Local farmer organizations, partners for reinforcing technical dialogue? An experience in cattle-rearing in Morocco

Abstract

Social networks in which farmers are involved play an important role for the improvement of knowledge and practices. However, approaches for farmer capacity-building face difficulties taking them into account due to their informal nature. Organizing such approaches in partnership with farmer organizations existing at the community level could make it possible to take such networks into account, and could also allow farmers to take part in decision-making regarding the implementation of such approaches. Such an approach was tested in partnership with a milk collection cooperative in the Gharb region in Morocco, after an initial analysis of the dialogue networks regarding cattle rearing in which cooperative members were involved. A research team organized a series of workshops on cattle rearing, which gathered cooperative members and specialists of this issue. Specific attention was paid to building a relationship of trust between breeders and specialists, which facilitated the sharing of knowledge. The majority of farmers acknowledged by fellow cooperative members as resource people on cattle rearing at the community level were present in the workshops. Moreover, farmers discussed at length the knowledge shared during the workshops in local discussion places. Both farmers present at the workshops and absent shared the knowledge gained during the workshops. Local farmer organizations, which are often created for service provision, may thus become a space for both organizational and technical learning.