rice cultivation in Asia and Africa but the approach is also applied to other agricultural technologies, water management and health practices. A recent volume, co-edited with Sandip Hazareesingh, presents cases of local subversions to colonial cultures (Palgrave Macmillan 2016).edit
This paper situates representations of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) – a set of agronomic principles promoted as a method for sustainable rice cultivation – in the context of three key values in agricultural development: high... more
This paper situates representations of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) – a set of agronomic principles promoted as a method for sustainable rice cultivation – in the context of three key values in agricultural development: high yields, sustainable agriculture and widespread adoption by farmers. We argue that overstated claims in relation to these values, positively by promoters and negatively by critics, endowed SRI with mythological attributes. In contrast to a popular understanding of myths as false beliefs, we adopt an anthropological perspective on myths as narratives that create meaning and motivate action. The mythological associations of SRI have connected it to overarching development narratives about food security and sustainable
agriculture, which implicitly reduce the complex and intricate processes of rice cultivation using SRI techniques to a neat, technopolitical fix. We argue that these simplistic framings of SRI (and technology more generally) contribute to the gap between the worlds of science and politics on the one hand and farmers' realities on the other. Using a case study of changes in the seeding and transplanting practices of rice cultivators in northern India, we show that farmers also use mythological narratives but in a far less constraining manner. Development narratives as myths (in the anthropological sense) can guide people and their communities in dealing with change without determining clear-cut solutions in advance.
agriculture, which implicitly reduce the complex and intricate processes of rice cultivation using SRI techniques to a neat, technopolitical fix. We argue that these simplistic framings of SRI (and technology more generally) contribute to the gap between the worlds of science and politics on the one hand and farmers' realities on the other. Using a case study of changes in the seeding and transplanting practices of rice cultivators in northern India, we show that farmers also use mythological narratives but in a far less constraining manner. Development narratives as myths (in the anthropological sense) can guide people and their communities in dealing with change without determining clear-cut solutions in advance.
This chapter examines how farming technologies move between places and how they are unpacked and 'grounded' in particular spaces and contexts. It argues that a better understanding of how this process occurs helps to shed light on a... more
This chapter examines how farming technologies move between places and how they are unpacked and 'grounded' in particular spaces and contexts. It argues that a better understanding of how this process occurs helps to shed light on a source of contestation within agronomy. The chapter discusses two farming technologies that have been at the centre of controversial debates among experts, policy makers and the wider public: the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and drip irrigation. These technologies have been contested partly because important social dimensions have been neglected, which have led to the technologies being configured and appreciated differently in different sites. The different understandings of technology and its role in agricultural development, and the cases of SRI and drip irrigation are discussed to illustrate the practice-based notion of technology and technological change as expressions of situated socio-technical practice. Concepts of inscription and affordance, as developed by anthropologists of technology and Science and Technology Studies (STS) scholars are also used.
Smallholder rice farming is characterized by low returns and substantial environmental impact. Conversion to organic management and linking farmers to fair trade markets could offer an alternative. Engaging in certified cash-crop value... more
Smallholder rice farming is characterized by low returns and substantial environmental impact. Conversion to organic management and linking farmers to fair trade markets could offer an alternative. Engaging in certified cash-crop value chains could thereby provide an entry path to
simultaneously reduce poverty and improve environmental sustainability. Based on comprehensive data from a representative sample of approximately 80 organic and 80 conventional farms in northern
India, we compared yield and profitability of the main rotation crops over a period of five years. Contrary to the widespread belief that yields in organic farming are inevitably lower, our study shows that organic farmers achieved the same yields in cereals and pulses as conventional farmers, with considerably lower external inputs. Due to 45% lower production costs and higher sales prices, organic basmati cultivation was 105% more profitable than cultivating ordinary rice under conventional management. However, since holdings are small and the share of agricultural income of total household income is declining, conversion to organic basmati farming alone will not provide households a sufficiently attractive perspective into the future. We propose that future efforts to enhance the long-term viability of rice-based organic farming systems in this region focus on diversification involving higher value crops.
