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| Maize Innovation Systems Opportunities (MISO): Improving access to quality information and products for maize innovation systems | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A participatory learning process - involving surveys, workshops and trade fairs - has helped to expand farmer information supply in the southern highlands of Tanzania. Location-specific tools - such as Swahili language leaflets on maize management - and increased access to information, training and products has helped to improve the capacity, effectiveness and morale of public and private sector organizations. Farmers from 18 villages benefited directly, improving their capacity to manage their maize cropping systems. In addition, stockists, researchers, extensionists, seed companies and NGOs all perceived benefits from the participatory learning process and its positive influence on their ability to do their job effectively. Project Ref: CPH46:
Research Programmes: Crop Post-harvest Programme Relevant Research Projects:
Core Partners:
Other Partners:
The diverse environment of sub-Saharan Africa, among other factors, suggests a need for more localised innovations/ solutions. The Southern Highlands Zone (SHZ) of Tanzania is a key maize producing area regionally and most producers are resource-poor smallholders. Enhancing productivity depends on improving these farmers' and other stakeholders' access to information, training and products for pre and post harvest maize systems. A participatory learning process strengthened relationships amongst public and private sector stakeholders, including farmers in groups; and an emerging alliance found common ground for improvement. This process has two main outputs. The first focuses on understanding and improving farmers' situation and the second targets service providers through knowledge management. 1. Enhancing farmers' access to information and materials to facilitate experiential learning
Validation of maize farmers' current information, training and product sources and needs in SHZ found farmers want more access to external and new information, but are currently utilising more accessible sources (e.g. parents, neighbours). Farmers' criteria for assessing and improving sources of information were shared. Approaches for learning were reviewed including variety demonstrations, farmer research groups (FRG) and seed fairs. Issues included inclusiveness (eg FRGs were primarily middle wealth group and male dominated) and learning processes (eg potential for more discovery learning).
Learning tools adapted to the locality. Swahili language leaflets were tested by farmers in 5 districts, refined, and promoted through sale at the national agricultural show, and to regional agricultural advisors, district councils, district extensionists and NGOs and posted on the Ministry of Agriculture's website.
2. Improving capacity, effectiveness and morale of public and private sector organizations through increased access to information, training and products A professional morale barometer was developed as a participatory tool to gauge change and an entry point to identify factors influencing morale and how to improve them. Methods/ tools to improve access to maize information, training and products for different stakeholders (stockists; researchers, trainers. extensionists; seed companies; NGOs)were identified through a participatory analysis.
Input stockists' demand confirmed information/ training to build stronger customer relations. In response to farmer demand for small quantities of products, 75% of stockists selling fertilisers engaged in bulk breaking. All stockists selling maize seed sold 2 kg packs, but few 1 kg or less. A survey of changes in stakeholders' capacity, effectiveness and morale revealed that 80% of respondents felt the projects had a major influence on their capacity and provided ideas about doing their job more effectively.
