Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research

Agricultural Extension Research

Guidelines
On-farm demonstration and Popularization
research proposal
(based on the Institute's Guideline)

April 2017
Addis Ababa

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Contents
1. Purpose of the Guidelines ..................................................................................................................... 3
2. Working Definitions ............................................................................................................................. 3
2.1. Pre-extension Demonstration ....................................................................................................... 3
2.2. Popularization/Popularization ....................................................................................................... 4
2.3. The Minimum Area....................................................................................................................... 5
2.4. Clustering Farm or Village ........................................................................................................... 6
3. Details of Pre-extension demonstration research proposal template ................................................... 7
3.1. Title ........................................................................................................................................... 7
3.2. Background and Justification .................................................................................................... 7
3.3. Objectives ................................................................................................................................. 7
3.4. Methodology (Materials and Methods)..................................................................................... 8
3.5. Location and Farmers selection .............................................................................................. 10
3.6. Duration .................................................................................................................................. 10
3.7. Work plan................................................................................................................................ 11
3.8. Budget by code........................................................................................................................ 11
3.9. Expected output....................................................................................................................... 11
3.10. Responsibility: .................................................................................................................... 11
3.11. Monitoring and evaluation Matrix ...................................................................................... 11
3.12. Reference ............................................................................................................................ 12
4. Details for Popularization research proposal template........................................................................ 13
4.1. Title ......................................................................................................................................... 13
4.2. Background and justification .................................................................................................. 13
4.3. Objectives ............................................................................................................................... 13
4.4. Methodology (Materials and methods) ................................................................................... 14
4.5. Location and farmers selection ............................................................................................... 15
4.6. Duration .................................................................................................................................. 16
4.7. Work plan................................................................................................................................ 16
4.8. Budget by code........................................................................................................................ 16
4.9. Expected output....................................................................................................................... 16
4.10. Responsibility ..................................................................................................................... 16
4.11. Monitoring and evaluation matrix....................................................................................... 17
4.12. Reference ............................................................................................................................ 17

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1. Purpose of the Guidelines

 The purpose of this guidelines is to provide simple guide for agricultural extension
researchers to design pre-extension demonstrations and popularization of research
proposals/activities. In so doing, agricultural extension researchers demonstrate the
required skills in developing fundable projects and standard research proposals.

2. Working Definitions
2.1.Pre-extension Demonstration

 Agricultural Technology Demonstration and popularization is the key strategy to promote

and scale up new technologies in the research system. On-farm demonstrations give us
opportunity to work with farmers and frontline extension workers to get feedback on
technologies and also the easiest mechanism to develop confidence and create effective
demand for new technologies.
 The term 'Pre-extension demonstration' is used in the research system to indicate that it is
the first stage of the extension phase where newly recommended agricultural
technologies are demonstrated to the farmers for their technical and economic viability so
that it will further enhance the rapid diffusion and adoption of the new technologies in a
wider areas. Pre-extension demonstration is normally carried out in a specific location for
a period of 1 to 2 cropping seasons depending on the uptake and nature of the
technologies
 Even though demonstrations are powerful mechanisms its variability in application in
EIAR by different processes entails the need to establish a standard design to be
followed. Considering demonstrations take different forms and uses different methods
we have designed a common working modality in EIAR so that we can communicate
easily and set standard of planning. Except for the agronomic technology
demonstrations, we need not have a control or farmers plot/practices.

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  For the purpose of this based on our own long experiences working with different
technologies and agro ecologies and some literature we have proposed a design and
standard of demonstration activities by number of districts to be addressed and number of
demonstration site as well as the size of the demonstration area.
 Each demonstration plot cannot be less than 0.25ha in open fields. For some
technologies like horticulture and in some fragmented land ownership areas we have to
cluster adjacent farms to maintain the minimum.

Table 1: Types of technologies and area coverage

s/n Type of Crop Minimum No. No. of Demonstration Total area to

of districts sites per district be covered
1 Cereals and forages 6 15 22.5
2 Pulses and Oil seeds 4 10 10
3 Spices and herbs 3 6 4.5
4 Fruits 2 6 3
5 Vegetables (onion, Garlic, 3 4 3
tomato, Cabbage etc…
Note: based on experience of EIAR previous interventions.

 Based on the number of participating farmers, the necessary amount of inputs will be
prepared and delivered to the target host farmers. Here, the participating farmers will
receive the technology on a revolving scheme basis so that more farmers are further
reached with the new technology. For instance, for crop varieties, the research will
provide the initial seed while the participating farmers will manage to handle other
necessary inputs for effective implementation of the demonstration. Hence, the
demonstration activities are also meant to serve for technology multiplication. Prior to the
actual implementation of the demonstrations, farmers and other stakeholders will be
given training on the characteristics and management aspects of the new technology.