simultaneously reduce poverty and improve environmental sustainability. Based on comprehensive data from a representative sample of approximately 80 organic and 80 conventional farms in northern
India, we compared yield and profitability of the main rotation crops over a period of five years. Contrary to the widespread belief that yields in organic farming are inevitably lower, our study shows that organic farmers achieved the same yields in cereals and pulses as conventional farmers, with considerably lower external inputs. Due to 45% lower production costs and higher sales prices, organic basmati cultivation was 105% more profitable than cultivating ordinary rice under conventional management. However, since holdings are small and the share of agricultural income of total household income is declining, conversion to organic basmati farming alone will not provide households a sufficiently attractive perspective into the future. We propose that future efforts to enhance the long-term viability of rice-based organic farming systems in this region focus on diversification involving higher value crops.
Vulnerability assessments are a cornerstone of contemporary disaster research. This paper shows how research procedures and the presentation of results of vulnerability assessments are politically filtered. Using data from a study of... more
Vulnerability assessments are a cornerstone of contemporary disaster research. This paper shows how research procedures and the presentation of results of vulnerability assessments are politically filtered. Using data from a study of tsunami risk assessment in Portugal, the paper demonstrates that approaches, measurement instruments, and research procedures for evaluating vulnerability are influenced by institutional preferences, lines of communication, or lack thereof, between stakeholder groups, and available technical expertise. The institutional setting and the pattern of stakeholder interactions form a filter, resulting in a particular conceptualisation of vulnerability, affecting its operationalisation via existing methods and technologies and its institutional embedding. The Portuguese case reveals a conceptualisation that is aligned with perceptions prevalent in national government bureaucracies and the exclusion of local stakeholders owing to selected methodologies and assessment procedures. The decisions taken by actors involved in these areas affect how vulnerability is assessed, and ultimately which vulnerability reduction policies will be recommended in the appraisal.
Background: In Cameroon, poverty-related diseases (PRDs) are a major public health concern. Research and policies addressing PRDs are based on a particular understanding of the interaction between poverty and disease, usually an... more
Background: In Cameroon, poverty-related diseases (PRDs) are a major public health concern. Research and policies addressing PRDs are based on a particular understanding of the interaction between poverty and disease, usually an association between poverty indicators and health indicators for a specific country or region. Such indicators are useful but fail to explain the nature of the linkages between poverty and disease or poverty and health. This paper presents results of a study among university students, unravelling how they perceive diseases, the linkages with poverty, their responses to diseases and the motivations behind reported responses. Based on the health belief model, this cross-sectional study was carried out among 272 students at the universities of Buea and Yaoundé in Cameroon. Data were collected using questionnaires containing items matching the research objectives. The questionnaires were self-completed. Results: Malaria was considered as the most common disease perceived and also a major PRD. Contrary to official rankings of HIV/AIDS and TB, cholera and diarrhoea were considered as other major PRDs. Also, typhoid fever was perceived to be more common and a PRD than HIV/AIDS and TB combined. The most prominently attributed cause for disease was (lack of) hygiene. In response, students deployed formal and/or informal healthcare strategies, depending on factors like available money, perceived severity of the disease and disease type. Discrepancies were observed in respondents' response to diseases generally and to malaria in particular. Even though, overall, respondents predominantly reported a formal healthcare response toward diseases in general, for malaria, informal responses dominated. There was an overall strong awareness and (pro)activity among students for dealing with diseases.
Scientific assessments of socio-ecological systems are becoming mainstays in guiding policymaking and other interventions in response to global environmental change. The environmentality literature emphasizes the institutional... more
Scientific assessments of socio-ecological systems are becoming mainstays in guiding policymaking and other
interventions in response to global environmental change. The environmentality literature emphasizes the institutional architecture of emergent science-policy regimes and how scientific research is used in political settings, creating new modes of governance and subjectivities. However, there has been relatively little attention to domain-level socio-ecological assessments as socially produced technologies where specific scientific choices are mechanisms connecting governance architecture and popular subjectivities.