Maize Yes, the approach could be applied to other commodities if they are of similar importance to the beneficiaries and if there is a similar context and constraints eg weak service provision, approaches and tools. Examples of such commodities might include vegetables (particularly tomatoes, onions and cabbages), potatoes and beans and, to a lesser extent, rice
* The project focused on higher potential systems, but the process could be applied in any system
1. Improving maize systems productivity Maize is the staple for Tanzania (and through out E. and S. Africa) and increased productivity would enhance the country's and region's food security and improve smallholders' incomes. Improved access to and management of quality seed (R8220, R8406, R8480) offers high potential for substantial yield improvements. However, use of quality seed is unlikely to provide sustainable productivity improvements unless coupled with other approaches. Hence the likely synergy of clustering with FIPS Africa (R8219, R7405) promoting access to appropriate farm inputs and innovative learning protocols; projects R8438, R8297 addressing private sector provision in Kenya; projects R8452/R8215 and R8449/R8212 promoting integrated pest and soil management for lowland maize systems in Tanzania and the Lake Victoria basin; as well as projects R7034/ R8179 on post-harvest protection of grain using diatomaceous earths. Links with associated crop projects implemented in the SHZ should also be explored eg Integrated bean management (R8414). Clustering will achieve mutual benefits in the zone, nationally and the Eastern Africa region. 2. Enhancing income earning opportunities from maize In high potential areas, maize is key for food security, but smallholders also produce for sale/ barter in order to improve their livelihoods. Hence projects which identified approaches to improving farmers' access to markets (eg R8275, R8274, R8498, R8250, R7494) can provide significant added value. A range of non-RNRRS initiatives (eg the Agricultural Marketing Systems Development Programme with IFAD support) are also key. 3.Communication, learning and scaling up processes Further value will be added through clustering these outputs with other initiatives addressing communication, learning and uptake processes and linking field activities with policy (eg R8428, R8349, R7502, R6306, R7412 R8167, R8458, R8179). In Tanzania it will be essential to work with the Agricultural Sector Development Programme and associated projects (eg World Bank funded PADEP and DANIDA funded ASPS). How the outputs were validated: The validation process involved the following activities:1. Inception workshop: Stakeholders reviewed approaches by which farmers and other stakeholders access information, training and products for maize systems in the SH. 2. Validation survey: Farmers' access to and demand for information, training and products for maize management was validated through individual (16 women and 16 men) and group interviews in 8 villages in 4 districts of the Southern Highlands (SH) of Tanzania. The individual farmer responses formed the basis for separate men and women group interviews. Stockists (25 stockists in 4 districts) as end users and intermediary organisations were interviewed individually. 3. Input stockists survey: 25 stockists were again visited in 4 districts to validate the extent to which inputs were being made available in small quantities 4. M and E survey of the farmer research groups. The exercise aimed to identify who had been reached by project activities, the extent to which the process had responded to the needs of different types of farmers, to what extent new information was being put into use and the outcomes and to assess the overall research process (4 research groups in 2 districts). 5. Seed fair evaluation: This aimed to learn more about how farmers and other stakeholders learn in the context of seed fairs (164 interviewees in 3 seed fairs). 6. Service providers survey: 31 stakeholders were interviewed to asses the influence of 2 CPP and 1 CPHP project on capacity, effectiveness and morale of participants. 7. Maize Innovation System Stakeholder workshop: Project implementation outcomes were presented and outputs reviewed by stakeholder groups (farmer research groups' representatives, stockists, NGOs, government organisations (researchers, district extension service) and seed companies). The validation process targeted maize growers and intermediary organizations in the SH of Tanzania. The project showed the benefits of inclusive processes for improving access, opportunities for enhancing capacity of public and private (eg stockists) sector service providers to improve farmers' access to information and products, including small packs to enable widespread farmer experimentation and use.
Where the Outputs were Validated: The project inception and end of project multi-stakeholder workshops were conducted in Mbeya Tanzania, in February and November 2005 respectively. The validation survey was done in April 2005 in Mhwela and Majenje (Mbarali district), Msia and Chitete (Ileje district), Igagala and Mhaji (Njombe district) and Mangawe and Mtandika (Iringa district) villages. Inputs stockists' were interviwed in Njombe, Makambako, Iringa, Mbarali, and Ileje towns. The M and E survey was conducted in Majenje and Ihahi villages in Mbarali district and Mtwango and Utalingoro villages in Njombe district between October and November 2005. The project was implemented primarily in high potential, high and intermediate altitude areas in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. The farming system is smallholder rainfed highland and to a limited extent irrigated. The Seed Fair survey, including the National Nanenane Agricultural Show was conducted between August and September 2005 in Shinji village, Ileje district, Malinzanga village, Iringa district and Mbeya city. These villages are in semi arid areas with smallholder rainfed dry farming system. The Nanenane Show was attended by diverse stakeholders from a wide range of production and farming systems.
Who are the Users?
