participated fully in all stages of the research and learning process between 2007 and
2010. Major activities in this process included: (a) the establishment of EFREN at
the commune and village levels, (b) the organization of training sessions for farmers,
(c) the development and implementation of a research and extension plan, and (d) an
analysis of EFREN operations and making recommendations for further adjustment.
Farmers and the CEW were encouraged to experiment with and adjust EFREN
according to local circumstances, with researchers acting in a supportive role.
11.5.1.3 Basic Set-Up of EFREN
The basic principal during the early stages of setting up EFREN was to address
farmers’ knowledge demands without changing the extension system’s organizational structures, the aim being to change the behavior of local actors.
EFREN was designed to allow farmers, CEWs, local authorities and researchers
to collaborate on equal terms with each other in order to support innovation
processes. Centered at the commune level, EFREN aimed to encourage cooperation
among farmers of diverse ethnic backgrounds and between farmers and CEWs
during regular meetings, allowing farmers to articulate their demands. EFREN also
aimed to improve the appropriateness of transferred knowledge through the promotion of community participation and the integration of local knowledge, and to
speed-up knowledge diffusion and innovation adoption through the promotion of
farmer-centered communication channels and decision-making. To achieve this,
EFREN created instruments for networking on two levels: the commune and village
levels (see Fig. 11.1).
At the commune level, EFREN consisted of a group of volunteer farmer
representatives from all villages in a commune operating under the coordination
of the CEW. At the village level, EFREN consisted of one farmer group per village,
each comprising 3–5 farmers. Each village level farmer group was self-operated by
an elected leader, who played a critical interface role, coordinating group activities
and acting as a focus for communications between CEWs and other EFREN
members. The leader was assigned tasks, such as preparing meetings run by the
CEWs and selecting farmers to host farmer-led technical trials. The leaders also
gave assignments to other group members and individual farmers, such as arranging
the logistics in support of technical trials and gathering villagers together for the
training, monitoring and evaluation of extension and research activities.
Key activities conducted by village level groups were to develop and implement
the village extension and research plan, with the active participation of other
villagers and with technical assistance from the CEWs. Based on the knowledge
demand established at the village level, a yearly commune research and extension
plan was developed by farmers, with the facilitation of EFREN members, and this
was forwarded to the CEWs. Within this process, EFREN assisted the CEWs to
identify the farmers’ level of demand for knowledge, provided timely advice
(as training delivered too late is a common problem among extension programs
in the area, as often mentioned by farmers) and covered all villages in a commune.
11 Rethinking Knowledge Provision for the Marginalized: Rural Networks. . .
455
2010. Major activities in this process included: (a) the establishment of EFREN at
the commune and village levels, (b) the organization of training sessions for farmers,
(c) the development and implementation of a research and extension plan, and (d) an
analysis of EFREN operations and making recommendations for further adjustment.
Farmers and the CEW were encouraged to experiment with and adjust EFREN
according to local circumstances, with researchers acting in a supportive role.
11.5.1.3 Basic Set-Up of EFREN
The basic principal during the early stages of setting up EFREN was to address
farmers’ knowledge demands without changing the extension system’s organizational structures, the aim being to change the behavior of local actors.
EFREN was designed to allow farmers, CEWs, local authorities and researchers
to collaborate on equal terms with each other in order to support innovation
processes. Centered at the commune level, EFREN aimed to encourage cooperation
among farmers of diverse ethnic backgrounds and between farmers and CEWs
during regular meetings, allowing farmers to articulate their demands. EFREN also
aimed to improve the appropriateness of transferred knowledge through the promotion of community participation and the integration of local knowledge, and to
speed-up knowledge diffusion and innovation adoption through the promotion of
farmer-centered communication channels and decision-making. To achieve this,
EFREN created instruments for networking on two levels: the commune and village
levels (see Fig. 11.1).
At the commune level, EFREN consisted of a group of volunteer farmer
representatives from all villages in a commune operating under the coordination
of the CEW. At the village level, EFREN consisted of one farmer group per village,
each comprising 3–5 farmers. Each village level farmer group was self-operated by
an elected leader, who played a critical interface role, coordinating group activities
and acting as a focus for communications between CEWs and other EFREN
members. The leader was assigned tasks, such as preparing meetings run by the
CEWs and selecting farmers to host farmer-led technical trials. The leaders also
gave assignments to other group members and individual farmers, such as arranging
the logistics in support of technical trials and gathering villagers together for the
training, monitoring and evaluation of extension and research activities.
Key activities conducted by village level groups were to develop and implement
the village extension and research plan, with the active participation of other
villagers and with technical assistance from the CEWs. Based on the knowledge
demand established at the village level, a yearly commune research and extension
plan was developed by farmers, with the facilitation of EFREN members, and this
was forwarded to the CEWs. Within this process, EFREN assisted the CEWs to
identify the farmers’ level of demand for knowledge, provided timely advice
(as training delivered too late is a common problem among extension programs
in the area, as often mentioned by farmers) and covered all villages in a commune.
11 Rethinking Knowledge Provision for the Marginalized: Rural Networks. . .
455