Tanzania

Documentation and Communication for promotion of Local Innovations (PROLINNOVA) in Sustainable Agriculture with PELUM Tanzania

Half Year Report January - June 2007

PELUM-Tanzania

P O Box 54

Dodoma- Tanzania

Tel/Phax +255 26 2350744

E-mail:

August, 2007

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1.List of Acronyms

2.Background

3.Specific objectives of this project

4.Description of Activities under Prolinnova and Bio-Safety Project, January- June 2007

5.Comments on Activity Implementation:

5.List of Acronyms

CALcampaign, Advocacy and Lobby

FLDFarmer led Documentation

FOFarmer Organizations

GOGovernment Organization

GMOGenetically Modified Organisms

INADESNational Institute for Social and Economic development

M & E Monitoring and Evaluation

MOsMember Organizations

MUCCoBSMoshiUniversityCooperativeCollege of Business Studies

MVIWATANetwork of Small Scale Farmer Groups in Tanzania

NGONon-Governmental Organization

NLRINational Livestock Research Institute

NRMNatural Resources Management

NSCNational Steering Committee

PELUM Participatory Ecological Land Use Management

PIDParticipatory Innovation Development

PID/PTDParticipatory Innovation Development – Participatory Technology Development

PROLINNOVAPromoting Local Innovation

PTDParticipatory Technology Development

PTzPELUM Tanzania

R & DResearch and Development

SUASokoineUniversity of Agriculture

6.Background

PELUM-Tanzania is one of the ten Country Working Groups that constitute the so called PELUM Association. It is a National network of Civil Society Organizations operating in Tanzania towards sustainable agriculture, food security and sustainable community development in the country. PELUM Tanzania’s long term objectives are to build the capacity of farming and rural community groups to accumulate ecological capital and stimulate farmer learning and inspire them to experiment and innovate in empowering ways for food security as well as sustainability.

To attain these objectives, PELUM Tanzania facilitates learning and networking, participatory action learning through conducting participatory innovation development initiatives, capacity building, lobbying and advocacy with small-scale farmers groups and civil society organizations. Through its member and partner organizations, PELUM-Tanzania is currently implementing two main programmes one of them being “Documentation and Communication for Promoting Local Innovations in Sustainable Agriculture in Tanzania(PROLINNOVA Tanzania)”.

PROLINNOVA is an international initiative/programme spearheaded by NGOs to build a global learning and advocacy network on promoting local innovation in ecologically-oriented agriculture and natural resources management (NRM). The focus is on recognizing the dynamics of indigenous knowledge (IK) and learning how to strengthen the capacities of small scale farmers to adjust to changing conditions – to develop and adapt their own site-appropriate systems and institutions of resource management in order to gain food security, sustain their livelihoods and safeguard the environment.

The programme builds on and seeks to scale up farmer-based R&D approaches that start with discovering how farmers carry out informal experiments to develop and test new ideas for improved use of natural resources. Understanding and documenting the rationale behind local innovation transforms how researchers and extension staff view local people. This experience stimulates interest, on both sides, to enter into joint R&D. Local ideas can then be further developed in a participatory innovation process that integrates the dynamics of IK and formal scientific knowledge where mutual learning is based on joint action and analysis.

PROLINNOVA programme gives central attention to the promotion and institutionalization of a participatory research and development approaches, known as Participatory Innovation Development (PID) by ensuring that such participatory innovation approach is also applied by regular government and private institutions. Therefore, recognizing and working with local innovators and innovations, documenting and spreading their experiences constitutes an entry point into R & D that leads to experimenting with ideas from other sources and other participatory research and development activities. The programme has developed strategies to influence national and global policy formulation processes and implementation in the area of agricultural development and Natural Resources Management.

7.Specific objectives of this project

7.1The promotion of local innovations:

  1. To establish partnership of current and potential stakeholders in the implementation of the programme;
  2. To build capacity of development practitioners on PID/PTD
  3. To identify more innovations and local technologies
  4. To facilitate creation of enabling environment for institutionalisation of PID/PTD related to local innovation.

