IMPROVING LOCAL CULTIVATION OF SOYBEAN IN INDONESIA THROUGH FARMERS' EXPERIMENTS By H. VAN DEN BERG* and A. S. LESTARI FAO Programme for Community IPM in Asia, Malang Field Oce, Indonesia

The results of 86 replicated experiments on soybean (Glycine max) cultivation practices in eight provinces ± planned, conducted and analysed by farmers ± were examined to identify local di€erences in the e€ects of cultural practices on yield, and to explore the potential for farmers to improve their practices. Plant spacing consistently improved yield relative to broadcast seeding. The comparison between a moderate and a high dose of N, and between local spraying practices and integrated pest management, also had a relatively consistent e€ect on yield. Conversely, the e€ects of straw mulch, of moderate doses of N compared to zero N, and of weeding, were highly location-speci®c. A change in cultural practices in ̄uenced yield and economic bene®ts more strongly in lowthan in high-yield situations. Modi®cations of current cultivation practices often resulted in a signi®cant yield increase. This suggests that farmers need training in how to improve their cultural practices and that it should utilize locally conducted ®eld experiments. Training in experimental skills made farmers less dependent on external measures and advisers, and enabled them to become `experts' who utilize science.