2.2. Popularization/Popularization
 The phrase ‘popularization’ is coined to identify selective and integrated technology
promotion business approach spear-headed by research institution. Ethiopian Institute of

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 Agricultural research has shaped this term to represent a strategic approach that helps to
push best technologies for market oriented production system.
 Usually, popularization is implemented on relatively medium scale after technologies
prove their performance under demonstration. The main goal is to sort out the ideal
pathways (models) that can widen the reach and impact of the technology. Popularization
requires engagement of a number of potential actors who could be categorized as partners
(those who work on the premise of mutual benefit); stakeholders (those who claim to
have a stake in the process) and customers (users) of product and services. It is followed
by large scale dissemination and commercialization of those technologies, often
implemented by extension offices and industry actors.

In the agricultural research system in general, and in this document in particular, 'popularization'
is defined as a process of modeling pathways for scaling up and commercialization of modern
production technologies to pave the path for impact. Thus, its main target is identifying and
testing pragmatic working models (institutional arrangement) by which potential crop
technologies go to wider scale. Popularization business fit-in the technology generation and
promotion continuum. It overlaps marginally with the on-farm1demonstration-as it is expected to
have larger spill-over effect-and sufficiently push the scaling up business- as full scale can take
over even before the task of popularization is over.

2.3. The Minimum Area

The coverage is determined based on resources, nature of the technology and potential for
demonstrating the maximum result of the joint effort. It is attempted to provide an indicative
number for the coverage which can be reasonably modified (up/down) based on the agreement of
the actors involved. It is important to note here that the plan is designed in view of a particular
research center which would lead the process.

Table 2: Types of Technologies and area coverage

Type of crop Number of Minimum number of Minimum number of
target Districts/clusters directly participating
technologies Farmers/producers

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Annual 1 5 5000
Perennial(horticulture) 1 3 500
Note:
 this is prepared based on the availability of a minimum of one proven technology
 40 % women farmers and youth participation is expected and number can be adjusted
based on agreement on planning workshop
 Districts will be identified based on recommendation domain

2.4. Clustering Farm or Village

This is to create specialization based production and basis for out grower scheme and
commercialization. It is preferable to work with farmers whose plots are adjacent to one another.
Depending on the technology and feasibility a cluster may be as big as 5-10 hectares of land. The
objective reality on the ground can also dictate the size of land for a cluster.

In general, the main purpose of both activities is to show under farmers conditions that the
recommended technologies are superior to the local practices so that farmers’ awareness and
wider technology adoption will be increased and the interface between technology utilization and
commercialization will be created. In order to increase the awareness and adoption of improved
agricultural technologies by smallholder farmers and improve their livelihoods, the Directorate
of Technology Transfer and Commercialization will implement pre-extension demonstration and
popularization/scaling up of technologies (crop, livestock and forage, natural resource
management and irrigation, farm mechanization, food science, etc). The activities will be
implemented after approval by each respective center, and followed by endorsement at the
annual national research review. Each research activity should be based on the demand obtained
from the Agricultural Development Partners Linkage Advisory Council (ADPLAC) and specific
farmers, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists needs of the respective research center.

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3. Details of Pre-extension demonstration research proposal template

3.1. Title
Title should be brief, short and catchy. Avoid details on title such as through…..

3.2. Background and Justification

 Brief background and overview of the activity/project and existing trends,
 Introduce the need for the activity/project and explain why it is a necessity.
 How important is that crop/enterprise in that particular agro-ecology and farming system
 The perceived production problems or gaps which are supposed to be tackled through
demonstration
 The relative advantage (in terms of yield, market value or other benefits) of the proposed
technology as compared to the already existing ones
 Provide references to research, statistics, previous projects or other documentation to
support the need for the project.
 Clearly indicate the gaps the research intends to fill in.

3.3. Objectives
 State the proposed purpose of the project in clear and measurable terms that can be
achieved by the proposed activity/intervention;
 Each objective is usually related to a need identified in the introduction section, activities
in the methodology section and activities in the evaluation section;
 Preferably, have at least one production and one learning objectives;
o Production objectives are related to economic terms like yield, income, reduce
post-harvest loss, productivity, etc;
o Learning objectives are related to farmers learning or change in behavior
(knowledge, skills and attitude) as a result of using extension methods and
approaches such as awareness creation and attitude change, improve knowledge
and skills; attitude change

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  The following objectives can commonly be used for on-farm demonstration activities.
But, this does not mean that these are the only ones.
 To evaluate yield performance and socio-economic feasibility of the technology
under farmers’ management
 To create awareness on the availability and importance of the technology
 To improve yield of maize/sorghum from xxx to xxx kg using improved management
practices
 To enhance farmers’ knowledge and skill of application/use of the technology

3.4. Methodology (Materials and Methods)

 Clearly indicate methods and approach for both production and learning objectives;
 Describe why the proposed method is more useful than others, and describe the chosen
method in detail.
 Describe specific activities and action steps that will be used to achieve the objectives.
 The methodology part should at least constitute the following sub headings under it. Each
sub headings should be well described.

