MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDER APPROACHES

In the SIMLEZA Project

A process review

Table of Content

• Innovation Systems Approaches & Platforms• SIMLEZA Stakeholders• Participatory Research and Extension

Approach (PREA)• SIMLEZA Activities towards IP formation

What is an innovation platform (IP)?

• A forum established to facilitate interactions and learning among stakeholders often selected from a commodity chain or system.

• To undertake a participatory diagnosis of problems, joint exploration of opportunities and investigation of solutions leading to the promotion of innovation(s) along the targeted value chain.

• IPs can provide a useful forum to get all players to interact and play their role in the innovation process.

The linear vision of research, extension and development

Researchers conducting formal research in established institutions

Basic research

Strategic research

Applied research

ResearchersExtension agents

Farmers

Technology transfer

Adoption

Knowledge flow

Source: Ekboir et al. (2002); Wall (2007);

Example of an IP

Local participants

R&D Organisations

Bringing partners together

Phase 1: Engaging with stakeholders

Phase 2: Planning, learning and assessing

Phase 3: Ensuring sustainability

Interest

Collaboration

OwnershipLeadership

Leadership

Facilitation

Backstopping

Private Sector

Interest

Collaboration

Commercial opportunity and farmer

support

Tim

e

Community IP District IP

Stakeholder information market

7

NationalDistrict

Community

Mo Agriculture

UNIV

IITA

Mo E

Mo WA

ARIFarmer Assoc

Women group

Seed Assoc

Youth Assoc

Fertiliser agent Market

Clinic

Agric Office

Mo Forestry

= innovation partner = can we involve them?

Mo Health

Seed Company

DEC

Dev Assoc

Health office

EA

Radio

Church

School

CIMMYT

SIMLEZA STAKEHOLDERS CHIPATA Farmers and farmer organisations

Research and development

Commercial/Private

International/regional

CIMMYTIITATotal Land Care

Seed Co

National/Provincial ZARISIMLEZA coordinatorCFU

Zamseed, MRI, Kamano

District Chipata Districts Farmers Association

District Agriculture & Coops Office DAO-Crops Officer

Micro Credit FoundationATS (an Agro-dealer)Zaulimi

Local (Women’s Groups)(Farmer Coop)(Farmers)CAC

BAEOs and CAEOs (Chanje and Chiparamba)

SIMLEZA Approach and Activities

Activity Chipata Katete Lundazi

Community Awareness Meetings 2 2 2

Innovation Systems Workshops (Mid-season) 1 1 1

Field Days 2 2 2

Innovation Systems Workshops (End of season) 1 1 1

Farmer Selection and FTF Extension Workshop 1*

* Stakeholders from other Districts were invited

Bring Stakeholders together at District level and provide training in Participatory Research and Extension Approaches (PREA), and practice these PREA-tools by interacting with the

SIMLEZA communities

Consideroptions

Exchange visits

Participatory Research and Extension Approach

Enteringcommunity build trust

Identifyinglocal organ-

isations

Raisingawareness

Identifying needs &

problems

FeedbackTo

community

Training

Technicalbackstopping

Training

mid-Season

evaluation

Training

Planningfor nextlearning

cycle

PREALearning Cycle

PREA Training

SIMLEZA

Prioritisingneeds andproblems

Actionplanning

Searchingfor

solutions

Mandatinglocal

institutions

Tryingout new

ideas

End of season review

and processmonitoring

YearsY2Y1 Y3 Y4 Y5

PREA process

11

General assumptions:• Farmers are receptive to new ideas• Research and development can provide

information/technologies that lead to cost-effective ways of production

• Success will depend on the approach taken

Extension role is facilitating not teaching– Helping and convincing farmers vs directing– Providing a service not being a instructor– Encouraging farmer-to-farmer extension

Phase 1: Engagement and Social mobilisation• Step 1: Informal discussions with potential partners

– Establishing common interests• Step 2: Entering the community and building trust

– Selecting an area – camp, zone ward, village – Meeting with local leaders– Identifying how the community functions (institutions,

livelihoods)• Step 3: Identify and analyse community organisations

– To find local partners for future activities– Inside and outside community

Camp Agricultural Committee 1Women’s groups growing cowpeas and groundnuts 8

Multi-purpose cooperatives (for fertiliser and maize) 7Village Development committee 4School 1Churches 17JTI 17TLC 22CFU 7Alliance -One 4Cargill 6Dunavant 2Chipata Cotton 9MCF 1COMACO 1SIMLEZA 23

