Agricultural innovation show: Growing on stakeholder feedback

Focus

Nari’s AARON INAMARA discuses how feedback from stakeholders plays an important role in the Agriculture Innovative Show.

ENGAGEMENT of feedback from smallholder farmers and other stakeholder groups is an important aspect of the Agricultural Innovations Show (AIS).
It is an ideal opportunity for farmers to express how they had gain exposure to the show and benefited from exhibitions of improved agricultural technologies and best management practices staged by the National Agriculture Research Institute (Nari) and its partners.
The institute facilitates the feedback process through the use of targeted awareness strategies and surveys.
Public awareness drive is usually undertaken over several months to reach as much of the targeted segments of the community as possible.
Since the inaugural event twelve years ago, new approaches are being explored to enhance AIS awareness.
Besides mainstream media, flyers and banners, and a float two days prior to the show; Nari has also used its website and social media platform, in recent times.
Surveys from the last couple of years have revealed that print media or newspapers were the most common means through which people become aware of the AIS, followed by radio.
However the role of social media to create awareness is also noted.
The use of mobile phone Short Message Service (SMS) text messages has the potential to reach a greater number of people, if carefully planned and used.
In fact, Digicel SMS was trialled in the lead up to the 2017 AIS.
There is also the opportunity to explore other platforms such as Facebook (FB).
The numbers of participants for annual AIS shows over the years have been growing.
Nari appreciates the significance of this and does show surveys to best capture and understand trends pertaining to the background of the show participants.
Approaches of survey between 2017 and 2018 have progressed from the use of hard copy questionnaires to the use of the open-source CommCare data processing programme on tablets and smartphones.
This year both systems are being used to cater for different respondent preferences to ensure that reliable depth of data is collected to inform meaningful insights about contemporary trends.
While the range of provinces reached in the awareness is quite broad; it is the Mamose and Highlands that traditionally provide the greater number of show participants.
For instance, a 2018 Nari innovation video evaluation survey has revealed that apart from Morobe; most of the other participants had come from Eastern Highlands, Madang and Chimbu.
According to the overall survey for AIS 2018, farmers were the second largest participant group, after students.
However, it is a challenge to design and use carefully developed survey tools to ensure that reliable data is generated to provide a fair representation of all categories of people who attend AIS events.
For example, when the 2017 AIS survey showed an abnormally large number of student respondents; a more controlled approach was employed in 2018 to gauge responses from as many farmers as possible.
Apart from the farmers, most of the other respondents were either paid workers or students.
They often needed advice to link up with specific resource persons or agencies they could liaise with to source information on a varied range of technology needs.
The most sought after innovations included seeds systems and best propagation practices for improved crop varieties; basic value chain for agri-business processes for specific crop from harvest through post-harvest processing to the point of sale.
These groups also seek general information about what Nari and other agricultural institutions are doing.
Generally, show participants have demonstrated a particular interest in accessing batches of more recently released innovations and technologies to improve their practice.
However, more effort is needed to drive farmers’ appreciation in areas such as nutritional value of food products; improved livestock feeds systems; biosecurity measures in crops and livestock farming systems; as well as general husbandry practices for different livestock species.
These findings resonate with those arising from the 2018 Nari innovation video survey.
Particularly compelling is the conclusion that most stakeholders, especially the rural farmers, are still lack sufficient access to many of the Institute’s released technologies.
Their shared sentiment is that the Institute and its partners should invest more in the use of the latest information and communication technology innovations to facilitate effective dissemination of information and technical support services for different agricultural technologies.
These surveys are very useful as they can help Nari identify areas to improve and develop appropriate strategies to address different AIS audience needs.
There is much work to be done to make this a reality in improving the farming practice, level
of productivity and socio-economic benefit for the smallholder
farming families and communities.
The 2019 AIS survey will be undertaken today and tomorrow.
We look forward with keen anticipation to some new and compelling outcomes soon.

  • Aaron Inamara is Nari’s information and communication officer