7.2Advocacy for the protection of genetic resources of Tanzania local communities:

  • To collect and analyze information on existing policies and activities, resource persons and documents related to Biosafety and Biosecurity in Tanzania; to collect information on existing African laws on the matter, especially the Model law for the protection of local community rights and the African Model Law on security in biotechnology;
  • To establish a coalition with interested and concerned partners;
  • To make the information collected available in Swahili and inform public opinion and farmers on the necessity to protect Tanzania Genetic Heritage;
  • To pursue advocacy work through media, debates, declarations, parliament.
  1. Introduction

During the past six Months, PELUM-Tanzania continued to implement its activities to fulfil the needs of the target. Among the activities implemented were those related to capacity building, documentation methodologies, impact of GMOs on future Tanzania agriculture, environment and smallholder farmers, partnership building and advocacy work for the promotion of local innovations and institutionalization of PID approaches into R and D organizations/institutions.

A series of workshops, field visits, meetings and forawas organized with the aim to strengthening capacities of Prolinnova partners on documentation skills to enhance sharing of local and global experiences on farmer experimentation, sustainable agriculture and natural resource management among the network. Likewise, Prolinnova partners were brought together though different workshops and meeting to share their experiences and feeling on the programme. These events were used to monitor and evaluate the implementation status of Prolinnova activities, as well as review of ongoing programme and planning for future activities.

As an outcome from the programme implementation strategy, Prolinnova partners are now sharing the progress of their activities pertaining to Prolinnova programme. Articles of best experiences on the ground and reports were produced and shared to let each other know about what is going on in other places. Education materials including leaflets, CDs, handouts and reports were circulated and shared between partners.

This report highlights some of the achievements, challenges and lessons learnt that emerged from the implementation of the project objectives that were planned for the period of January – June 2007.

1

5.Description of Activities under Prolinnova and Bio-Safety Project, January- June 2007

The following is the summary of PROLINNOVA and Bio safety project activities implemented for the period January – June 2007:

Strategic objectives / Planned actions (January-June 2007) / Activities realized (January –June 2007)
  1. To build the capacity of PELUM Tanzania members and partners
/
  1. To organize one training workshop on documentation for PELUM MOs and Prolinnova partners
  1. To facilitate one workshop to MO's staff on the future of Tanzania agriculture with GMOs
/
  1. Organized and facilitated a five day workshop on documentation skills from 16th to 20th April 2007 for PTz and Prolinnova partners. 22 participants (3 women and 18 men) attended the workshop.
  2. Hosted and facilitated one day farmer led documentation (FLD) workshop on 28th June 2007 to disseminate the outcomes and education materials from the FLD workshop that was conducted in Kampala last year 2006. 24 participants (7 women and 17 men) attended the workshop.
  3. Organized one five day workshop on GMOs in April 2007 for PTz and PROLINNOVA partners to raise their awareness on the impact of GMOS on the future Tanzanian Agriculture. 24 participants (4 women and 21 men) attended the workshop.

  1. To be a tool for communication and documentation
/
  1. To produce Prolinnova Tanzania leaflets and posters
  1. To produce one participatory video on local innovation
/
  1. Produced and distributed to partners 2000 leaflets about Prolinnova Tanzaniacountry programme as educational materials to publicise the programme, raise more awareness of the public about the programme and attract more development workers/institutions to join hand to the programme.
  1. To be done in the second half period July – December 2007

