Semi-structured interviews

Various forms of interview can be used in social research: structured, semi- structured or unstructured (King, 2004). However, semi-structured interviews were chosen as the primary data collection method in this study for the following reasons. In semi-structured interviews, questions are open-ended. Thus, the semi-structured interview offers the investigator “access to people’s ideas, thoughts, and memories in their own words, rather than in the words of the researcher”(Reinharz, 1992, p. 19). This type of interview is believed to allow participants to respond in their own words which is not possible in a structured interview. At the same time, this also provides a better structrure for comparision than that of the unstructured interview (May, 2001). The semi-structured interview also provides flexibility in that the researcher can ask questions that suit the participants (Noor, 2008). This type of flexibility was helpful in dealing with rural farmers with different status, background and ethnicity.

The selection of respondents for interviewing (who and how many) depends on the objectives of the study and the resources and time available to carry

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out the research (King, 2004). Therefore, based on the research question, four categories of people were identified as important sources of information: (i) the group members from the case farmer groups, (ii) key informants such as leaders, social workers and others who had an in-depth understanding of the farmer groups but were not members of the case groups, (iii) the staff of the DADO who were working with these farmer groups and (iv) the staff of the DOA who were involved in policy formulation regarding farmer groups. A total of 36 interviews were conducted in this study. The concept of saturation (Mason, 2010; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) was employed in this research, that is, data was collected until new data no longer provided further insights into the issues under investigation. Table 3.4 presents the research participants that were interviewed.

Table 3.4: The research participants that were interviewed in this study

Organisation/Category Number of

participants Case farmer group

Farmer group A 6

Farmer group B 5

Farmer group C 6

Farmer group D 7

Public extension organisation

District Agriculture Development Office, Chitwan

Senior Agriculture Development Officer 1

Subject matter specialist 1

Junior Technician 1

Agriculture Service Centre, Khairahani (Junior Technician) 1

Directorate of Agricultural Extension

Senior Agriculture Extension Officer 1

Key informants 7

Total 36

The interviews with members of the case farmer groups constituted the major part of the primary data in this study. Once the case farmer group had

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been identified, the chairperson of the respective group was contacted with the help of ASC staff assigned to the Khairahani VDC. Then a meeting was organised in each case group to brief them on the purpose of this research, build rapport with the group, obtain permission to carry out the study and then arrange times and dates for the interviews. The research assistant helped in this regard. An interview guide (Table 3.5) was used to guide the interview and ensure that all relevant topics were covered (Brinkmann, 2008; Morgan & Guevara, 2008). The group members were selected purposively on the basis of (i) willingness to be interviewed, (ii) gender, (iii) ethnicity and caste, (iv) economic status and (iv) roles and position in the groups (executives and general members). Purposive sampling was used to ensure the interviews covered the diversity within the groups (economic status, gender, social groups, roles in the group and so on). The case group comprised of members with different roles, position and authority such as the chairperson, secretary, treasurer and general members. Thus, a cross- section of members in different positions of authority were interviewed to understand the complete picture of how farmer group membership contributes to empowerment. Table 3.6 illustrates categories of interviewee by case farmer groups.

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Table 3.5: The interview guide for the interviews with members of the case farmer groups

1 Personal information: Background, family size, age, education,

farming system

2 General information about the farmer group

Basic data such as name of a farmer group, year of establishment, total members, position in a group

How was your farmer group formed?

Objectives of the farmer group and activities carried out by it

3

Reasons for joining a farmer group

Decision-making process used in the group

Characteristics of community and group members

Caste/ethnicity, gender, economic status Means of livelihood/occupation

Nature of farming

Interpersonal relationships between group members

4 External support provided to the farmer group

Who provides support? Types and nature of the support and how do they provide this support?

The effects of the support on the performance of the farmer group

5 Benefits of being a member of a farmer group

Direct benefits of being a member of a farmer group Benefits sharing methods in the group

The human, social and financial capital accumulation and the mechanisms of capital accumulation

The impacts of farmer group membership on the empowerment of group members

The economic, psychological, social and political empowerment and the mechanisms of empowerment

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Table 3.6: Number of farmer interviewees

Categories of interviewees Number of interviewees Farmer Group A Farmer Group B Farmer Group C Farmer Group D Total A. Category by position Executives (Chairperson, secretary, treasurer) 2 2 2 2 8 General members 4 3 4 5 16 B. Category by gender Female 1 1 7 9 male 5 5 5 15 C. Category by caste/Ethnicity

Upper caste (Brahmin, Chetri) 5 5 10 Tharu ethnic 4 7 11 Other caste 1 1 1 3 D. Category by economic status Smallholder 6 1 5 1 13 Poor 4 1 6 11

