Prolinnova–Cameroon has started a new project funded by Misereor, Germany: “Promoting farmer innovation and participatory approaches in development processes in agricultural value chains and adaptation to change for small-scale producers” (PIPA-DAC). The overall aim is to contribute to innovation development by small-scale farmers in the Central Region of Cameroon while improving the farmers’ access to basic services.
The project has three specific objectives:
- To promote the process of identifying farmers’ innovations and facilitate access to basic services of the projects and programmes implemented by the government for 144 representatives of producer organisations, women’s associations and young small-scale farmers from nine departments in the Centre Region
- To build capacities of 60 small-scale producers to enable their effective and inclusive participation in joint research processes and the Local Innovation Support Facility (LISF)
- To document results of joint research processes, support facilities for farmer innovation and organise the process of farmers’ sharing innovations with other small-scale producers in the locality and elsewhere.
This 3-year project (1 Nov 2022 – 31 Oct 2025) involves primarily COSADER (NGO Collective for Rural Development and Food Security) – the host organisation of Prolinnova–Cameroon – and the partners IRAD (National Institute for Agricultural Research and Development) and ODECO (Organization for Development of Study, Training and Advisory Services). It is working with farmers and government agricultural services in nine divisions in Cameroon’s Centre Region. Other institutes of research and education and local councils will be associated, depending on their proximity to the local innovators. Small inception workshops with stakeholders in each of the divisions will start in January 2023.
Prolinnova–Cameroon will seek to communicate frequently with the other Prolinnova CPs in Africa, for sharing and mutual learning about integration of PID into government research and advisory services, even though the budget for this particular project does not include any funding for this purpose.