  1. To facilitate Networking of Innovators
/
  1. To organize one exchange visit for farmers and development workers on local innovations
  1. To organise one multi-stakeholder partnership workshop on the rationale of local innovation systems in R & D
  1. To facilitation establishment of PID joint experimentations (3) to try new innovations
  1. To organise two day interactive meeting between PTz board and Prolinnova NSC
  1. To collaborate with like minded organizations and participate in national and international for a organized on land use and Prolinnova programme
  1. Facilitate continous M & E activities for Prolinnova Tanzania
  1. To convene two meetings for Prolinnova NSC and four meetings for the core team
/
  1. Organized a five day field visit to innovator farmers in Dodoma in May 2007. A total of 22 participants (4 women and 18 men) from PROLINNOVA stakeholders in Dodoma, Zanzibarand Morogoro Regions were involved in the field visit. Participants developed future action plans for giving feedback to their counter parts and for adopting potential innovations appropriate to their respective locations.
  1. Organized a two day visit in April 2007 to Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) to initiate bilateral consultations between PROLINNOVA and the University to seek support to programme. The visit was facilitated by Prof. Nganga Kihupi, the Head of Department of Agriculture Engineering and member of NSC. Contacted authorities promised to join and support the programme.
  1. Organized a two day visit in April 2007 to the national Livestock research Institute (NLRI) Mpwapwa to initiate collaboration and partnership in the implementation of Prolinnova Programme. Contacted authorities promised to join and support the programme.
  1. Organised a three day Multi-stakeholder workshop in June 2007 for Prolinnova Tanzania partners to assess the implementation status for Prolinnova after three years of implementation, review the ongoing activity plan for 2007 and develop joint strategic plan for the next three years (2008-2010). 24 participants (7 women and 17 men) attended the workshop. Participants of the workshop reviewed the on going action plan, developed a three year strategic plan for Prolinnova Programme (2008/2010) that constituted an inputs the three new 3 year project proposal submitted to EED/DGIS
  1. To be done in the second half period July – December 2007
  1. Prolinnova NSC members and PELUM Tanzania Board Members do interact during PELUM Tanzania Board meetings and Annual General Meetings as some of Prolinnova NSC members are at the same time members of PELUM Tanzania Board of Directors. The Prolinnova Tanzania NSC Chairperson being a member of PTz Board and the Vice PTz Board’ NGO having joined Prolinnova Programme constitute an entry point to convincing all PTz Board members to join hands Prolinnova initiatives.
  1. Two people (Prolinnova project officer and the Prolinnova NSC Chairperson) attended Prolinnova international partners’ meeting in Senegal from 17th to 23rd March 2007
  1. Attended the inception workshop in May 2007 for the Agriculture sector development programme’ stakeholders in the central zone.
  1. Participated into two stakeholders’ meetings in June 2007 organized by the Ministry of livestock and Dodoma municipality respectively.
  1. Initial consultation with consultants from Research into Use Programme was done to explore potential areas fro collaboration.
  1. Organized one Core team and NSC meetings on 15th March 2007 as part of programme M & E to assess the implementation status of PROLINNOVA Tanzania. Among the issues that were discussed include the strategic planning for 2008/2010.

  1. To facilitate advocacy work for the protection of genetic resources
/
  1. To produce and disseminate advocacy materials related to land use, food security, GMO and local innovation
  1. To facilitate one workshop to MO's staff on the future of Tanzania agriculture with GMOs
/
  1. Produced 10,000 GMOs leaflets in Kiswahili to create awareness for small scale farmers and the Tanzanian community on the impacts of GMOs on future Tanzanian Agriculture and environment. The leaflets were distributed to all PTz MOs, POs and public. They are also used for lobby and advocacy purposes to create more awareness to the public.
  1. Produced 2000 video CDs (Proponents and opponents CDs in Kiswahili and English) on the world’ experience on Bt cotton and its impacts on small scale farmers’ agriculture and environment: a case of India, South Africa and Mali as an input from the Joint Advocacy Project (JAP) meeting held in Bonn- Germany in February 2007.
  1. Organized one five day workshop on GMOs in April 2007 for PTz and PROLINNOVA partners to raise their awareness on the impact of GMOS on the future Tanzanian Agriculture. 24 participants (4 women and 21 men) attended the workshop.

1

6.Comments on Activity Implementation:

From 16th to 20th April 2007, PELUM-Tanzania organized and facilitated a five day workshop on documentation skills for its MOs and Prolinnova partners. Four selected case studies were used to practice the documentation methodology acquired during the workshop. 22 participants (3 women and 18 men) attended the workshop. Among participants were 5 district extension workers, 1 Lecturer from SUA, 3 researchers and 13 extension workers from NGOs, partners for Prolinnova. Five local innovations were selected to be documented using existing and new methodologies for documenting field experiences. The innovation on coffee cloning which is practiced by farmers in Isangati, Mbeya rural District was documented and published into LEISA magazine of June 2007. Another innovation on potential use of Tephrosia Vogelii as an organic acaricid was documented, shared and improved by Prolinnova partners. The article is available on Prolinnova website on the Tanzania country page. Other three articles are still under process; we expect to share them soon. At least each partner of PROLINNOVA programme has a trained staff with skills and knowledge on participatory documentation method of best practices and successful innovations for wider learning and sharing.

