Plan Your Needs Assessment and Plan for Scale
A good needs assessment identifies what matters most to farmers, what constrains them, and where realistic opportunities for improvement exist.
Keys:
- Use multiple sources of information and check what people tell you against what you observe in the field.
- Prioritize based on "Impact × Actionability"
- Impact: How important is the problem or opportunity? What are the likely benefits if it is successfully addressed?
- Actionability: Is there a practical solution that farmers can realistically access, try, and implement?
Five key steps
1. Consult: Understand the people and context
2. Review secondary data
3. Assess cropping and livestock potential.
Key: Meet with farmers and others AND visit fields.
4. Identify priorities and what is needed for success
5. Develop the plan and plan for scale.
Try the Interactive Planning Tool
Use the ASK ME checklist to help plan your program.
Keys to Success – Fact sheet
1. Consult: Understand the people and context
- Identify and talk with key farmers, key local leaders, extension workers, and other experts.
- Review findings from existing reports and assessments.
- Clearly identify your target audience. Pay attention to gender and other differences to ensure that relevant groups are considered and can benefit.
- Ask farmers about their priorities, interests, major problems, and what they would most like to change.
2. Review secondary data
- Analyze available secondary data. Fact sheet ; Activity sheet
- Review rainfall and maximum/minimum temperatures and relate them to the crop and livestock calendar;
- Collect soil and land-use maps, where available. Consider:
- Field and farmer surveys
- Land use and vegetation
- Important soil characteristics such as pH, EC, texture and soil depth
- Satellite imagery and tools such as Google Earth where useful
- Note topography, infrastructure, and access.
- Identify important water sources and constraints, including rainfall, groundwater, rivers, lakes, and irrigation.
3. Assess cropping and Livestock potential.
Validate interview responses with field observations, and field observations with farmers.
Meet with farmers and others and visit fields, considering:
Crops
- Determine what is presently growing in the region.
- Assess the "health" of surrounding vegetation - it gives an indication of soils, weather, and potential productivity,
- Develop a cropping calendar (planting and harvest times) for existing crops.
- Crop Variety
- Seed/seedling source
- Crop rotation and field conditions (e.g., residue)
- Land preparation
- Crop establishment
- Fertilizer/nutrient management
- Pests and pest control (weeds, insects, diseases, other)
- Water management (measure EC, if salinity suspected)
- Postharvest practices (harvest, drying, storage, transport, processing)
- Markets and market access
- Inputs, finance and labor: needs and availability
- Access to services
- Sources of knowledge and advice
- What farmers are interested in changing
- Note: When asking about practices, identify who (male/female adults, children) does what and who makes decisions.
Livestock
- Livestock species and production systems
- Breeds
- Feed availability, quality and nutrition
- Water
- Animal health and disease
- Reproduction and young-stock management
- Housing, hygiene and animal comfort
- Markets and market access
- Inputs, finance and labor: needs and availability
- Access to services
- Sources of knowledge and advice
- What farmers are interested in changing
- Note: When asking about practices, identify who (male, female adults, children) does what and who makes the decisions.
4. Identify priorities and what is needed for success
Avoid trying to address everything. Identify the few problems and opportunities where improvement could make the greatest difference and where practical solutions are possible.
"Prioritize on Impact × Actionability (see Keys above)."
Consider:
- Priorities and true cause. Identify priority needs and opportunities, and ensure you are addressing the true cause of the major problems.
- Farmer interest. Do farmers see this as important and want to change it?
- Practical solutions. Are there proven, practical, and locally appropriate options?
- What is needed. What information, inputs, finance, and services are required for farmers to act?
- System context. Can markets, institutions, and delivery systems provide the needed incentives and support? Fact sheet ; Activity sheet
- Skills needed. What technical, communication, and organizational skills are required for success? Fact sheet
Successful extension requires:
- Sound technical knowledge
- Good communication skills
- Effective institutional support and market linkages
5. Develop the plan and plan for scale.
Turn the priorities identified into a practical plan. Plan for scale from the beginning.
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