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ARF ARIS ATIRI KAPP KASAL USAID E. Afr. agric. For. J. UPALNet-Kenya

Agricultural Technology and Information Response Initiative

The Agricultural Technology and Information Response Initiative (ATIRI) was launched in June 2000 to work with partners to respond to the farmers' technology and information demands.

Goal

Appropriate/superior technologies and knowledge to sustainably enhance incomes of rural people developed, validated and usage catalysed.

Purpose

Appropriate participatory approaches, methodologies and knowledge to catalyse the process of outreach and adoption of agricultural technologies enhanced, disseminated and adopted.

Expected Outputs

· Awareness about KARI's ATIRI programme created, improved and proposals solicited.

· Collaboration with partners formalised, implementation of project proposals facilitated and knowledge about KARI's technologies and knowledge systems improved.
· Capacity of farmers' groups and partner organisations to adapt and adopt profit-making technologies and knowledge systems enhanced.

· Farmers' observations on additional research needs fed back to scientists to fine tune existing or develop new technologies and knowledge systems.

· Dissemination approaches evaluated for effectiveness and efficiency and most suitable ones for different contexts promoted.

· Potential partners for ATIRI work identified at centre level, characterised and strategic partnerships with most suitable CBOs/NGOs/private sector organisations and other stakeholders fostered and improved.

· Networking between KARI centres involved in outputs 6.1 to 6.6 (vide KARI
logframe) promoted and enhanced.

· Collaboration with institutions from other countries on experience with similar
systems initiated and improved.

Future Strategies

The success of the initiative within only one year from its inception and experiences with similar approaches in other programmes have demonstrated its potential. KARI has found a better way to get its research technologies and knowledge more widely known and adopted. There is now need to establish efficient linkages/partnerships for the upscaling of technology and information dissemination nation-wide. By the end of the extended NARP II, ATIRI awareness will have been created in all KARI adaptive research programmes through information and briefing meetings at centre level. Proposals on technology and information demands will be received by the regional steering committees. They will be screened and forwarded for approval and quality control by the national steering committee at the headquarters after which contracts will be signed with partner organisations and implementation will commence.

During MTP III a sizeable proportion of KARI's budget will be used to fund ATIRI-type research development activities. The project implementation will be monitored and preparation and distribution of suitable extension materials will be promoted. Field days and demonstrations will be conducted on farms identified together with the strategic partners in all centre mandate areas. Partner organisations will be trained in organisational and management skills including fund management, group organization and business orientation. All CBOs will be encouraged to establish and manage/ strengthen revolving fund schemes at the community level. The performance of these schemes will be monitored and any upcoming problems resolved. Information networks will be improved to exchange information between KARI, intermediaries and CBOs.

In an effort to improve KARI's capacity to respond to farmers' needs, feedback from stakeholders will be collected during stakeholders' meetings, field days, demonstrations and monitoring visits. Up-coming research questions will be presented to KARI scientists who will then formulate appropriate research proposals.

An analysis of potential partners will be carried out and partnership arrangements will be formalised with the identified strategic partners. The relationships with regard to the effectiveness of the collaboration for the promotion and implementation of ATIRI projects will be assessed regularly. Based on the assessment, decisions on continuation of partnerships will be made.

Networking between KARI centres involved in ATIRI activities will be promoted and enhanced through annual workshops on exchange of experiences with partner organisations. Strategic partnerships will be solicited and linkages and relationships with other NARS entities, IARCs and development partners will be formalised.