ComDev Stories

Applying Participatory Development Communication theory to impact assessment fosters active community involvement and empowerment. Shifting from top-down to bottom-up approaches, where local communities design and assess indicators using their local resources, skills, and knowledge, is vital for sustainable development. This enables them to drive decision making and effect change. This was recommended by a paper by Nguyen and colleagues, published in the Australian National University’s (AUN) The Development Bulletin. The

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is utilizing drones to revolutionize rice farming in countries in the Asia-Pacific region like India and the Philippines, reports ComDev Asia. In recent years, drone technology has garnered significant attention in the agriculture sector due to its potential to boost efficiency and productivity amidst growing challenges and threats. Drones are now being used for various critical farming tasks, including automated seeding, real-time crop health

In Upper West Ghana, Africa, farmer social groups play a crucial role in fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing among local farmers. A 2024 paper by Kwapong and colleagues highlighted how these groups, coupled with participatory video (PV), serve as effective agents for raising awareness, facilitating learning, and promoting the adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies and practices. By integrating farmers’ perspectives on CSA innovations through PV and collective knowledge-sharing, the

Participatory research approaches typically foster intrinsic motivation, but in four Tanzanian villages, innovative methods and facilitator reflexivity did not immediately yield active engagement. A study by Richardson and colleagues revealed that four years of transactional relations, where villagers were paid to participate in agricultural research for development (AR4D) projects, had created a deep-seated, problematic pattern. This pattern emerged from a setup where gatekeepers, often government workers, invited select villagers, offering

Climate change has directly affected traditional farming practices around the world. Historical rain patterns have become irregular, which has impacted planting and harvesting decisions. These complexities caused by climate change have led rural farmers in Senegal to adopt digital technologies.  In 2016, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched a project called Agricultural Services and Digital Inclusion in Africa (ASDIA). Funded through Flexible Voluntary Contribution, ASDIA

As the world modernizes, remote farmers in Nepal are also embracing technological advancements for an opportunity to improve their livelihoods.  An Interactive Voice Response (IVR) service called Suchanako Sansaar, which means ‘World of Information,’ was launched in Sukhet, Nepal. It was initiated by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in collaboration with the CGIAR and Viamo in June 2019.  This innovation is a pioneer in connecting farmers directly

The roles of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools such as radio, television, mobile phones, the Internet, and computers are gaining more recognition in Nepal’s agriculture sector.  In a study by Siggdel and colleagues (2022), almost 400 paddy farmers were interviewed about their knowledge, perception, and satisfaction on the use of ICT tools in agriculture. The study highlighted the considerable gap between the actual yield and potential yield of farmers