cases from tanzania - Sustainet

5 Scaling up
sustainable agriculture approaches, specific techniques (such as composting and water
conservation methods), and supporting skills (such as simple book-keeping and group
management).
• Farmer field schools Groups of farmers get together to learn about their crops, the
ecosystem in their fields, and the constraints and opportunities facing them. Guided by a
facilitator, they choose subjects to study, do experiments in their own fields, and analyse
the results.
• Field days and on-farm demonstrations The organization runs demonstrations
on its own land, or arranges for cooperating farmers to do so. Other farmers gather to
see how to implement the practice and how it performs in the field. Advanced farmers
groups may be able to manage their own demonstration plots without any inputs from
outside organizations.
• Training of trainers The organization trains a group of facilitators, who then train
others, who then train still more people.
• Farmer-to-farmer extension The organization trains one farmer, who then passes
on the information and skills to his or her neighbours and friends, facilitates farmerinstigated
tests, and acts a conduit of information from outside.
• Exchange visits Groups of farmers visit another village to learn about a new practice,
ask questions, and share their own experiences. This is usually carried out with no
facilitation by the development organization except arranging transport.
• Community resource persons Community members nominate someone for the
organization to train. This person then acts as a source of knowledge and skills for the
community. With sufficient training (e.g., through a diploma course), the participants
should be able to take on some of the responsibilities previously borne by the development
organization.
• Scholarships This involves enabling men and women from a particular area to attend
courses on rural development and sustainable agriculture. They sign a commitment to
go back to their community and act as resource persons for several years.
Awareness creation and mobilization
Awareness creation and mobilization means spreading sustainable agriculture ideas to a
wider audience than can be reached by the organization alone. Sustainet partners have used
the following approaches:
• Mass media Newspapers, radio, TV and publications can be a vital way to get a message
out to a wider audience.
• Community mobilization. This can be done is a variety of ways: through religious
institutions, participatory appraisals, role plays, poems, stories and songs, cultural days,
etc.
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