Research design (includes number of treatments, number of replications and plot size)

 Treatments: At least two treatments; the improved practice/technology and the

local/standard check.
 Replications: At least three or four demonstration plots per location (village). There
should be sufficient demonstration fields per village to create wider awareness and
demand as well as to conduct location specific statistical analysis as required
 Plot size: Minimum of 0.25 ha. But, the size could vary depending on availability of land
and nature of the technology.

Extension Research approach to be used

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 (This refers to participatory mechanisms such as Innovation platforms (IPs) and Farmers’
research groups (FRGs) approaches used to enhance stakeholders’ engagement in problem
identification, joint planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Technology evaluation and demonstration methods/techniques፡ This is all about how the
entire demonstration activities are going to be managed including demonstration
techniques/approach to be used and procedures to be followed in demonstrating the technology
to farmers);

Partnership arrangement፡ role of different stakeholders in technology demonstration and modality

for partnership;

Trainings of farmers and other stakeholders፡ number of trainings to be given, number and diversity
of participants, topics/areas on which trainings are going to be given etc;

Field visits/tours and field days፡ When to conduct field visits/field days, participants etc.

Types and methods of Data collection: all forms of data including yield, social and economic data
should be considered (qualitative and quantitative methods)

Methods of data collection

 Appropriate method/s of data collection should be selected and described in view of the
objectives. The following are some of data collection methods:
 Observation: gathering primary data by investigator’s own direct field
observation/measurements;
 Household interview;
 Participatory data collection methods including Focused group discussion (FGD), Key
Informants interview,
 Knowledge and attitude test: It is a technique used to measure change in knowledge and
attitude using knowledge and attitude test Likert scale;

Data types

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  Yield data (Yield measurement, post-harvest loss estimation)
 Economic return/profitability
 Total number of farmers participated in training, field visits and field days by gender
 Numbers of farmers become aware of the availability and importance of the technology
by gender
 Role of farmers and other stakeholders in technology demonstration
 Change in level of knowledge and skill of farmers
 Farmers’ opinion/feedbacks

Method of data analysis (qualitative and quantitative)

 Statistical tools/techniques: Simple descriptive statistics, T-test, ANOVA etc..

 Econometric tools/techniques: Partial budget analysis, marginal rate of return (MRR)
etc…

3.5. Location and Farmers selection

Description of the study area (general description of the study area.

Site and farmers’ selection

Include criteria used to select demonstration sites and participant farmers, FRG
establishment. Consider the following during site selection and farmers selection:
 Representativeness of the field in terms of location, soil type, accessibility for more
farmers to visit demonstration plots
 Number of sites/locations (districts, PAs, villages and farms): Select adequate number of
PAs, villages and farms
 Use of FTCs as one demonstration site

3.6. Duration
 Under normal condition a technology can be demonstrated only once. Because we can change
hosting farmers situation and also get seasonality difference we have to plan for two years and
/or two seasons.

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 3.7. Work plan
 provide major activities under each milestones with time.

3.8. Budget by code

 Provide budget details and breakdown with codes.

3.9. Expected output

 Clearly indicate the products or deliverables at the end of the project/activity in a
measurable terms.
The expected out puts of demonstration activities can be expressed in terms of:
 Technology/variety recommendation (Improved variety/technology recommended for
wider scaling up)
 Feedbacks for future technology generation/improvement
 Number of farmers reached through demonstration e.g. 30 farmers will be reached
through demonstration
 Number of farmers attended demonstration e.g. 150 farmers is expected to attend
demonstration
 Number of farmers participated in training and field days
 Number of farmers who become aware of the availability and importance of the
technology
 Improved knowledge and skill of farmers

3.10. Responsibility:
 Name of research center
 Initiator:
 Responsible persons

3.11. Monitoring and evaluation Matrix

 Provide details on how the organization and the funding source will determine whether
the project has accomplished its objectives;

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  List the type of evaluation information to be collected, how it will be analyzed, and a plan
for its dissemination and use.

3.12. Reference
 If it is not stated use Harvard referencing Style

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4. Details for Popularization research proposal template

4.1. Title
Title should be brief, short and catchy. Avoid details on title such as through…..

4.2. Background and justification

 Brief background and overview of the activity/project and existing trends,
 Introduce the need for the activity/project and explain why it is a necessity.
 How important is that crop/enterprise in that particular agro-ecology and farming system
 The perceived production problems or gaps which are supposed to be tackled through
popularization intervention;
 Performance of the technology in terms of yield, disease/pest resistance, market value
and farmers’ preference under pre-extension demonstration.
 Clearly indicate the gaps and opportunities (institutional, value addition, seed/technology
multiplication, marketing, networking, capacity building, etc) that the research intends to
fill in during popularization.