Where the outputs have been used: The outputs are currently in use, mainly in S. Highlands of Tanzania, particularly in the 16 CPP project villages of Mbozi, Mbarali, Njombe, and Iringa districts. However, in the course of implementing this project farmers, extension workers and inputs stockists in Ileje and Kilolo participated in the validation exercise and are using the validated leaflets. At the end of project workshop some extension officers from Makete, Kilolo, Songea, Mufindi and Ludewa districts in addition to the farmers, extension workers and inputs stockists from the previously mentioned districts attended and have been issued with various reports from the project. Agricultural stakeholders from neighbouring countries Malawi, Zambia and Kenya have been attending the "Nanenane Agricultural Show" and project workshops and have collected some of the validated leaflets (eg FIPS Africa, CABI ARC).. A total of 31 stakeholders (including public sector researchers, public sector extensionists, NGOs, seed companies, stockists and farmers) were interviewed. Overall, over 80% of stakeholders consulted felt that the projects had a major influence on their capacity to do their job and provided ideas about how to do their job more effectively (see Figure below). The projects had also had a major influence on the morale of 61% of stakeholders. Over half (58%) of project partners reported that the projects have had a major influence on the way they are doing their jobs. The stakeholders gave detailed reasons about the influence of the project on their capacity, morale, and effectiveness and these are captured in the full report. Figure 1. Influence of these DFID funded projects on stakeholders' capacity, effectiveness, morale and way of doing their job.
Scale of Current Use: Locally, the outputs are directly in use in at least 18 villages in 5 districts that participated in projects R8422 and R8220. Indirectly some farmers whose extension staff and/or local NGO staff have participated in one or more projects activities in four more districts in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania are exposed to the outputs. Nationally, project outputs have been sent to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives. Hence indirectly, other zones in the country have been informed and are using the outputs. Researchers from the Northern, Eastern and Central zones in Tanzania have participated in at least one project activity and have been exposed to the outputs. Leaflets are also available in the MVIWATA, national farmer network resource centre in Mororgoro, Tanzania. Regionally, some project members from Kenya (CABI and FIPS Africa) have at some stage participated in the project and accessed the project outputs, which they are likely to be using. Globally the project team had members from NRI UK who are working in different countries worldwide hence making use of the outputs of the project in those countries (e.g. Zimbabwe through links with R8179). In addition the project reports and leaflets have been submitted to DFID RNRKS programmes and some of them would be posted in their website thus being available to whoever would find them useful. It may not be easy at that level to monitor the numbers of the users. Policy and Institutional Structures, and Key Components for Success: Programmes Funded by CPHP, making use of materials from project R8220 funded by CPP. Platforms Within the SH, the lead organization ARI Uyole is strategically placed as the SH Zonal Agricultural Research Centre. It hosts the office of the Zonal Research and Extension Liaison Officer (ZRELO), linking research with district agricultural extension services (in Mbeya, Rukwa, Ruvuma and Iringa regions) and NGOS (Ileje Rural Development Organization, ADP Mbozi, INADES Formation Tanzania) which provide a promotional platform in the zone. Working with farmer groups provided greater opportunities for farmers to influence the research and promotion process. ARI Uyole also links with input stockists, distributors (Tanganyika Farmers Association and 25 other enterprises) and seed supply companies (Highland Seed Growers). Policy The policy environment created opportunities and challenges. Liberalisation of input/ output markets (since late 1980s/ early 1990s) resulted in a wide range of players entering the market, but input use by farmers has declined following the removal of input price subsidies, declining real grain prices and a loss of confidence in seed from seed suppliers. Decentralisation made it easier for actors in the zone to form linkages and partnerships with minimal bureaucracy. Seed policy has been recently reviewed, breeders rights are now recognised which has encouraged hybrid seed development. Production of Quality Declared Seed (QDS) of open pollinated varieties by trained village based farmers is formally recognised, and financially supported by DANIDA ASPS, improving access for farmers in remote areas. Public-private partnerships (eg between breeders and seed companies) are being encouraged by the Tanzania government and donors. Ministry of Agriculture policy supports Farmer Fields Schools, an experiential learning approach. Infrastructure ICT eg mobile phones and internet were crucial in facilitating communication between the various actors. Capacity strengthening. key factors of success include:
