Mw. C-O.R. (Rose) Fagbemissi: “Experts uit noodzaak: Landbouwkundige kennis van AIDS wezen in de Couffo region in Benin”

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30 sep 2010 11:00
Onderdeel: Wageningen University
Locatie: Aula, gebouw 362, Gen. Foulkesweg 1, Wageningen
Organisatie: Wageningen University
Promotor: prof.dr.ir. C. Leeuwis (Communicatie en innovatiestudies)
Co-Promotor: Dr. L.M.L. Price, Dr. R. Lie

 This thesis shows that there is little evidence to confirm the hypothesis of knowledge decline and/or a break in inter-generational knowledge transfer among children orphaned by AIDS in the Couffo region in Benin. In fact, the pattern suggested by this study is that orphans tend to be more knowledgeable in the domain of pest management than both their non-orphan peers and adults. This conclusion is more pronounced for single orphans, especially for paternal orphans, than for double orphans, who seem to be in a relatively more vulnerable position with respect to the acquisition of agroecological knowledge. The need and necessity of being engaged in agricultural practices, and the quality of  interactions with an adult teacher, are important explanations for this.

In essence, we see that children orphaned by AIDS tend to actively engage with the challenges and lack of resources with which they are confronted, and in the process of doing so acquire relevant knowledge that is at times more sophisticated than that of others. To call orphans ‘experts from necessity’, however, should not be taken to mean that their knowledge is always the optimum or that there is no room for improvement. In fact both orphans and adults make inferences that scientists would find questionable, and that they engage in practices that can pose risks to both human health and the environment. But in comparison to other children and adults, the term ‘experts’ is warranted in several specific knowledge domains.
Titel proefschrift: “Experts from necessity: Agricultural knowledge of HIV/AIDS orphans in the Couffo region, Benin”
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