Combining empirical case study and literature review, ssessment technologies are analyzed in three domains: vulnerability assessment, ecosystem services assessment, life-cycle assessment. Using conceptualization, operationalization, and
institutionalization as analytical lenses, the cases illustrate ways that scientific choices simplify complex socioecological relationships with implications for both governance practices and subjectivities. Furthermore, findings explore the possibility for assessments to be more inclusive of diverse social values and practices, enabling more empowering subjectivities.
Keywords Vulnerability . Life cycle assessment . Ecosystem services . Assessment . Environmentality . Science studies . Research methods . Socio-ecological systems
interventions in response to global environmental change. The environmentality literature emphasizes the institutional architecture of emergent science-policy regimes and how scientific research is used in political settings, creating new modes of governance and subjectivities. However, there has been relatively little attention to domain-level socio-ecological assessments as socially produced technologies where specific scientific choices are mechanisms connecting governance architecture and popular subjectivities.
Combining empirical case study and literature review, ssessment technologies are analyzed in three domains: vulnerability assessment, ecosystem services assessment, life-cycle assessment. Using conceptualization, operationalization, and
institutionalization as analytical lenses, the cases illustrate ways that scientific choices simplify complex socioecological relationships with implications for both governance practices and subjectivities. Furthermore, findings explore the possibility for assessments to be more inclusive of diverse social values and practices, enabling more empowering subjectivities.
Keywords Vulnerability . Life cycle assessment . Ecosystem services . Assessment . Environmentality . Science studies . Research methods . Socio-ecological systems
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Dam development in southeastern Turkey is a highly-disputed issue, fanned by the Turkish–Kurdish conflict , socio-environmental and historical–cultural concerns, and international geopolitical interests. This paper focuses on discussions... more
Dam development in southeastern Turkey is a highly-disputed issue, fanned by the Turkish–Kurdish conflict , socio-environmental and historical–cultural concerns, and international geopolitical interests. This paper focuses on discussions around the Ilisu Dam and shows how different actor coalitions imagine different hydrosocial territories regarding this mega-hydraulic project currently under construction. Imaginaries, counter-imaginaries and endeavours to materialize them go far beyond technical projects, portraying the dam to (re)configure the territory physically, ecologically, socioeconomically , symbolically and discursively. The paper embeds competing hydro-territorial constructs and claims within an analysis of governmentality and the multi-scalar and multi-issue politics of dam opponents.
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This book brings together original, state-of-the-art historical research from several continents and examines how mainly local peasant societies responded to colonial pressures to produce a range of different commodities. It shows how... more
This book brings together original, state-of-the-art historical research from several continents and examines how mainly local peasant societies responded to colonial pressures to produce a range of different commodities. It shows how they were able to subvert these processes and establish viable alternative livelihoods. In particular, it introduces the fresh concept of the 'anti-commodity', to indicate local, sustainable forms of production steeped in values other than simply economic ones. The book will appeal to readers eager to find out more about the histories of some familiar items of everyday consumption such as rice, cotton, sugar and tobacco, as well as to those with a keen interest in the histories of African, Asian and Caribbean societies. Finally, it offers new directions in both historical and contemporary research on the continents beyond Europe.
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Although the concept of the apprenticeship seems to be universal, its institutional form and status differ around the world. This article discusses informal apprenticeship training as it occurs among car mechanics in the informal... more
Although the concept of the apprenticeship seems to be universal, its institutional form and status differ around the world. This article discusses informal apprenticeship training as it occurs among car mechanics in the informal industrial complex of the Suame Magazine, Kumasi, Ghana. Using on-site research and theories of social learning and material culture, it focuses on the material aspects of the apprenticeship training and shows that materiality is, in multiple ways, a crucial aspect for both the content and learning practices of the apprenticeship system. The material nature of the Suame Magazine forms a strong learning environment and the status of apprentices is also directly related to the mastering of specific car parts. Moreover, the increasing use of electronics in vehicles demands a different curriculum for apprentices. The role of materiality in social learning is an apparent, though understudied, element in apprenticeship systems.