Another category of participants that were interviewed were the staff of the DADO and ASC who were directly involved in providing agriculture extension services to the farmer groups. The DADO is an important source of information related to (i) the group formation and mobilization process, (ii) their experiences with the group-based approach, (iii) their service and support to the case groups, (ii) functions of /activities carried out by case farmer groups and (iv) their perspectives on the case groups in relation to empowerment. As suggested by Jankowicz (2000) the staff at different levels of management in the DADO (top management level, supervisory

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level and field level) needed to be interviewed to obtain a more accurate and holistic picture of how the organization works with the groups and the influence of their service on the empowerment of group members. Thus, the senior agriculture development officer (SADO: top management level), subject matter specialist (supervisory level) and extension workers (work directly with the farmer groups) of the DADO/ASC were selected for the interviews. The following criteria were used to select the subject matter specialists for the purpose of the interviews: (i) they had to have an in-depth understanding of the case farmer groups, (ii) they had to have been involved in the planning of extension activities for these groups and (iii) they had to have supervised the extension workers who were assigned to the case farmer groups. The field level extension workers (JTs) that were interviewed in this study were those that worked with the case farmer groups.

The Directorate of Agricultural Extension under the DOA is the central body responsible for the formulation of the overall policy and guidelines for the agriculture extension services in the country. Thus, their views and experience are pertinent to understanding the research topic. The focus of interview with the official of this organisation was on (i) the overall policy for farmer groups, (ii) his experiences with the group-based approach, and (iii) his perceptions on the role of the groups in terms of the empowerment of group members.

The key informants interviewed in this study were individuals such as local leaders, farmer leaders, social workers and other individuals who could provide the information about (i) the local context in terms of community and case farmer groups and (ii) the local farmer groups, their activities and the impact of these activities, particularly on empowerment. The following criteria were used to select key informants (i) they had to have an in-depth

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understanding of the community, local culture and farmer groups, (ii) they were from the same community as the case farmer groups and (iii) they were not a member of the case group. The key informants were selected purposively in consultation with the staff of the ASC, VDC and the executives of the case farmer groups. An interview guide (Table 3.7) was used to set out the key subjects to be covered in the interviews and direct the interview of the key informants (Brinkmann, 2008; Morgan & Guevara, 2008).

Table 3.7: The interview guide for the interviews with key informants

1 Personal information: Household size, age, education, main and

supplementary means of livelihood

2 Key characteristics of the case village

Caste/ethnicity, gender, economic status Interpersonal relationship/trust level Means of livelihood/occupation Nature of farming and farm size Participation in collective action

Discriminations against in the community on the basis of ethnicity/caste, religion, sex, race or economic status, if any

3 Information about farmer groups

Type of farmer groups that exist in the community Activities carried out by the farmer groups

Types/nature of services and support from external organisations to farmer groups

4 Benefits of farmer groups

The human, social and financial capital accumulation and the mechanisms of capital accumulation

The impact of farmer group membership on different dimensions of empowerment (economic, psychological, social and political)

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The time, date and venue of interview were agreed upon by the researcher and respondents in advance (deMarrais, 2004). Research assistant and staff of ASC helped the researcher to schedule appointments for interview with the members of case farmer groups and key informants. In the case of the staff of the public agriculture extension organisations, the researcher himself determined the time, date and venue through telephone contact or during a visit. The majority of interviews with group members and key informants were conducted in their homes while a few were held at the ASC as per the participants wish (Legard, Keegan, & Ward, 2003). In a few instances, they were also conducted at the local tea shop. The interview began with greetings at the meeting site (deMarrais, 2004). This was followed by light conversation to develop rapport (deMarrais, 2004). The nature and purpose of study and the commitment required of them was then explained and their consent was obtained (deMarrais, 2004; Legard et al., 2003). Although the researcher had an interview guide consisting of a list of the information he required in a logical order, the order and the way in which the questions were asked, was tailored to fit into the condition and experiences of each interview (deMarrais, 2004; Morgan & Guevara, 2008). The questions were asked in such a way that they could easily be understood by the respondents. Too abstract words and technical jargon were avoided while asking questions (deMarrais, 2004; Legard et al., 2003). Follow-up and probing questions were used where necessary for more elaboration and in- depth explanation (deMarrais, 2004; Legard et al., 2003). At the end of the interview, the researcher thanked the respondents warmly for providing time and valuable information contributing to the study (Legard et al., 2003). No participants refused to participate in the study. Most of the interviews were tape-recorded with their consent (Brinkmann, 2008; Legard et al., 2003).

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However, a few group members were reluctant to be recorded and, in these cases, extensive notes were taken instead.