Chanje institutions / farmer involvement (n=23)

Village Dev Co

Women’s groups

CEO

CAC

School

ChurchesJTITLC

CFU

ALL-1

CARGILL

Donovant

Chip ata

MCF

COM ACO

IITA

CIMMYT

ZARI

CHANJE CAMP INSTITUTIONS8 zones

SIMLEZA

BEO

District FAZNFU

Micro-credit

Foundation

Multi purpose Cooperatives

DAO

ZAM SEEDS

ATS SEED CO

Step 4: Providing feedback to the community– Creating transparency and building confidence– Initiating a platform for dialogue within the

community and between partners

Issues• Ensuring community involvement• Clarify roles and expectations• Establishing differences in perception• Agreeing a way forward

Step 5: Raising awareness in the community– Ensuring feed back to and from the platform to

the community• Facilitating an understanding of the existing

situation and opportunities for development• Motivating people to become involved in the

process• Building local confidence and capacity to bring

change

Step 6 – Identifying needs• Identifying and mobilising people’s own

interests and common objectives• Identifying challenges and opportunities

Phase 2a: Community level action planning Step 7: Prioritising problems and needs • Prioritisation by different groups - gender, age or institutional

membership

• Issues / tools– Matrix ranking– A value chain analysis or problem tree to identify real problems

and causes– Different needs – is everyone making a contribution

Chanje crop prioritisationCrop Men Women Maize 1 1Tobacco 2 2Cotton 3 4Groundnuts 4 3Vegetables 5 7Sugar beans 6 6Sweet potatoes 7 9Sunflowers X 5Soya beans X 7Sweet potatoes - 8

Chanje – problem prioritisationMen Women

Soil fertility/availability of fertiliser 1Crop pests and diseases 2 2Lack of markets for crops 3Low prices for crops produced 4 1

Lack of farm implements (ripper, sprayers etc) 5Weeds/labour 6 1Generally low yields 7Poor quality packaging for marketing 8Lack of and access to crop chemicals 9Access to micro-finance 1High transport costs 3Access to seed 2Limited draft power 1

Step 8: Searching for solutions• Identifying a range of solutions suitable for different

groups (value chain analysis)

Issues – Who can assist?

• Visits to research sites, other farmers, • Report backs after such visits

– Blend suggestions from local people with those of outsiders

– Are solutions affordable?– Negotiate what, how and who should try out new

ideas

Step 9: Mandating local institutions• Empowering local organisations through community

mandate• Ensure responsibility and accountabilityIssues

– Which organisations are most suitable?– Who should take the lead?– What institutional strengthening and capacity building

may be required?– What kind of networking is required?– Is their any opposition to the mandate?

Step 10: Action planning• Providing guidance for implementation• Plan to serve as a management tool • Determine resources required• Develop criteria for measuring success• Ensuring all partners know and agree to the plan

Issues • Identify suitable sites, agree what activities, by whom and when • Agree criteria for lead farmer selection, select lead farmers

against criteria• Agree trial plot design, input acquisition• Land preparation, planting, fertilising, weeding etc• Consider competitions between groups/farmers

Research and extension process• Researcher control

• On-station and on-farmer fields

• Identifying “best-bet options”

• In farmers’ fields, farmer ownership with extension facilitation

• Testing adaptation and learning for local suitability

• Farmer ownership, management and control

• Adaptation

• Farmer-to-farmer diffusion

Mothers

Babies (Daughters)Lead farmers

GranddaughtersSecondary and other

farmers

Phase 2b: Implementation - experimentation Step 11: Trying out new ideas• Encouraging people to learn about new ideas

through experimentation• Using and linking the knowledge of all actors• Enhancing people’s ability to innovate• Generating new options and solutionsIssues• Encouraging maximum local involvement• Providing back up• Organising competitions

Phase 2c: Sharing experiences Step 12: Mid season evaluation

– Assessing how activities are proceeding– Sharing ideas and providing feed back

Issues– Organise an evaluation of field performance

• Award prizes for trial management, number of farmers involved, quality of presentations etc

• Share knowledge amongst farmers– Use matrix ranking to compare treatments

• Build confidence through presentations• Encourage more farmer-to-farmer extension