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Research Interests:
... The first was to select the best rice varieties, the latter to discover factors leading to yield maximisation. The head of the Directorate of Agriculture in the Netherlands,Herman Lovink, was asked to review the proposal. Lovink ...
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Science and technology need society. Research and technology have little chance of influencing development if they do not anticipate societal effects and responses. Universities, research centres and technology institutes invest in a good... more
Science and technology need society. Research and technology have little chance of influencing development if they do not anticipate societal effects and responses. Universities, research centres and technology institutes invest in a good relationship with ...
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This article investigates the connection between performance, group, and society. The argument is that group formation around particular farm operations and the details of the activities they engage in are an expression of the preferred... more
This article investigates the connection between performance, group, and society. The argument is that group formation around particular farm operations and the details of the activities they engage in are an expression of the preferred way of technology implementation. The argument is developed using Paul Richards' notion of agriculture as performance. Two cases are presented. The first is the composition of a spraying team for weed control in smallholder oil palm production in Sumatra, connected to a global agreement on sustainable oil palm production, known as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The second case is about a team of women transplanting young rice seedlings on prepared paddy fields in a village in Uttarakhand, India. A new way of rice transplanting was introduced by a local non-governmental organization, known as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). The analysis shows that group performances provide essential information about how introduced plans, regulations and material designs are reworked and turned into meaningful and effective changes to agricultural practices. The article concludes that these activities are not merely technical adjustments but in themselves express arguments about the preferred way of organising farming, farm labor, and payments. Performing groups thus exert a form of bargaining power against development actors.
Cet article examine le lien entre la performance, le groupe et la société. L'argument est que la formation de groupes autour d'exploitations agricoles particulières et le détail des activités dans lesquelles ils se lancent sont l'expression du moyen privilégié de mise en oeuvre de la technologie. L'argument est développé en utilisant la notion de Paul Richards de l'agriculture en tant que performance. Deux cas sont présentés. Le premier est la composition d'une équipe de pulvérisation pour la lutte contre les mauvaises herbes dans la production de palmier à huile à Sumatra, liée à un accord mondial sur la production durable de palmier à huile, connu sous le nom de Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Le deuxième cas concerne une équipe de femmes transplantant de jeunes plants de riz dans des rizières préparées dans un village d'Uttarakhand, en Inde. Une nouvelle méthode de repiquage du riz a été introduite par une organisation non gouvernementale locale, connue sous le nom de Système d’intensification du riz (SRI). L'analyse montre que les performances de groupe fournissent des informations essentielles sur la façon dont les plans, les réglementations et les conceptions des matériaux sont retravaillés et transformés en changements significatifs et efficaces des pratiques agricoles. L'article conclut que ces activités ne sont pas simplement des ajustements techniques, mais expriment en elles-mêmes des arguments sur la manière préférée d'organiser l'agriculture, le travail agricole et les paiements. Les praticiens exercent donc une forme de pouvoir de négociation contre les acteurs du développement.
