Learning objective
At the end of this session, the participants should be capable of developing an action plan for addressing LSB weaknesses.
Participatory action planning enhances ownership and commitment of group members and other stakeholders in addressing the bottlenecks affecting a particular LSB.
An action plan for one of the LSBs in South Western Uganda developed through a participatory process.
Content
The LSB concept is broad, focusing on four key building blocks (as highlighted in session 1.2.2) with nine success factors (as described 1.3.2). It is not possible to work on all the nine success factors at a go. Action planning then becomes critical in this situation. Action planning is intended to translate the intervention strategies into concrete activities, targets and timeframes and assigning roles and responsibilities to stakeholders. Action planning is also intended to identify the relevant and interested partners that will jointly address the bottlenecks faced by the LSBs. It is at this point that partners make commitments to jointly work together to support the development of the farmer groups into viable local seed businesses. It is also important to note that the diagnostic survey is the basis for the development of the action plan.
The diagnostic survey reveals which aspects need to be strengthened in each farmer group, and will direct the design of intervention strategies. Note that these strategies will differ from one farmer group to another. it is also important to note that action planning is done at two levels, first at the start, immediately after recruiting the groups (as described in this session) and then, seasonally. Seasonal action plans are basically conducted at the start of every production season to prepare the farmer groups for the new season. Discussions on what well in the previous season (production & sales), the challenges experienced and the lessons learned are shared and strategies for improvement proposed. Typical activities conducted during the pre-season planning meeting include yield assessment from on-farm demos, profitability analysis, seed sampling, foundation seed procurement for the next season, etc.
Why do we need partners?
As mentioned above, the LSB concept is broad and requires joint efforts to effectively support the local seed businesses. Partnerships are particularly important for sustainability services to the local seed businesses. For example, a programme/project may be designed with a specific timeframe, say 4 years. LSBs may still need support even after the four years, for example, extension services, among others. Therefore linking the farmer groups to relevant stakeholders (especially government agencies and private sector) that offer assorted services would be critical for sustainability.
Which partners and why do we involve them in the planning?
For the action planning exercise, it is important to identify and invite local partners that are closely working with the farmer group. Identification of the partners is done during the group selection (session 1.3.1) or during the diagnostic survey (section 1.3.2). We need to involve the partners in action planning to get their commitment to work together. Joint/participatory action planning also helps the partners to integrate the capacity development activities of the LSB into their work plans. The commitments are affirmed by signing the partnership agreements (Annex 4).
The first step is to share the results of the diagnostic survey (as described under session 1.3.2) with the farmer groups and their local and regional partners. The presentation should clearly highlight what is going well and the bottlenecks faced by the farmer group per critical success factor (CSF).
The second step is to validate the challenges/bottlenecks through plenary discussions. This step is meant to accommodate any other emerging issues and also to update/validate the challenges/bottlenecks in the presence of all the stakeholders. This step is very critical because not all the stakeholders or group members of the farmer group may have participated in the diagnostic survey.
The third step is to prioritize the bottlenecks. Here all the bottlenecks are written down on flip charts and participants are allowed to prioritize the key ones. This can be done in plenary or group discussions or by ballot (voting) using coloured cards.
The fourth step is to develop a comprehensive action plan with concrete activities, targets and timeframes. For each action, outline specific activities to be undertaken and the responsible/lead persons. If an organization/stakeholder is working with several farmer groups/LSBs, then the action plans from the individual groups should be harmonized with the organization’s other activities to develop a general capacity development plan.
The fifth and last step is signing of the partnership agreement. The roles of the partners are defined, discussed and clarified during action planning. The partnership agreement is then drafted and signing can be done during the subsequent meetings. An example of a partnership agreement is shown in Annex 4.
An example of an action plan for one of the LSBs supported by the ISSD Programme
Key issue/actions Time of implementatio n
Responsible Implementing partner
1 Training in seed quality control
May, 2013 ISSD Seed Expert; ISQCC NAADS/CDO, UCA, SG2000
2 Creating linkage with foundation seed sources
June, 2013 ISSD Seed Expert; ISQCC NARO, UCA 3 Coaching and
supervision of seed production
July-Dec, 2013 ISSD Seed Expert/ ISQCC NAADS, NARO/ZARDI, SG2000, Seed Companies 4 Leadership/organization al development training May, 2013 LSB Executive Committee/ISSD Seed Expert + Agribusiness Expert
NAADS, CDO, UCA, SG2000
5 Business planning April-May, 2013 LSB Executive committee/ISSD
Agribusiness Expert
NAADS, DCO
6 Financial management Jan-March, 2014
ISSD Agribusiness Expert/LSB Finance committee
Twekambe SACCO, COSIL
7 Market research and analysis
Aug-Sept, 2013 ISSD Agribusiness Expert/LSB marketing committee
SG2000, NAADS, UCA
8 Promotion and customer feedback mechanisms
Feb-April, 2014 ISSD Agribusiness Expert/LSB marketing committee
Please note that the implementing partners should work closely with the responsible persons in organizing/preparing for the training sessions with the farmer group. The responsible persons mostly play a coordinating role. Actual implementation is done with the implementing partners.
Training methods
Action planning should be organized at the premises of the farmer group. It is undertaken through a meeting between the farmer group and the relevant partners as specified in the sections above. The meeting should flow as illustrated in figure 2.
Task 1: Present the results of the diagnostic survey focusing on what is going well and the bottlenecks per success factor using a PowerPoint presentation. Or simply write them down on flip charts prepared in advance by the facilitator.
Task 2: After the presentation, make the participants sit in a mix of stakeholders. Make at least 3 sub-groups depending on the size of the audience.
Task 3: Participants should reflect on the presentation through a Q&A session. This session is meant to validate the findings of the results of the diagnostic survey.
Q: What is going well with respect to the CSFs?
Q: Basing on the presentation, do you confirm that these are the bottlenecks you are facing?
Q: Of these, what are the main challenges? Ask participants to analyse the challenges and prioritize at least 5 key ones. Please remember, it is impossible to address all the challenges at a go.
Q: What can you do yourselves to address these bottlenecks? Ask participants to propose at least two interventions per bottleneck.
Fig.: Overall process leading to a matrix with possible actions
Please note that step 3 and 4 may be combined if the audience is small. However, if the audience is big and sufficient grouping can be done, then the group presentations can be done through World Café.
Materials
Flip charts, markers, coloured cards, pencils
Notes to facilitator:
Make sure that all the stakeholders closely working with the farmer group as specified in the diagnostic survey are present during the action planning.
Present the positive points from the diagnostic survey first.
If you are using flip charts, summarize the diagnostic survey results in advance of the meeting/workshop
Resources:
Diagnostic survey report of the farmer group. General introduction to the LSB concept & Objectives of the meeting
Presentation of diagnostic survey results of the farmer groups (focus on good practices & challenges.)
Group discussions to
validate the bottlenecks & to identify
any other emerging issues
Sharing of results with all in plenary
Prioritization of the bottlenecks using flip charts & voting
Plenary presentations and development of an action plan with concrete activities, targets & time frames.