E-course FST blog: How to sell an idea to smallholder farmers?

Do you think that smallholder farmers are to blame for the low adoption rates of sustainable production technologies and best practices? Selling an idea about an agricultural practice to smallholder farmers is subject to a lot of resistance as most are accustomed to their way of doing things. Their resilience has brought them this far. 

Adoption of best practices and technologies/ innovations by smallholder farmers can be linked to two types of adoption factors namely;

• Micro-level adoption factors e.g. farm systems, farmer characteristics, and preferences.

• Macro-level adoption factors e.g. performance of the technology/ practice, management mechanism, marketing systems, profitability, policy and institutional processes.

Micro-level adoption factors are directly related to the farmer’s mindset which is at the center of any successful adoption of a technology/ practice. Most smallholder farmers have mastered through experience and accustomed themselves to their traditional way of producing and marketing.

The problem today is that the practices that were successful in the past, may not be sustainable and profitable in the future. Just consider the status and current dynamics of the food system where for example, the rampant ecological deterioration and market shift have a very significant bearing on the productivity and profitability on smallholder farms. These socio-economic and environmental drivers show their impact via the trends in the climate and food markets systems.

These trends require all those engaged in production and marketing of agricultural and agricultural related products to act with agility and flexibility. In fact, the changes unfolding in the farming systems and food markets are visible for smallholder farmers too. This is the entry point to discuss adjustments to their production methods and marketing strategies.

There are still very many cases of poor yields and low incomes among smallholder farmers despite the fact that there are many proven productivity and income enhancing technologies and practices being promoted across Uganda. We can list some of the examples of these technologies and best practices which include but not limited to;

• Hybrid seed varieties and livestock breeds,

• Irrigation technologies,

• No tillage practice,

• Organic farming,

• Solar drying.

Note that the these innovations do not call for;

• Business as usual,

• One size fits all or,

• Cast in stone solutions.

So, how can we maneuver this challenge so as to bring about a coordinated and effortless adoption of the desired technologies and practices among smallholder farmers?

First and foremost, the current situation demands for a deliberate paradigm shift to the food systems approach by all the food systems actors including the farmers. The low adoption rates should be addressed through coordinated stakeholder support for farmers in understanding, selecting, and implementing the desired technologies. This includes: engaging the farmers in the development of the technology, educating the farmers about the technology/ practice for mindset change, commercialization of the technology, policy and institutional reforms among others.

Top of the agenda should be to improve and share our understanding of what drives the farmers in resisting or adopting innovations. The food system approach can help us in our analysis and also in the way we train farmers and incentivize new practices.