AN EXPERIENCE OF PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH IN URUGUAY

Participatory approaches for development, and research and innovation in the agricultural sector have sought answers adapted to the needs of producers using different methodologies, among them participatory research (PR). Between 2006 and 2009, a process took place in Uruguay called Participatory Innovation Development (PID, Desarrollo Participativo de Innovaciones), carried out by researchers in the National Agriculture and Livestock Research Institute (Instituto Nacional de Investigacidn Agropecuaria, INIA) and organic vegetable producers, focused on green fertilizer technologies; this was the first case of PR that began and was finished in the Uruguay agrarian sector. In this essay, we describe the evaluative research of PID, contributing suggestions for the next cycle or to apply in other participatory processes. As a result of the process, it was possible to introduce the INIA methodology, make progress in its implementation, share knowledge between researchers and farmers, and achieve innovation with technology, allowing learning and social appropriation of the knowledge.