Doing things differently: PostHarvest Innovation Learning Alliances in Tanzania

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Doing things differently Post-Harvest
Innovation Learning Alliances in Tanzania
Zimbabwe

• Brighton Mvumi, Mike Morris, Tanya Stathers,
  William Riwa
• http//www.nri.org/PHILA/

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Background (1)

• Common denominator for research team was the
  problem of storage insect pests
• livelihoods of rural households in sub Saharan
  Africa undermined by storage insect pests
• many farmers rely on imported organo-phosphate-bas
  ed pesticides to protect stored grain safety and
  efficacy of these chemicals in doubt
• households using traditional control materials
  are faced with inconsistent and often poor
  results

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Background (2)

• Appropriate technology (hardware) solution
• Diatomaceous Earths (DEs), inert fossil dusts,
  can be admixed with grain
• Function by causing insects to dehydrate die
• Research established that
• DEs (imported local) efficacious as grain
  protectants in range of Agro-Ecological Zones
• DEs readily usable by diverse smallholders in the
  different locations
• food stocks (maize, sorghum, beans cowpeas)
  successfully protected for periods of gt 8 months.

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Background (3)

• Getting DEs into use amongst rural HHs requires a
  multitude of changes in the institutional
  setting
• Farmers extension staff have to fully
  understand the limitations and dangers of
  existing protectants,
• Advisors have to be influenced to recommend
  policy and regulation changes,
• Registration authorities need to be persuaded to
  buy into and support research findings,
• Private sector needed to step forward and
  champion the registration process

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The Problem

• Why do things differently?
• Conventional approaches to technology transfer
  within small-scale farming systems have
  frequently failed DEs yet to take off
• HH food security remains precarious for many
  people in the rural areas and food production
  levels show little or no increase
• PH service provision research focus on
  technology less on understanding delivery system
  constraints, distinguishing between needs
  priorities of different HHs, exploring farmers
  own research capabilities

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The Opportunities (1)

• Innovation system thinking, which recognises
  that
• new products and processes are brought into use,
  not just by the activities of researchers , but
  through the activities of a number of widely
  different actors and organisations
• translation of ideas into use requires
• appropriate technologies,
• compatible mindsets and
• favourable institutional settings

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The Opportunities (2)
Innovation system from farmers perspective
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The Opportunities (3)

• Learning Alliances (LAs) provide for alignment of
  the key components of innovation
• hardware appropriate technologies can be
  indigenous or imported
• software action research to develop compatible
  mindsets and adaptive capacity
• system-ware to address constraints in the
  institutional settings, outside the remit of
  conventional research approaches.

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Learning Alliance functions (1)

• Information sharing amongst membership
• stakeholder workshops, documentation, ICTs
  regular communications, website etc.
• Action research (case studies) to
• develop specific understanding of supply-side
  demand-side issues
• develop compatible mindsets between partners, and
  local adaptive capacity learning by doing

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Conventional Research
Action Research
vs.

• Learning from evidence(rational, universal,
  best practice, linear)

Learning from practice and interaction
(intuitive, contextual, adaptive, interactive,
experiential)
Both approaches used in Case Studies, but
action research develops in tune
mindsets After Barabara Adolph
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Learning Alliance functions (2)

• LAs are influenced by and seek to influence the
  institutional environment the rules play of
  the game including
• policy agendas, content implementation
• R D programmes
• staffing arrangements
• access to and use of ICTs
• Management of information sharing, action
  research advocacy functions.

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Achievements (1)

• PHILA members are relating learning together in
  new ways
• PHILA established in Tanzania Zimbabwe
• New CS tools techniques shared adopted
• ICT training promotion
• New awareness understanding of the need for
  institutional learning change (i.e. system-ware
  software)

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Achievements (2)

• Practical insights recommendations for service
  provision developed, based on
• Study of public service providers research
• Studies of public service NGO service provision
  
• Participatory planning exercises in 4 districts
• Farmer extension staff exchange visits
• Enquiry visits to explore farmer diversity
• Review of policies, their formulation
  implementation

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Achievements (3)

• Understanding of ability of different
  stakeholders to access utilise information
• Individuals in many farming households in
  multiple locations familiar with better storage
  practices (e.g. application DEs, ASD etc)
• Exchange visits explored farmer-to-farmer
  farmer-extension staff learning
• Empowerment studies throwing light on demand-led
  approaches
• Study of agro-chemical companies public service
  providers

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Persisting Challenges (1)

• Establishing LAs involves high front-end
  transaction costs
• donors do a lot of policy pushing but are slow to
  pick up implementation costs
• Innovation is essentially about changing
  institutional social relationships
• but is often confined to hardware information is
  misconstrued as knowledge knowledge management
  defined as technology uptake

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Persisting Challenges (2)

• Conflict inherent to rule (/inst.) change
• The elite will resist rule changes use poor
  communication to exclude other players etc.
• private sector players, typically busy
  cost-aware, are often reluctant to participate,
  have competing interests.
• LAs need to build on existing platforms (parallel
  structures are out) which do not flag learning
• building trust is better than subversion, but
  time consuming usually costly.

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Persisting Challenges (3)

• LAs are about changing the dynamics within and
  between organisations, but
• rely heavily on the skills energies of
  individuals
• documenting process learning is difficult
• If they are to have sustained impact, then
• LAs need to influence policy makers and other key
  stakeholders
• LAs need to secure buy-in (membership) from
  policy makers and other key stakeholders

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The Future

• LAs offer a strategic approach to providing
  services which are demand-led, client-oriented,
  empowering etc., but
• continued support from the RD communities and
  donors, essential
• commitment of statutory authorities (e.g. line
  ministries, local government), essential
• involvement of private sector, essential and,
• representation of diverse farmer-types,
  imperative

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Thank You