Paper long abstract:

Ghanaian organisations involved in agricultural extension, research and education (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System - AKIS) have reportedly weak inter-organisational linkages, and this limits their capacity to respond to new challenges. In this context, this article investigates the contribution of two Social Media (SM) platforms to facilitating open information sharing and interaction amidst the emergence of a new pest, the fall armyworm. Using a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods, we analysed the types of contents that were exchanged on the platforms, the characteristics of the networks in terms of the involvement of different actors in sending and receiving messages, and how such interaction patterns were influenced by social relations, self-representational interests and organisational set-ups and rules. The results indicate that both SM platforms are characterised by relatively centralised network and communication structures, suggesting that participation in especially sending messages is non-egalitarian. Such structural features are not very conducive to more complex knowledge processes such as knowledge integration and for joint problem solving. In line with this, the analysis of the actual knowledge processes taking place demonstrated that the platforms were used more for knowledge and information dissemination as well as for the distribution of notifications in support of organisational coordination. Moreover, our investigations suggest that social hierarchies, organisational rules and tactics related to identity management markedly influenced these patterns of interaction and posed constraints to open knowledge and information sharing. Nevertheless, the platforms play meaningful roles in supporting coordination of activities and information dissemination, and are likely to generate useful input for knowledge integration and collaborative problem solving in complementary face-to-face settings.

Paper long abstract:

Background: Malaria control remains a challenge globally and in malaria-endemic countries in particular. Much efforts are required to control the disease, and engagement of citizens in malaria prevention and control interventions have been encouraged by the World Health Organization. There is however a lack of understanding of how citizens can be engaged and what could be the effect of that engagement on malaria control and elimination. With this background, a citizen science program has been set up to improve malaria control in Rwanda. Citizens are involved in collecting mosquito species and reporting mosquito nuisance. However, apart from reporting citizen science data, it is still unclear what people benefit from such a citizen science program. Therefore, we analysed how those directly involved in the program (here called volunteers) and those not involved (here called non-volunteers) benefited from such program.

Methods: This study employed a mixed-methods approach using dissemination workshops, a survey, and village meetings as the main data collection methods. Dissemination workshops and village meetings involved 112 volunteers of the citizen science program and were conducted to explore: 1) the benefits of being involved in the program and 2) different ways used to share malaria-related information to non-volunteers. The survey involved 328 people (110 volunteers and 218 non-volunteers) and was used to compare differences in malaria-related perceptions and behaviour over time ( between 2017 and 2019), as well as between volunteers and non-volunteers.

Results: Malaria-related perceptions and behaviour changed significantly over time (between 2017 and 2019). When the findings were compared between volunteers and non-volunteers, for perceptions, only perceived self-efficacy showed a significant difference between these two groups. However, it was apparent that volunteers interact with others and participate in malaria-related collective activities more than non-volunteers. Both volunteers and non-volunteers gained knowledge and skills about the use of malaria control measures in general and mosquito species in particular among volunteers.

Conclusion: The reported knowledge and skills among non-volunteers shows the diffusion of citizen science program-related information in the community. Consequently, this shows that a CSP has the potential to not only engage those who are directly involved in the collection and submission of citizen science data but also may result in collective action to improve community health.

Paper long abstract:

Despite a rapid dispersal of air-borne crop disease pathogens such as Phytophthora infestans of late blight and farmers' interdependency in managing it, traditional literature in the field of crop protection, pathology or agricultural extension and communication tends to frame such diseases and its management as a problem of the individual farmer. This study appreciates late blight as a collective action problem whose management requires a corresponding re-configuration in information sharing and communicative practices. We employ a framed field game experiment with a mixed quantitative and qualitative method to explore how and to what extent different types and combinations of communicative interventions affect collective action in the management of the disease among farmers in Ethiopia. Interestingly, our quantitative findings revealed that the provision of technical information about interdependency involved in the management of the disease, and monitoring information about the management practices of other farmers negatively affected collective action. However, collective action performance significantly improved when farmers were given the opportunity to interactively communicate about their management strategies. Further qualitative investigation sheds light on how farmers used and made sense of the different communicative interventions to inform and adjust their individual decisions, coordinate collective strategies, pressure free-riders and develop a shared identity. It is concluded that interventions that mainly promote the provision of technical and social information can be counterproductive in managing collective action problems such as late blight unless it is complemented with interactive communication and deliberation processes.

