i.
Reaching broad farmer coverage and
other actors with diverse needs along the value chain through the Farmer
Learning Platforms (FLPs) approach.
ii.
The One Stop Centre Association
Approach/Farmer –Village Agent –Trader Model for establishing sustainable
Farmer Based organizations/agricultural enterprises.
Vision: A more food-secure rural Africa
with increasing numbers of prospering smallholder commercial farmers.
Mission: To transform African extension advisory services
in Uganda to assure greater family food security, and more profitable
participation in commercial activities along the value chain, while respecting
natural resources.
SG2000 Theme areas: Crop
productivity enhancement; Post Harvest Handling and Agro-processing; Public
Private Partnerships & Market Access; Human Resource Development; Monitoring
Evaluation Learning & Sharing.
What are Farmer Learning Platforms (FLPs)?
A group-based learning process that brings together
farmers/actors to learn about improved/appropriate technologies. Yields from
different demonstrations compared, farmers make informed decisions which
options to scale up/adopt that gives best yields and economic benefits.
Technology Option Plots (TOPs)-Hosted by
either female or male farmers. Three demonstration options each 20x25m i) Full package-recommended
research fertilizer application rates; use of improved seed, row planting,
appropriate spacing, use of insecticides; bands for water conservation. ii) Intermediate
package-half the fertilizer application rates plus above practices; iii)
Farmers practice.
Women Assisted
Demonstrations (WADs)-Two instead of 3 options -
farmers practice& intermediate package; each 20x25m; hosted by only women
farmers.
Production Test Plots
(PTP)-By adopters who invest own resources for new
technologies and evaluate them.
Community Variety Plots (CVPs)-Expose
improved proven crop varieties to farmers. Several varieties of one or
different crops planted at a central location of the community & evaluated
at flowering and harvest.
Seed priming – Reduces the maturity
period, appropriate to mitigate climate change.
Postharvest handling extension learning platforms (PHELPs)-Train, demonstrate and illustrate to farmers, private service providers the economic viability
of proven post-production technologies to improve grain quality/value addition
and the smallholder commercial competitiveness in the market.
Trainings:Pre-season training (proper
agronomic practices); mid-season training (Soil fertility measures, integrated
pest control); end of season training and field day (Pest control (IPM,
improved post-harvest handling and storage, and marketing, participatory
monitoring, sharing lessons learnt during field days-visit different farmer
fields).
Host farmers/groups: They train other
farmers and share experiences on continues basis.All the produce from the demo
plot is sold and proceeds used to buy more improved inputs.Members are
encouraged to use the technologies at individual level
A participatory evaluation of the TOPs
and WAD plots – harvest and compare yields.
Aresult feedback meetingabout yields obtained
from the TOPs and WADs, sharing experiences and lessons learnt.
Use of community based facilitators (CBFs)to fill gaps of extension workers (ratio is 1extension worker:1500
farmers).
Mobile training/learning centre/soil testing laboratory to reach out to many famers/communities and identify actual
fertilizer requirements.
The One Stop Centre Association (OSCA) Approach/Farmer –Village
Agent –Trader Model
Objectives for establishing OSCAs:Enable farmers access demand driven
services for production, agro-processing and markets; Help the OSCAs develop on
a commercial scale, strategic priority enterprises that farmers’ associations
will have a comparative and competitive advantage; Support emergence of
rural-based agribusiness entrepreneurs, facilitate their linkages between the
OSCA and urban markets.
Strategies:Farmer Institution Capacity Building
(leadership, governance, business development and management), Enterprise
Development-selection & development of viable
enterprises with a focus of generating income for households & associations
through the value chain approach; Equipped with a business centre and physical facilities which include
stores, produce post-harvest handling equipment, an input supply shop and
agro-processing facilities.
The farmer-village agent –
trader model (Community Association traders-CATs)/inputs supply system
Demystifies the perception that
middlepersons cheat farmers.Farmers, due to various needs, always prefer cash
for their produce. The village agent buys produce by cash from farmers and
sells to traders/CATs. The traders/CATs sometimes give loans for inputs to
farmers who pay after sell of produce,
and also act as input stockiests, therefore taking services closer to the
communities. Commission earned by each actor at the different levels is a
motivation to sustain the model and therefore the enterprise being developed. Easy
for traders to meet contract obligations on time
DISCUSSIONS
Issues arising from the presentation:
i.
What do farmers contribute?
FLPs – land,labour
ii.
To OSCAs- local materials,
land, supervision of construction
How can the farmer learning platform be scaled up effectively?
·
Train more frontline farmers to
scale up farmer-farmer learning
·
Demonstrate two options – the
research recommendation and the farmer practice to enable farmers easily
visibly realize the contrast
·
SG2000 Share approach with
AFAAS- through country exchange visits, study tours and training. AFAAS should
conduct a needs assessment for different countries to identify those interested
in the approach.
·
Invest more in post harvest
handling to reduce wastage and save the environment
·
Facilitate establishment of
sustainable farmer groups - a backbone to the approach
·
Promote market led
agriculture/enterprises
By Dr. RosellineNyamutale
and Mr. AndeOkiror
email: rnyamutale@saa=safe.org, andeokiror@saa-safe.org
