Immediately after attending the Tropentag 2022 conference in Prague, Czech Republic, three Prolinnova–Kenya (PK) partners travelled to Radebeul near Dresden, Germany, to join a weekend workshop of Agrecol Association for AgriCulture & Ecology. These were Rebecca Dero, farmer innovator from Kisimu County; Vincent Mariadho, PK coordinator, at World Neighbors, Nairobi; and Hussein Wario, Director of CRDD (Centre for Research & Development in Drylands), Marsabit.
Prolinnova-Kenya guests at Agrecol workshop in Radebeul Family Centre near Dresden, Germany (Photo: Lorenz Bachmann)
The workshop focused on Prolinnova, its approach to participatory innovation development (PID) and its experiences in integrating PID into mainstream agricultural research, advisory services and higher education. It gave Agrecol members and guests a chance to learn about the history and development of the network and to become particularly acquainted with the network, especially in Kenya. A 15-minute film introduced PK’s work; there followed an interview with Rebecca, which was documented in a 23-minute film. Vincent and Hussein then gave presentations about how PK partners are identifying, documenting and sharing local innovations and facilitating and upscaling farmer-led PID processes. In addition, Fanos Mekonnen, a member of the Prolinnova International Support Team, presented a tool she co-developed for assessing the extent to which PID has been integrated into the regular work of government advisory services.
The workshop also gave the Kenyan guests a chance to learn more about Agrecol Association, the Northern Focal Point of the international Prolinnova network. The participants discussed how Agrecol and the wider Prolinnova network could collaborate in promoting the PID approach. A 41-page report on the workshop, including several photos, the Prolinnova timeline 1999-2022 and the PPTs of the presentations can be found here.
Rebecca, Hussein, Jochen, Vincent, Fanos & Ann in Radebeul (Photo: Christine Martins)
During the workshop, the participants made a tour of a vineyard in Radebeul, including wine tasting. After the workshop, Rebecca, Vincent and Hussein – accompanied by Agrecol members Ann Waters-Bayer, Lorenz Bachmann and Susanne Hofmann-Souki – visited three organic farms in the Dresden area: Vorwerk Podemus, Johannishoehe and a small biodynamic vineyard Stenzel in Radebeul itself. A short report on the Kenyans visit to Johannishoehe, written by Milana Müller, can be found here.
Milana, Rebecca, Vincent & Hussein in Johannishöhe (Photo: Lorenz Bachmann)