La noción de "agricultura como performance" captura la improvisación en el éxito de las operaciones agrícolas. Por tanto, el argumento del performance hace hincapié en las particularidades de la improvisación y habilidades dirigidas a las operaciones agrícolas. El papel de la interacción social y formación de grupos es esencial para la expresión y empleo de las habilidades de improvisación. Este artículo investiga las conexiones que hay entre performance, grupos y sociedad. Se desarrolla un marco conceptual de los rasgos esenciales de los grupos performativos: la coordinación de actividades, las particularidades de la situación en que las actividades se realizan, así como el proceso de aprendizaje. Como ejemplo, dos casos se analizan bajo este marco. El enfoque es en cómo las recién introducidas descripciones del trabajo resultan en un grupo performativo particular. El primer trabajo de grupo presentado es un equipo de aspersión para el control de maleza en una pequeña productora de aceite de palma, conectada al mismo tiempo a un acuerdo global de producción sustentable de aceite de palma, conocido como Mesa Redonda de Aceite de Palma Sustentable (RSPO). El segundo caso es sobre un equipo de mujeres que trasplantan plantas de semillero de arroz en arrozales preparados en la villa de Uttarakhand, en India. Un nuevo método de trasplante de arroz fue introducido por una organización local no gubernamental, conocida como Sistema de Intensificación del Cultivo del Arroz (SRI). El análisis muestra que los performances de grupo proveen una información esencial sobre cómo planes, regulaciones y diseño de materiales que son introducidos, son reformulados y convertidos en prácticas agrícolas que resultan tanto significativas como efectivas.
Cet article examine le lien entre la performance, le groupe et la société. L'argument est que la formation de groupes autour d'exploitations agricoles particulières et le détail des activités dans lesquelles ils se lancent sont l'expression du moyen privilégié de mise en oeuvre de la technologie. L'argument est développé en utilisant la notion de Paul Richards de l'agriculture en tant que performance. Deux cas sont présentés. Le premier est la composition d'une équipe de pulvérisation pour la lutte contre les mauvaises herbes dans la production de palmier à huile à Sumatra, liée à un accord mondial sur la production durable de palmier à huile, connu sous le nom de Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Le deuxième cas concerne une équipe de femmes transplantant de jeunes plants de riz dans des rizières préparées dans un village d'Uttarakhand, en Inde. Une nouvelle méthode de repiquage du riz a été introduite par une organisation non gouvernementale locale, connue sous le nom de Système d’intensification du riz (SRI). L'analyse montre que les performances de groupe fournissent des informations essentielles sur la façon dont les plans, les réglementations et les conceptions des matériaux sont retravaillés et transformés en changements significatifs et efficaces des pratiques agricoles. L'article conclut que ces activités ne sont pas simplement des ajustements techniques, mais expriment en elles-mêmes des arguments sur la manière préférée d'organiser l'agriculture, le travail agricole et les paiements. Les praticiens exercent donc une forme de pouvoir de négociation contre les acteurs du développement.
La noción de "agricultura como performance" captura la improvisación en el éxito de las operaciones agrícolas. Por tanto, el argumento del performance hace hincapié en las particularidades de la improvisación y habilidades dirigidas a las operaciones agrícolas. El papel de la interacción social y formación de grupos es esencial para la expresión y empleo de las habilidades de improvisación. Este artículo investiga las conexiones que hay entre performance, grupos y sociedad. Se desarrolla un marco conceptual de los rasgos esenciales de los grupos performativos: la coordinación de actividades, las particularidades de la situación en que las actividades se realizan, así como el proceso de aprendizaje. Como ejemplo, dos casos se analizan bajo este marco. El enfoque es en cómo las recién introducidas descripciones del trabajo resultan en un grupo performativo particular. El primer trabajo de grupo presentado es un equipo de aspersión para el control de maleza en una pequeña productora de aceite de palma, conectada al mismo tiempo a un acuerdo global de producción sustentable de aceite de palma, conocido como Mesa Redonda de Aceite de Palma Sustentable (RSPO). El segundo caso es sobre un equipo de mujeres que trasplantan plantas de semillero de arroz en arrozales preparados en la villa de Uttarakhand, en India. Un nuevo método de trasplante de arroz fue introducido por una organización local no gubernamental, conocida como Sistema de Intensificación del Cultivo del Arroz (SRI). El análisis muestra que los performances de grupo proveen una información esencial sobre cómo planes, regulaciones y diseño de materiales que son introducidos, son reformulados y convertidos en prácticas agrícolas que resultan tanto significativas como efectivas.