Assessing participatory processes and outcomes in agricultural research for development from participants' perspectives

• Theoretical framework links participatory process and outcome to analyze empowerment.
• Participatory plant breeding process is described and characterized.
• Interviews with farmers and technicians suggest instrumental and empowering outcomes.
• Farmers' interactions with technicians in the PPB process facilitate material change.
• Farmers' interactions with one another in the PPB process support empowerment.

To analyze the experiences of farmers involved in a participatory plant breeding project in West Africa, we develop a two-dimensional framework for evaluating the process and outcomes of participatory agricultural research for development projects. On one axis, we draw on existing typologies to describe the participatory process as consultative, collaborative, or collegial. On another axis, we theorize and test the outcomes of participation; specifically, whether the process achieves instrumental goals, is empowering for participants, or is manipulative toward participants. Qualitative interviews with farmers and technicians indicate a range of instrumental and empowering outcomes emerging from the participatory process, which support food security through access to seeds and a new ability to share information learned through the research process.