Food and Nutrition Security in Africa seminar in Helsinki 16 June 2014, Two innovative approaches for disseminating information to farmers: Volunteer farmer trainers, Steven Franzel, ICRAF & Eija Laitinen, HAMK

1. 16 June 2014, Helsinki, Finland
FoodAfrica Midterm Seminar
Food and Nutrition Security in Africa
Steven Franzel, World Agroforestry Centre
Eija Laitinen, HAMK University of Applied Sciences
Two innovative approaches for
disseminating information to farmers:
Volunteer farmer trainers and video

2. 16 June 2014, Helsinki, Finland
Low production & poverty
Low adoption of agricultural innovations
Ineffective rural advisory services
Effective and low cost ways of
disseminating agricultural innovations
Practices are needed that
empower and reach rural
women
The rationale for conducting research on rural
advisory services

3. 16 June 2014, Helsinki, Finland
Background
• Farmer to farmer extension (FFE):
• the provision of training by farmers, to farmers,
often through the creation of a structure of
farmer trainers
• Very few studies are available on FFE, its effectiveness
and none on volunteer trainers’ motivations.
• Our findings based on our work with 2,000 farmer
trainers in the East African Dairy Development Program
in Kenya and Uganda training farmers on improved
feeds
FoodAfrica Midterm Seminar
Food and Nutrition Security in Africa
3

4. 16 June 2014, Helsinki, Finland
Three key research questions and
findings
1. Volunteer farmer trainers train how many farmers?
• On average, VFTs train about 20 farmers over a six-
month period;
• Women train as many farmers as do men, though
men cover more villages
FoodAfrica Midterm Seminar
Food and Nutrition Security in Africa
4

5. 16 June 2014, Helsinki, Finland
2. Does the approach empower
women?
• Approach suited to women, as it is possible to recruit more of
them:
• In the East African Dairy Development Project, Kenya,
• <10% of extension staff are women while
• One-third of farmer trainers are women.
FoodAfrica Midterm Seminar
Food and Nutrition Security in Africa
5

6. 16 June 2014, Helsinki, Finland
Mrs. Sara Kawere, volunteer farmer trainer
in Mukono District, Uganda
• 54 year old widow
• Trains 24 farmers in her
group
• “My joy comes when I
see them appreciate and
take on the new fodder
technologies to improve
milk production”
• “I am motivated by the
fact that being a farmer
trainer has made me
popular and respected”

7. 16 June 2014, Helsinki, Finland
3. What motivates farmers to become and
remain farmer trainers? (N=99)
Motivations For becoming a trainer For remaining a
trainer
% scoring motivation as important
Gain knowledge
Help others
Social status and
networking
Project benefits
Income from
extension
activities

8. 16 June 2014, Helsinki, Finland
Motivations for farmers to become and remain farmer trainers,
(N=99)
Motivations For becoming a
trainer
For remaining a
trainer
% scoring motivation as important
Gain knowledge 61 52
Help others
42 49
Social status and
networking 28 28
Project benefits
27 31
Income from
extension
activities
23 60

9. 16 June 2014, Helsinki, Finland
Key lessons
• Cash payments/allowances generally not necessary, not
sustainable and de-motivate those not receiving them;
• Motivations for being a farmer trainer vary; important to find low
cost ways of motivating trainers
• Practices promoted should be fairly simple and low risk (the cost
of error should be low);
• Farmer trainers continue actively training farmers even several
years after project support ends, indicating sustainability of the
approach.
FoodAfrica Midterm Seminar
Food and Nutrition Security in Africa
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