Approaches to Scaling

Session 9: Theme 2Boru Douthwaite

Ann Degrande

An approach that aims to:• Use collective construction of

ToC to build ownership, energy, enthusiasm in implementation

• Identify emerging innovation trajectories to stabilize and amplify as one scaling pathway

• Periodically revisit ToC to build understanding of how R4D works, in what respect, to what extent, for whom, in what context (an IPG)

• Uses this IPG to improve program implementation => second scaling pathway

Theory of change as lever of changeBoru Douthwaite, Rodrigo Paz and Marina Apgar

Farmer-to-farmer extension in Cameroon: practice, opportunities and challenges

S Tsafack, A Degrande, S Franzel and B Simpson

• F2F extension is perceived as effective, but not sufficiently known, recognised, and supported

• Challenges related to:– Lead Farmer selection– Motivating LFs– Supporting LFs technically

and logistically– Synergies with other

extension services and notably government extension

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Advantages of F2F approach

Institutional perspective

Lead farmer perspective

• No meaningful differences in terms of age of HH head, HH size, farm size, experience with farming or wealth indicators between adopters and non-adopters

• What facilitated adoption significantly: • membership in farmer organisation,

• Contact with extension services,

• Exposure to agroforestry information.

• Farmers, men and women, share knowledge with fellow farmers within and outside their village, though to different extent depending on technique

• Importance of grassroots extension mechanisms and farmer-to-farmer dissemination

WHAT DRIVES AGROFORESTRY ADOPTION IN CAMEROON?Degrande A, Chiatoh M, Nimino G, Ngaunkam P, Franzel S And Place F

Key points from discussions

Theory of Change• Learning based approaches work generally well at

community level, but how deal with wider institutional changes that are required for changes to happen?

• How to scale this up? • How to actively invest in scaling? • What is the role of platforms in this process?

Not clear how the case studies that were presented inform about scaling approaches

Key points from discussions

Farmer-to-farmer extension• F2F extension is a useful approach• General concerns about:

– its effectiveness in reaching less well-off farmers and vulnerable groups

– Its sustainability (without external support)– Motivation of and incentives to lead farmers

• F2F probably works best in a more advanced stage along the innovation trajectory. Where does this approach fit into the Humidtropics model?

Adoption

• Adoption studies have the potential to help us better design extension programmes, and henceforth scaling out and up, but to be able to do that adoption needs to be unpacked. – what are the motives behind adoption?

– is adoption genuine?

– is adoption spreading?

– are farmers recommending to others?

Key points from discussions

Key take home messages

• Session looked at emerging innovation trajectories (ToC, F2F extension, role of CBOs in disseminating agroforestry innovations); the question is how to stabilise and amplify them to become pathways to scaling

• Adoption surveys can be useful in guiding scaling-up processes if they more explicitly look at underlying innovation trajectories and try to understand adoption dynamics