Accelerated Uptake and Impact of CPP Research Outputs in Kenya. Final Technical Report R8454

Abstract

This project followed on from one (R8299) which addressed the bottleneck that occurs between generation of research outputs and their application by the farmers they are intended to benefit. The previous project promoted the uptake of CPP research outputs in Kenya, focusing on crops prioritized by participating farmers: maize, sorghum, beans, sweet potato, kale and groundnuts. This project focussed on tomato, again as requested by the farmers. The purpose of this project was to promote pro-poor strategies to reduce the impact of key pests, and improve yield and quality of crops produced by small scale farmers in East Africa. There were three outputs: CPP and other research outputs on tomato adopted and evaluated in Kenya CPP research outputs widely promoted and disseminated to intermediary institutions Success stories promoted through mass media Research outputs were promoted to farmers in Western Kenya through a network of farmer field schools (FFS) already established by an ongoing IFAD-funded regional project. Farmers specified the constraints they face in tomato production, and technologies for addressing those constraints were collated from CPP research and other projects. The technologies were introduced to the farmers by trained FFS facilitators, and farmers chose the technologies they wished to try out. Over 1000 farmers were directly involved in 58 field schools. Farmer evaluation and surveys showed beneficial impacts of the technologies tested in the FFS. 95% of farmers reported some yield increase, with an average increase of 50.9%. This was attributed to use of improved varieties, improved pest and disease control, and greater use of inorganic and organic fertilizer. 86% of farmers reported an increase in marketable surplus, but given poor market access how this translates to increased income is not clear. Farmers highlighted the need for improved market channels to avoid gluts on the local market. 90% of farmers reported improved access to essential information as a result of the project. A resource CD containing source files of all the printed materials was compiled and 100 copies distributed to intermediary organisations. One hundred and fifty manuals, 220 posters and 615 leaflets were printed and distributed. Dissemination materials were sent to organisations in Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe as well as Kenya. Six 15-minute radio programmes in Kiluhya and six 5-minute programmes in Kiswahili were produced and aired on national and regional radio respectively in Kenya. The programmes focus on farmers telling their stories of the benefits of adopting crop protection technologies in kale, beans, sweet potato, maize and tomato, and the approaches they used to test them. Two 15-minute videos on a similar theme were produced titled \'Maendeleo Kwa Kushirikiana\', and aired by Regional Reach, and organisations which screens videos in 200 rural market centres in 10 districts of Kenya, reaching nearly 40,000 viewers a day