Four Seasons of Learning and Engaging Smallholder Farmers - icrisat

utilization and marketing. In Nigeria a total of 567 farmers and 37 extension agents have been trained
in seed production technology, and agronomic practices, segregation, standard, processing, storage
and marketing.
A total of 230 farmers and 120 extension agents have been trained in Kenya on seed production
technology and management practices of which 26% were women. In Mozambique, 482 farmers and
40 extension agents have been trained.
Lessons learned
TL II soybean seed systems Phase 1 lessons are listed below.
1. Building a strong effective partnership for widespread success: to deliver improved soybean
varieties and production technologies require diverse partners in addition to the usual National
Agricultural Research Institutions;
2. Complementary crop management technologies: Complementary crop management practices
that contribute to increased yield promoted alongside improved crop varieties are two
components to increase productivity;
3. A small pack marketing approach has the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of farmers,
quickly. In both Nigeria and Niger, the sale of small packs has reached men and women farmers,
and expanded the use of Certified Seed. It has also given farmers the opportunity to experiment
new varieties at minimum risk. The small-pack model has already spread to other crops;
4. Monitoring and evaluation have been crucial for understanding project opportunity and
constraints. Considerable energy was expended to develop and put in place for the Integrated
Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (IPME) processes of the project and such start-up efforts
should not be underestimated. IPME has also delivered quickly—especially in identifying some
of the opportunities and weakness of the project;
5. Milestones achieved varied among countries due to limited human capacity and resources and
commitment of partners; and
6. Four key factors, all concerning capacity building, played a significant role in TL II’s success.
These included the development of strong partnerships, sometimes now referred to as
innovation platforms, the use of participatory approaches, the strengthening of communitybased
organizations, and the use of research knowledge. TL II promoted linkages and created a
strong partnership between stakeholders. The project worked closely with State ADPs, providing
training in PREA, as well as new agricultural technologies and management practices. This was
undertaken in ways which reinforced each other based on the principles that people learn from
practical experience and better from their peers.
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Engaging Smallholder Farmers | Tropical Legumes II Project