and context
Lessons Learned and Uptake Pathways Promotion of Outputs: Materials like leaflets and project reports are being promoted on a small scale to target districts in the S. Highlands and the Ministry of Agriculture Food Security and Cooperatives headquarters in Tanzania. About 50 copies of the project reports have been distributed by ARI Uyole to a wide range of stakeholders in Tanzania. Leaflets and reports are available on the funding programmes and Tanzanian Ministry of Agricultures websites. Radio programmes have been made and arrangements are underway to air them initially through Radio Tanzania nationally, but later at the zone level when the Mbeya station of Radio Tanzania starts working. Papers on several aspects of the projects learning are being jointly written for publication in international newsletters and journals. Potential Barriers Preventing Adoption of Outputs:
How to Overcome Barriers to Adoption of Outputs:
+ Experiential learning approaches and tools need to be made accessible. ICTs hardware, training and appropriate systems Collaboration between individuals and organizations at all levels Lessons Learned: · Work with on-going policies and processes which, in common with many countries, includes decentralization of service provision and strengthening of public-private partnerships. · Working with Farmer Groups reaches a larger number of beneficiaries, but more vulnerable social groups must be targeted. · Farmers largely prefer to learn through personal interaction and 'learning by doing'. Challenge of how to scale up this approach, ensuring quality of facilitation. · Learn from beneficiaries and intermediaries about how they access information, training and products and build on those experiences. Some farmers rely on stockists for information on new products. Private sector capacity strengthening is a key area. · Kiswahili being used by most Tanzanians is a major advantage in production of materials like leaflets in only one language. · Be creative in improving approaches such as seed fairs and agricultural shows, which are attended by many people. · Professional morale/ motivation of service providers (influenced by funding and salaries, but also by recognition, self-development and access to training) need more attention from government and donors. · Systems need to be in place ensuring access and encourage appropriate use of ICTs. · Locally developed innovations are an important way in which research outputs can be introduced sustainably into local knowledge systems through enhancing capacity and morale of LOCAL organizations. · Formal and informal institutional arrangements are needed to provide incentives for stakeholders to improve their own and others' access to knowledge and stimulate innovation. Eg little incentive to work with farmers to improve the management of farmer saved seed. · Capacity issues are key in decentralization. Service providers need more than technical knowledge/ skills · Big business should be more entrepreneurial and re-engineer products to reflect the economics at the 'Bottom of the Pyramid' including: small unit packages, low margin per unit, high volume. Poverty Impact Studies: No impact studies on poverty have been undertaken with respect to this project. The following project reports provide some indications of potential implications for impact on poverty KIRANGA, E.K., MANGASIN, S.H. and MUSSEI, A. N. (2005) An evaluation of maize variety demonstration farmer research group activities in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. ARI Uyole, Mbeya, Tanzania. pp 11. LAMBOLL, R., NSEMWA, L.T.H. and STATHERS, T. (2006) Survey of service providers to get feedback on influence of DIFID CPP/CPHP on improved capacity, effectiveness and morale. ARI Uyole, Mbeya, Tanzania. STATHERS, T., NSEMWA, L.T.H., GONDWE, B., and LAMBOLL, R. (2006) A survey of farmers and stockists' access to and demand for maize information, training and products in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. ARI Uyole, Mbeya, Tanzania. pp 150 + ix. How the Poor have Benefited (including gender and other poverty groups): This project only had a 12 month duration and hence there is little direct impact on poverty to date. A small number of farmers ie those in farmer research groups and others who participated in various learning activities have benefited directly through improved capacity to manage their maize systems. Those in the research groups also benefited indirectly through an enhanced capacity to influence the maize research and development process. One group from Mbarali district were trained in open pollinated variety seed production and are planning to produce QDS seed to sell to their neighbours. Key indicators which need to be measured include: productivity (labour and capital, as well as land), farmer incomes and food security, equity (who is benefiting?) and sustainability [1]. Indicative impact of outputs on poverty reduction on different groups in Tanzania to date
