Farmer technology support
TVSP - Farmer technology support
In the TVSP project, farmer technology support was an important task. This was done in collaboration with: AVRDC, ICIPE, FarmAfrica, Dutch Embassy, DaiPesa, various farmer groups and government technicians.
Major new technologies introduced are:
raised beds
furrow irrigation
improved fertilizer
seedling raising
During the project period more than 1000 farmers have been trained.
Success factors
Key factors for success were
farmer selection, as not all farmers are ready for adoption and/or are willing to try
right varieties for both farmer and market
guaranteed quality of seeds, which is not only germination, also 'what you see is what you get'
proper guidance in farmers' fields
In general, success was achieved easier with individual farmers than farmer's groups.
Limiting factors
Limiting factors were
farmers are mostly not market-oriented
potential areas are far away limiting field work
expenses
poor infrastructure, like roads and irrigation water
marketing, both selling of harvest and purchasing of inputs
lack of capacities among farmers and extensionists
This all means: in the TVSP project we learned a lot. Experience which will help us to improve our work in this field.