Using participatory video with farmers in Ethiopia: Strengths and weaknesses

Earlier this year, Beth Cullen was commissioned to train farmers in participatory video (PV) – as a tool for capturing community views and perceptions on their collaboration with the Fodder Adoption Project over the last 3 years. More information on her work is here. She recently submitted a short report on the assignment, describing the … Continue reading →

Scaling out project outcomes requires a ‘special chemistry’

After a session of the the November 2010 Fodder Adoption Project (FAP) workshop in Laos, we recorded ‘notes’ of three world cafe hosts who collated cross-project lessons (from Ethiopia, Syria, and Vietnam) on three issues: Innovation approaches, feed assessment, and scaling out. In this video, Werner Stür, formerly with CIAT in Vietnam, reports back on … Continue reading →

Innovation approaches – Collective learning from the Fodder Adoption Project

After a session of the the November 2010 Fodder Adoption Project (FAP) workshop in Laos, we recorded ‘notes’ of three world cafe hosts who collated cross-project lessons (from Ethiopia, Syria, and Vietnam) on three issues: Innovation approaches, feed assessment, and scaling out. In this video, Ranjitha Puskur of ILRI reports on the lessons on innovation … Continue reading →

Feed a key issue to manage livestock systems in transition

After a session of the the November 2010 Fodder Adoption Project (FAP) workshop in Laos, we recorded ‘notes’ of three world cafe hosts who collated cross-project lessons (from Ethiopia, Syria, and Vietnam) on three issues: Innovation approaches, feed assessment, and scaling out. In this video, Michael Blümmel of ILRI reports back on the discussions about … Continue reading →

Innovation systems principles – Strengths and weaknesses

On 18 and 19 November 2010, the Fodder Adoption Project organized a mini-symposium on feed in smallholder systems as part of the week-long discussions. On the second day of the symposium, discussions focused on innovation systems principles and their application in livestock and feed research for development. The aim was to examine if such approaches … Continue reading →

Forages and farmers – Case studies from South-East Asia

Last week in Laos, Werner Stur circulated copies of a new book by ACIAR and CIAT with stories of innovative farmers, both men and women, who transformed marginal farming into productive, profitable and market-oriented enterprises. The 11 case studies presented were collected from upland areas of Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. They document … Continue reading →

Feed in smallholder systems mini-symposium

On 18 and 19 November 2010, the Fodder Adoption Project organised a mini-symposium on ‘feed in smallholder systems’ as part of week-long end-of-project review discussions. The session was opened by Alan Duncan with a brief presentation on Sustainable livestock intensification in smallholder systems – where does feed fit and how can current constraints be overcome?. … Continue reading →

Fodder favourites …

This week, we were brainstorming – over dinner – with a group of livestock/feed enthusiasts attending the final meeting of the Fodder Adoption Project. How might we mobilize the scattered expertise and enthusiasms of forage and fodder (and related crop and livestock)  people in the CGIAR and worldwide to focus attention on livestock feeding as … Continue reading →

Communication in the fodder adoption project

This morning at the end of project workshop, project teams from Vietnam, Syria and Ethiopia shared their approach to the project’s output 3 – to enhance the capacity of project partners to experiment with and use fodder innovations through effective communication, technical information and training… Mechanisms for joint learning used by the Vietnam fodder adoption … Continue reading →

Fodder adoption project scales out innovation processes

Today, the country teams from the IFAD-supported ‘Fodder Adoption Project’ met in Luang Prabang Laos to review and assess what was achieved during the project. The workshop opened with an overview presentation by project coordinator Alan Duncan. He introduced the goal of the project: to improve the livelihoods of poor livestock keepers through increased access … Continue reading →