[1] Based on Melinda Smale and Thom Jayne (2003) Maize in eastern and southern Africa@ seeds of success in retrospect. EPTD Discussion paper No. 97 IFPRI Washington DC, USA. Direct and Indirect Environmental Benefits: How can innovation platforms incorporate environmental issues with respect to maize? It is envisaged that due consideration will be taken to address environmental conservation in the technologies that would be promoted eg. the use of organic and inorganic fertilizers for yield improvement while reversing the trend of nutrient mining in soils continually planted maize without the use of fertilizers; use of smaller areas to produce maximum yields, reduction of losses through pre and post-harvest pest and disease management. In Tanzania, currently there is a move to conserve water sources, some of which have hitherto been the main areas for maize production. Taking this into consideration, the interventions would indirectly be beneficial to the environment. Improved access to information, training and products leads to better and more targeted use of both synthetic and natural inputs, reducing the incidence of environmental contamination through mis and over use. Adverse Environmental Impacts: Although there are no intended adverse impacts to the environment related to outputs and outcomes of the project, there is a risk in the event there is misuse or overuse of some inputs like pesticides for instance. Coping with the Effects of Climate Change, or Risk from Natural Disasters: The maize varieties being promoted have been bred under the changing climatic conditions. They are therefore in a way offering an opportunity to increase the capacity of poor people to cope with the effects of climate change. Their earlier maturity characteristic, for instance means they are able to yield better than the landraces under conditions of shortened rain durations. The process of supporting farmers to learn experientially and to experiment with different technologies to see which suits them best will strengthen their ability to cope with change, including climate change. Annex Appendix 1. Acronyms and Abbreviations ADP Mbozi Actions for Development Programmes Mbozi ARI Agricultural Research Institute ASARECA Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa ASDP Agricultural Sector Development Programme ASPS Agricultural Sector Programme Support ASSP Agricultural Sector Support Programme CABI ARC Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International Africa Regional Centre CIMMYT International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre CPHP Crop Post Harvest Programme CPP Crop Protection Programme DADPs District Agricultural Development Plans DADS District Agricultural Development Strategy DAIPESA Development Alternatives Inc. Private Enterprise Support Activities DANIDA Danish International Development Assistance DFID Department for International Development ECAMAW East and Central African Maize and Wheat Network EPTD Environment and Production Technology Division FFS Farmer Field School FIPS Africa Farm Inputs Promotions Africa FRG Farmer Research Groups GSI Good Seed Initiative ICT Information Communication Technologies IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development INADES Tz Institut Africain pour le Developpment Economique et Social, Tanzania IITA International Institute for Tropical Agriculture KARI Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute LINKS Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems MDGs Millennium Development Goals M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MIICO Mbozi ADP Trust Fund, Ileje Rural Development Trust Fund, ADP Isangati Trust Fund Consortium MISO Maize Innovation Systems Opportunities MVIWATA Mtandao wa Vikundi vya Wakulima Tanzania (Apex organisation for small-scale farmers' networks) NGO Non Governmental Organisation NRI Natural Resources Institute, UK NSIMA New Seed Initiative for Maize in Africa OPV Open Pollinated Varieties PADEP Participatory Agricultural Development and Empowerment Programme QDS Quality Declared Seed RIUP Research Into Use Programme RNRRS Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy SADC Southern African Development Community SH Southern Highlands, Tanzania SHZ Southern Highlands Zone SSA Sub Saharan Africa ST Streak Tolerant UH Uyole Hybrid UK United Kingdom ZRELO Zonal Research and Extension Liaison Officer Relevant Research Projects,
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