IP partners Evaluating SIMLEZA

-Achievements-Challenges-Opportunities

During Mid-season Workshops

Soyabean PVS criteria identified in mid season

Criteria Soprano TGX 1835-10E TGX 1740-2F LukangaGermination 3 2 3 3Flowering/early maturity 3 1 3 3Growth rate 3 2 3 3Unformity 3 1 3 2Pod clearance 3 1 3 2Pest/disease resistance 3 3 3 3Lodging 3 2 3 3Potential yield 3 1 3 3Total 24 14 24 23Rank 1= 4 1= 3

• Step 13: End-of-season evaluation– Re-assess findings of mid season evaluations– Compare yields achieved– Participatory budgets– Assess performance against farmer criteria/

indicators

• Step 14: Process review– Review the whole process– Identify strengths, challenges– Analyse lessons learnt

Criteria P1 conventional

P2Dibble stick

P3Dibble stick

Intercrop

P4Dibble stick

P5Only cowpea

Grain yield 1 3 1 2Grain size 1 2 1 2Residue yield 2 3 1 2Plant height 2 3 1 2Vigour 1 2 1 2No lodging 2 3 3 3Weed control 3 3 3 3Total 12 19 11 16Rank 3 1 4 2

CA ranking Vuu

Yield and Gross Income

Unit Unit Cost (zmk)

Plot 2 Plot 3 Plot 4 Plot 5 QTY Total cost Qty Total cost Qty Total cost Qty Total cost

Grain Kg 2500 52 130000 69 172500 38 95000 81 202500

Total revenue (A) 130000 172500 95000 202500

Physical costsSeed Kg 11000 2 22000 2 22000 2 22000 2 22000

Basal fertilizer Kg 4000 2 8000 2 8000

Insecticides 500 ml 45000 6 560 6 560 6 560 6 560

Inoculants gram 2 1500 2 1500

B. Total input costs 22560 24060 30560 32060A-B Revenue minus inputs (D.) 107440 148440 64440 170440

A-B per ha (D.) 5372000 7422000 3222000 8522000

Labour Costs

Land preparation Acre 105000 1 4200 1 4200 1 4200 1 4200

Planting 1 2400 1 2400 1 2400 1 2400 Fertilizer application

1 1000 1 1000

1st weeding 1 2400 1 2400 1 2400 1 24002nd weeding 1 2400 1 2400 1 2400 1 2400

Pesticide app. 1 500 1 500 1 500 1 500

Harvesting 1 2000 1 2000 1 2000 1 2000Threshing 2000 2000 2000 2000Transport 1200 1200 1200 1200Total Labour costs (C.) 17100 17100 18100 18100D-C. Net benefits 90340 131340 46340 152340Net Benefit per ha 4517000 6567000 2317000 7617000

Ranking 3 2 4 1

Participatory budget for Soya Agronomy in Vuu Camp

• Step 15: planning for the next learning cycle– Identify new areas which require action– Address new problems which may have emerged

out of the first learning cycle

• Issues– Are the solutions sufficient?– What other areas do we need to tackle

Phase 3: Ensuring sustainability

• Step 16: Ensuring ownership– Continuation of the innovation process

• Step 17: Providing backstopping as required– Ensuring farmers know where to seek assistance

• Step 18: Setting in place new innovations– Scaling up to other communities and through other

institutions

PROCESS SUMMARY• Social mobilisation

– Partner engagement and participation

• Action planning• Experimentation• Assessment and learning• Setting innovations in place / sustainability

Operational level IP rolesOperational IP members (local level) Role

CAC (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Com leaders, CBO reps, CEO, NGO)

Local ownership

Overall coordination

Research (Lead) farmers appointed by CBOs

Daughter trials

CEO/NGO Facilitation of PREA process

­ social mobilisation­ action planning­ implementation­ lesson learning

Research Mother trials and back up to CEO and LF trials

Private sector Input and output marketingTraining

Strategic level IP rolesStrategic IP members (District level) Role

DAO, District FA, CFU, Camp reps overall coordination and scaling upDAO, SAO, BEO, NGO Back up for facilitation of PREA process

­ social mobilisation­ action planning­ implementation­ lesson learning

Research Mother trials and back up to CEO and LF trials

Private sector Input and output marketingTraining

Thank you!