4.3. Objectives
 State the proposed purpose of the project in clear and measurable terms that can be
achieved by the proposed activity/intervention;
 Each objective is usually related to a need identified in the introduction section, activities
in the methodology section and activities in the evaluation section;
 Preferably, have at least one production and one learning objectives;
o Production objectives are related to economic terms like yield, income, reduce
post-harvest loss, productivity, etc;
o Learning objectives are related to farmers learning or change in behavior
(knowledge, skills and attitude) as a result of using extension methods and
approaches such as awareness creation and attitude change, improve knowledge
and skills; attitude change

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  The following objectives can commonly be used for on-farm demonstration activities.
But, this does not mean that these are the only ones.
 To create wider demand pull by reaching large number of users over relatively
wider geographical area
 To enhance institutional and functional linkages with key players through joint
actions and performances
 To improve farmers’ knowledge and skill of application of the improved
technology
 To identify key bottlenecks of wider dissemination of technology

4.4. Methodology (Materials and methods)

 Clearly indicate methods and approach for both production and learning objectives;
 Describe why the proposed method is more useful than others, and describe the chosen
method in detail.
 Describe specific activities and action steps that will be used to achieve the objectives.
 The methodology part should at least constitute the following sub headings under it. Each
sub headings should be well described.

4.1 Technology dissemination methods/approaches (This is all about technology dissemination

models/approaches/pathways used and procedures followed including establishment of
Innovation Platforms (IPs), capacity building, partnership arrangement, joint planning,
implementation, M&E etc…).

4.2 Types and methods of data collection: all forms of data including yield, social and economic
data should be considered (qualitative and quantitative methods)
4.2.1 Methods of data collection
Appropriate method/s of data collection should be selected and described in view of the
objectives. The following are some of data collection methods:
 Observation: gathering primary data by investigator’s own direct field
observation/measurements;

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 Individual interview;
 Participatory data collection methods including Focused group discussion (FGD), Key
Informants interview,
 Knowledge and attitude test: It is a technique used to measure change in knowledge and
attitude using knowledge and attitude test Likert scale;
 Etc
4.2.2 Data types
 Yield data (Yield measurement, post-harvest loss estimation)
 Economic return/profitability (Income from adoption of the technology)
 Total number of farmers participated in training, field visits and field days by gender
 Numbers of farmers become aware of the availability and importance of the technology
by gender
 Role of farmers and other stakeholders in technology demonstration
 Change in level of knowledge and skill of farmers
 Farmers’ opinion/perception
4.3 Method of data analysis (qualitative and quantitative)
 Statistical tools/techniques: Simple descriptive statistics, T-test, ANOVA etc..
 Econometric tools/techniques: Partial budget analysis, marginal rate of return (MRR)
etc…

4.5. Location and farmers selection

5.1 Description of the study area (general description of the study area).
5.2 Site and farmers’ selection
Consider the following in site and farmers selection:
5.2.1 Site selection
 Representativeness: the site should be representative of the recommendation domain
 Field conditions: Previous history of the field, Soil type, fertility status, weed, slope etc…
 Accessibility for farmers to visit the field
 Plot size: Minimum of 0.5 ha. But, plot size could vary depending on availability of land
and nature of the technology

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5.2.2 Farmers’ selection
• Select volunteer farmers: Farmers who are volunteer are more likely to be enthusiastic
and successful in their activity
• Representativeness: Popularization work best when the farmer is representative of the
farmers you are trying to reach.
• Gender consideration: Make sure that women and youth are well considered in
selection of participant farmers. The women and youth should constitute at least 30% of
the participants of popularization business.
• Clustering of farmers: Working with clustered farmers is good to show the impact
brought about by the technology. This will also help us to establish model research
technology village.

4.6. Duration
Plan for three years.

4.7. Work plan

provide major activities under each milestones with time.

4.8. Budget by code

 Provide budget details and breakdown with codes

4.9. Expected output

• Clearly indicate the products or deliverables at the end of the project/activity in a
measurable terms.
The expected out puts of popularization activities can be expressed in terms of:
 Number of farmers reached through popularization
 Improved knowledge and skill of farmers
 Number of farmers trained
 Number of farmers participated in field days
 Lessons/experiences documented

4.10. Responsibility
 Name of research center

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  Initiator:
 Responsible persons

4.11. Monitoring and evaluation matrix

• Provide details on how the organization and the funding source will determine whether
the project has accomplished its objectives;
• List the type of evaluation information to be collected, how it will be analyzed, and a plan
for its dissemination and use.

4.12. Reference
 If it is not stated use Harvard referencing Style

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