Farmer fair

From aisa2013 ilriwikis

Eastern African Farmer Innovation Fair (EAFIF) 28 - 29 May 2013 KARI National Laboratories, Waiyaki Way, Nairobi - Westlands

EAFIF Ethiopia.png

Latest uploads ! (15 June 2014)

EAFIF report File:EAFIF report final.pdf

Follow-up study with Kenya farmer innovators 6 months after EAFIF File:Aftermath of the EAFIF Nov 2013.pdf

Some impressions of the fair:

  • Social learning at the EAFIF: article in Baobab Magazine: http:www.prolinnova.net/sites/default/files/documents/Kenya/2013/baobab68_15102013_05extract.pdf
  • Can innovation fairs stimulate social learning? respond to AgriCultures Network ! [[1]]
  • Evergreen Agriculture and Strengthening Rural Institutions projects at EAFIF:[[2]]

>

  • Poultry farmer wins hearts and prizes at Innovation Fair (ILEIA Agricultures Network): [[3]]
  • Celebrating creative and innovative farmers from around East Africa (by Vivian Atakos, Catherine Mungai & Maren Radeny, CCAFS): [[4]]
  • Reflections on agricultural innovation in Africa: its scalability and youths (by Maxwell Mkondiwa): [[5]]
  • Celebrating farmers' creativity: [[6]]//
  • MUST SEE !''''' Short videos on 13 innovations by Kenyan farmers: ''[[7]]//
  • Can videos, songs and drama be used to promote agricultural innovation? ''[[8]]//
  • Photos from WAIA ''(CCAFS / ILRI): '[[9]]//
  • Learning from the real scientists – farmers ''(blog by Amos Thiong'o, APF Agri-Hub Kenya): [[10]]//
  • Blog from PAEPARD:'' [[11]]//
  • Report by APF Agri-Hub Tanzania: [[12]]//
  • Rahab comes up with a brilliant farm innovation (blog by Bett Kipsang, Uganda): [[13]]

How was the innovation fair organised?

> On Wednesday afternoon, the fair was closed to the public, as the international workshop on Agricultural Innovation Systems in Africa (AISA) opened then. The first session of the AISA workshop, started on 29 May at 2 pm on the fair grounds and was devoted to structured interaction between the farmer innovators from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and the participants of the AISA workshop.


Background to the EAFIF

The fair celebrated the creativity of Eastern African smallholder farmers – women and men – and gave them public recognition. This colourful event, with good media coverage, called attention to the importance of farmer innovation in agricultural development, brought policymakers and the general public in Kenya in contact with farmer innovators, and provided an opportunity for the international participants in the AISA workshop to meet and engage with the innovators. The fair was hosted by Prolinnova–Kenya and co-organised with the Netherlands-supported AgriProFocus (APF) network and other organisations concerned with smallholder agricultural development. It involved farmer innovators identified by the Prolinnova Country Platforms (CPs), the APF networks and farmer organisations in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

The purposes of the fair were:

  • To raise awareness and share information about how smallholder farmers are innovating
  • To encourage innovation by smallholder farmers
  • To disseminate smallholder farmers’ innovations
  • To identify and draw attention to more endogenous innovations than are currently known
  • To influence policy to promote smallholder farmer innovation. 


Translation from and to English for the farmers was done by students from Kenyan universities and by Prolinnova CP or APF members who accompanied the farmers to Kenya.

The CPs drew up the following criteria for selecting farmer innovators to exhibit in Nairobi:

  • Farmers who have developed innovations on their own initiative (not imposed and externally driven)
  • Farmers who have (co-) developed low-external input innovations that are relevant for small-scale agriculture and natural resource management (ecologically, socially and economically sound) and bring returns in the long run in terms of increased income, reduced drudgery, saving labour etc; these could include innovations also in agro-processing and marketing
  • Farmers who have interacted with other innovation actors (researchers, extension staff, university staff etc) in joint experimentation and innovation (Participatory Innovation Development)
  • Farmers who have experience in managing Local Innovation Support Funds (LISFs)
  • Farmers who have developed new ways of doing things that have substantially changed (or have the potential to change) their agricultural and NRM practices and the lives of their families and neighbours (locally appropriate innovation) or innovations that can be applied more widely in the country, i.e. innovations that are “best bets” for recognition, dissemination (scaling out) or scaling up
  • Farmers whose innovative activities have influenced a large number of other farmers, e.g. they have mobilised others to innovate
  • Farmers who have developed innovations that can impress others through physical exhibits or visual documentation
  • Farmers who are ready and willing to take part in the fair
  • Farmers could be included who have proven innovations and patent rights from the Ministry of Science and Technology, i.e. officially acknowledged innovations
  • Priority will be given to women farmer innovators.

EAFIF Organising Committee: Geoffrey Kamau (KARI), Righa Makonge (WN), George Mazuri (USTADI), Monica Mueni (Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture), Pauline Mugendi (Land o’ Lakes), Catherine Mungai (CCAFS), Teresiah Ng'ang'a (Prolinnova–'Kenya & EAFIF-OC coordinator), Rahab Njoroge (IIRR), Aileen Ogolla (Practical Action), Bell Okello (ICRW), Amos Thiong’o (APF)

Contact: Teresiah Ng'ang'a (twnganga@gmail.com) and Amos Thiong’o (a.thiongo@agri-hubkenya.com)

Retrieved from "http://aisa2013.ilriwikis.org/index.php?title=Farmer_fair&oldid=81"