StopStriga and Gro-Plus
Work programme

The production and registration of the mycoherbicide is outside the scope of this RIU-supported project, but will be undertaken by Real IPM under their pre-existing Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund project.

Establish of a network of support for farmers in Western Kenya
This will be achieved through KARI, Ministry of Agricultural extension officers and local NGOs, including Farm Concern, Millennium Villages and Sacred Africa, all of which operate in Nyanza Province.
Output

• 100 trained extension officers from different organisations by the November 2010 planting season

Identify and use village promoters
Promoters will be the conduit outward for dissemination and information and inward for feedback in building a database of mobile phone contacts of interested farmers and smallholders. This will cover Gro-Plus from November 2010 and it is anticipated that it will involve StopStriga from next planting season.
Outputs

• 1000 village promoters by November 2010
• Development, production and promotion of small packs of StopStriga (mycoherbicide, nutrients and instructions and information leaflet) and Gro-Plus.
• 50 households provided with free planting packs for use: these households act as first hand testimonials and radio interviewees (April 2010)
• 2,500 households offered Gro-Plus packs free of charge (September 2010)
• 48,000 households – needing on average 9.5 packs per planting (April 2011)

Communications
RIU will support the use of vernacular radio, mobile phone SMS messages and internet. Peer group test planting, demonstration plots, open days, posters and user guides will act as proof-of-concept and provide advertising material for farmers. SMS messaging will repeat and reinforce next steps at seasonally-relevant times.
Outputs

• Sponsorship of popular vernacular radio programmes and provision of PR material and advertising that supplements radio messages.
• Database of 48,000 SMS contacts
• 50 demonstration plots
• Promotion at 3 agricultural shows
• Publication of 1,000 posters and 1,000 Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) booklets

Monitoring and evaluation
A baseline study of the impact of Striga in Nyanza was produced in 2008 by African Agriculture Technology Fund (AATF). Sales and usage data of the product and technology packs will be the key performance indicators for the project.