AEI just finished developing over 150 technical tools for an agricultural development project in Mali. These technical tools covered – organized into toolboxes – horticulture, rainfed agriculture, irrigated agricultural, organizational capacity building, private sector business development, basic commercialization, intensive and extensive livestock raising, and production and commercialization of non-forest timber products. A manual grouped together related toolboxes and provided pedagogical guidance on how to use the tools and toolboxes. From this experience, AEI has the following tips and lessons learned:
Know your audience:
Before starting the tool development process, AEI carried out an inventory of existing tools. Most of these tools were developed by PhD researchers targeting other PhD researchers. Few tools existed that could easily be used by project field staff – who often have a middle or high school education – or by farmers themselves. This meant that AEI needed to develop simplified tools that covered technical topics with basic non-technical language and explanations. This meant providing definitions and breaking down explanations.
Let participants prioritize:
The toolboxes and tools that AEI developed were created to allow farmers to identify the key problems they face, and then easily refer to the tool that addresses their problem. Participatory methods like mapping and seasonal calendaring are provided for in the manual. Once these methods lead to problem identification, there is a table which shows which tools address which problems. For example, if soil fertility is the issue, then in the table “poor soil fertility” would lead a farmer to tools on rotation, association, composting, fertilizer, and integration of agro-forestry.
Break apart technical concepts:
One of the key approaches used by AEI was to take complex ideas and break them apart into separate tools. For example, we did not have one extensive tool on soil fertility or on a particular technical itinerary for crop production. We broke these concepts apart into multiple tools to facilitate comprehension, but also to allow farmers and field agents to focus on the aspect of a topic relevant to a farmer. AEI also separated concepts within tools and explained one concept at a time to facilitate comprehension.
Illustrate ideas:
AEI, in breaking apart ideas within tools, also facilitated the inclusion of illustrations. Each idea was often accompanied by its own explanatory illustration, or when presenting a complicated technique, each step was illustrated. For example, AEI illustrated out grafting of baobab trees, as well as the steps to drying and storying cow pea, for example. The illustrations were in “naïve” style often used for facilitated discussions, drawn by African illustrators. Because of the conservative environment in Mali, AEI was also careful to ensure culturally appropriate depictions of women’s and men’s dress and appearance.
Author:
Dada Gueye is an agro-economist specializing in nutrition and food security - including public agricultural policies and value chain analysis. Mr, Gueye has nearly 10 years of experience in training and coaching producers and producer organizations (POs) in Senegal and other West African countries, including Mali and Côte d'Ivoire. He is one of AEI's experts.
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