THE APPROACH
How is the training conducted?
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Implementing organizations: The trainings are conducted by two highly experienced organizations in this field, Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung (HRNS) and TechnoServe.
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Project regions: Both organizations have selected their own program regions by considering the density of coffee smallholders and their knowledge level about coffee agronomy practices.
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Mobilization & training set up: With the support of the local government and village leaders, coffee farmers are informed about the program. Interested coffee farming households then form farmer groups of 20-30 people, in which the training is delivered. Each farmer group selects a leader who is responsible for the respective group.
Both programs follow their own approaches. At the same time, they do share common themes and key characteristics as outlined below:
1
Field-based, practical, and participatory
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Training sessions are held on the coffee farm.
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Farmers get to practice the skills immediately.
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Each farmer group has its own trial-/demo plot to demonstrate the effects of applying GAPs.
2
Reinforcement and repetition in line with the coffee calendar
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Trainings are held once per month
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Topics are chosen according to the coffee calendar in order to be relevant to farmers.
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Topics are repeated on a regular basis to reinforce adoption.
3
Strong involvement of the local community
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Trainers are recruited from the local community.
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They get trained on content and didactics by experienced staff.
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Trainings are backstopped by experienced agronomists to ensure quality.
What do the trainings cover?
UCAT focuses on Good Agricultural Practices and basic business skills. Both implementing partners have developed their own proprietary materials incorporating the best practices from the Robusta Coffee Handbook, developed and published by UCDA.
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The order of topics follows the coffee calendar and the specific needs of coffee trees in each crop phase. Training typically starts with rejuvenation, right after harvest.
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Trainings are based on a careful assessment of local needs. For example, fertilizer recommendations are based on a soil & leaf analysis in program regions. (Detailed results are available here.)
Some examples of the training topics taken from the Robusta Coffee Handbook.
Source: Robusta Coffee Handbook, developed and published by UCDA.