Identification of national partners A Core Team is formed comprising the Farmer Support Group (lead agency), MIDNET (secretariat), ARC and PELUM South Africa to implement the project activities of the PROLINNOVA South Africa initiative. On account of the limited resources for the first year, it was agreed to take KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) as first pilot area. Communication and information A summary sheet of the PROLINNOVA South Africa initiatives has been prepared to share information about the initiative with organisations involved in research and development programmes promoting local innovation. It includes basic information about the goal, objectives, progress and partners of the project. The information sheet has been put on the PROLINNOVA website and will be distributed to the collaborative partners and other organisations interested in the initiative. It also serves as an open invitation for all interested organisations to engage in and give feedback on where they have seen farmer innovation that can inform pilot studies. Training of PID facilitators Two persons, one from the secretariat office (Farmer Support Group) and another from the Farming Systems Research Unit of the KZN Department of Agriculture attended a two-week training of facilitators in Participatory Innovation Development held at IIRR in the Philippines, and will report back on their experiences.