Participants to Prolinnova Tanzania documentation workshop that was held inApril 2007, Oasis Hotel, Morogoro

On 28th of June 2007; PELUM Tanzania hosted and facilitated one day FLD workshop to disseminate the outcomes and education materials from the FLD workshop that was conducted in Kampala last year 2006. 24 participants (7 women and 17 men) attended the workshop. Among participants of the workshop were 5 district extension workers, 2 researchers, 16 extension workers from NGOs, 1 farmer (member of NSC) and one IST member, the Backstopper for Prolinnova Tanzania.The workshop increased partners’ understanding of the potential for documenting local innovations and sharing them at local and global level. In addition to formal and informal ways they were using for documentation, they shared with other partners different methodologies that enhance effective participatory documentation process for sharing field experiences.

During the reporting period, PROLINNOVA Tanzania has continued to strengthen partnership building between and among the national platform and partners them selves. Partners of Prolinnova meet oftenly into PELUM and PROLINNOVA activities, workshops, meetings and other fora both at local, national and global level. Two people (Prolinnova project officer and the Prolinnova NSC Chairperson) attended Prolinnova international partners’ meeting in Senegal from 17th to 23rd March 2007. In Appril 2007, the coordination office for PROLINNOVA Tanzania organized a two day visit at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) to initiate bilateral consultations between PROLINNOVA and the University to seek support to programme. The visit was facilitated by Prof. Nganga Kihupi, the Head of Department of Agriculture Engineering and member of NSC. The Head of department of Agriculture Education and Extension, the Head of Institute of Continuing Education, Prof. Mattee and the Director for Research and Post Graduate Studies were visited. From the conversation made, they showed the willingness to join hand and support the programme.

A similar visit was organized at the National Livestock Research Institute (NLRI) Mpwapwa in the same month. A two hours discussion about the programme and future opportunity for collaboration was made with the Director of the institution followed by a small meeting with some researchers. A total number of 15 researchers of which 2 women and 13 men participated in the meeting. In May 2007, Prolinnova project officer was invited to participate into stakeholders’ inception workshop for the Agriculture sector development programme’ in the central zone that was held at the National Livestock Research Institute, Mpwapwa.

Prolinnova Project officer discussing some issues related to Prolinnova Programme and group picture with researchers from the National Livestock Research Institute of Mpwapwa, May 2007

The Country Desk Coordinator for PELUM Tanzania was invited into a two days stakeholders’ meeting in June 2007 that was organized by the Ministry of livestock developments. We were also involved into partners’ meeting for agriculture sector organized by the Dodoma municipality in June 2007. The programme is gradually expending in terms of partnership and coverage from PELUM-Tanzania MOs to Non PELUM-Tanzania MOs. In addition to NGOs Members of PELUM-Tanzania, it involves partners from Government institutions, Universities, Research and Training institutions and district councils.

Within the same spirit of strengthening the multi-stakeholder partnership among prolinnova stakeholders, PELUM Tanzania organised a three day Multi-stakeholder workshop in June 2007 for Prolinnova Tanzania partners. The aim of the workshop was to assess the implementation status for Prolinnova after three years of implementation, review the ongoing activity plan for 2007 and develop joint strategic plan for the next three years (2008-2010). 24 participants (7 women and 17 men) attended the workshop. Among participants were 5 district extension workers, 2 researchers from research institutions, 16 extension workers from NGOs, 1 farmer (member of NSC) all from partners for Prolinnova and one IST member, the Backstopper for Prolinnova Tanzania. The following are the outcomes from the workshop that constituted the basic inputs for the new drafted three year project proposal“Documentation and Communication for Promoting and Institutionalizing participatory Approaches and Sustainable Agriculture Practices” now sent to EED for partnership and funding: