Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services(MEAS) Symposium, 2015
“Strengthening Extension and Advisory Services for Lasting Impacts”20 F Street Conference Center, Washington, D.C., June 3-5, 2015
Delivering the Farmbook Suite: Review of MEAS Pilot Project in
Kenya
Dr. Joyous S. Tata and Richard K. Githaiga
What is Farmbook Suite?
Consists of three ICT tools currently availablei. Map & Track ii. e-Learning (SMART Skills curriculum)iii. e-Biz Planner (formerly known as Farmbook)
One tool in study to be developed : Farmer feedback
All tools being shifted onto Android platforms Integrated data from all three Apps, stored and
analyzed in the cloud
Piloting eLearning in Kenya
Farmbook training in Nyeri, Kenya 2013
• Demand driven• Capacity building• Training• Mentoring• Evaluation • Field agents train
farmer groups• Map and Track to
monitor training delivered
Evaluating the MEAS project Goal – Assess the
challenges and impacts of the Farmbook Suite
Research Hypotheses1. Trainers – No significant difference between the impact of extension staff trained to use Farmbook on farmer livelihood and extension staff who have not received the training2. Farmers – No significant difference in productivity between farmers who have participated in Farmbook training and farmers who have not participated in the training
Data – questionnaires, focus groups, field activity reports, review workshops
Business planning with women farmers
Preliminary results Farmbook well received by
extension agents but they are constrained by:
Lack of devices Lack of funds to bring agents
in to county capital to get phones installed and trained
Sufficient funds to cover license costs
At the sub-national level in Kenya, counties have expressed interest in using Farmbook for:
Farmer registration Service delivery tracking Developing business plans
with farmers
Extension agents with farmer group
Thank you!