Paper long abstract:

Collective action is required to deal with various complex agricultural problems such as invasive weeds and plant diseases that pose a collective risk to farmers. Monitoring systems could help to stimulate collective action and avoid free-riding. The paper develops a novel framework consisting of essential elements of a monitoring system for managing a complex disease like bacterial wilt in potato crops. The framework is used to explore how seed potato cooperatives in Ethiopia operationalised the essential elements of a monitoring system and identifies which challenges remain to be overcome. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, reflective workshops, participant observation, and document analysis. We found that the cooperatives had organized a self-monitoring system to monitor disease occurrence and disease management practices of their members. Monitoring committees were in charge of the data collection and enforcement of sanctions on farmers who did not adhere to the cooperatives' bylaws. Both farmers and monitoring committee members have benefitted from new opportunities created by the widespread availability of mobile phones. The main challenges included dependency on visual observation, which does not disclose latent infections, limited financial incentives for the monitoring committee members, lack of trust, weak peer monitoring, and social and ecological interdependency between producers of ware and seed potatoes. Suggestions are provided to strengthen the monitoring systems of farmers' cooperatives.

Paper long abstract:

Nowadays, infectious diseases, in humans, animals, or plants, are among the most challenging public bad problems. Favourable conditions for pathogens to manifest in hosts may be created by humans, causing risk conditions. Our research aims to contribute, both theoretically and methodologically, to the study of the human behavioural aspect of the complex interactions that lead those risk conditions. We present a method to study how farmers' decision-making interplays with other (socio-ecological) factors, and creates the conditions that hinder or enhance the spread of an infectious disease.

We focus on decision making about infectious crop disease management. Adequate management of crop diseases requires efficient communication of knowledge and information, effective monitoring and governance, and collective action. However, traditional diffusion of knowledge based, approaches have shown ineffective for addressing crop diseases in smallholder farming. Reasons are that they are linear and top-down, have limited or no space for farmer generated feedback, and are poorly contextualized. Simultaneously, understanding of what farmers do to prevent or control diseases, why, and how, is poor.

We developed an experimental board game to study farmers' decision-making under different risk governance models, combining features from economic experiments, agent-based models, and role games. We build on the well-known common good design, in which subjects need to choose to contribute or not contribute to the protection of a common good (crop production) and prevention of a public bad (crop disease). The method contributes to the development of knowledge about effective management of infectious crop diseases. Researchers and policy makers can learn from assessing behaviour of subjects, which may contribute to answering questions about effective ways of disease communication and monitoring. Farmers the game offers a chance to learn and exchange about the dynamics of infectious crop diseases, the importance of collective action, and experiences with different management strategies.

To conceptualize our method we used the case of Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) disease in Rwanda. BXW is a disease that is common throughout East and Central Africa, affecting a crop that is a critical provider of food and income security to smallholder farmers. This abstract is based on two pieces or research outputs: Firstly, a methodological paper about the game's theoretical and conceptual framing; and secondly preliminary findings from implementing the game with banana farmers in Rwanda.

Paper long abstract:

Despites the tremendous progress that Rwanda has made in the fight against malaria in recent decades, the resurgence of malaria since 2012 has questioned the capacity of health authorities to survey malaria carrying mosquitoes. Citizen science has shown potential in supporting invasive mosquito monitoring programs in developing countries, with the aim to control the spread of emerging mosquito-borne diseases. With the goal to complement the mosquito monitoring system in place in Rwanda, a one-year citizen science program was designed and implemented in five selected villages of Ruhuha sector, Rwanda. In this area, mosquito monitoring programs are not established due to limited budget. The data collected by volunteer citizens were used to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of malaria vectors. Environmental factors that explained mosquito species distribution and abundance were evaluated. Factors that contribute to the success of citizen science for mosquito monitoring will be discussed.

Paper long abstract:

Value chain partnerships are increasingly seen as a means to improve smallholder access to crucial services. Such multi-actor partnerships are however often characterized by stakeholder conflicts and do not necessarily result in benefits to farmers. Thus deliberate actions are needed to safeguard inclusiveness in partnerships. An important tool to contribute to this has been argued to be by improving communication in ways which reduce information asymmetries. This study explores the notion whether smallholder use of smartphones in smallholder contexts for farm monitoring purposes could enhance inclusiveness in partnerships. To do this, the study answers two research questions: (i) In what ways does co-designing farm monitoring platforms with smallholders influence farmer capability to monitor and collect farm information via smartphones (ii) How and to what extent does communicating farm information through smartphones influence farmer sense of inclusiveness in value chain partnerships? The study adopts an Action Design Research approach in assessing co-designing and testing of farmer oriented smartphone platforms in Techiman, Ghana. We find that a participatory process of co-designing a simple platform interface was significant in improving farmer ability to comprehend and use smartphone based digital platforms especially through the use of context relevant stories and interactive activities as a means of engaging them in the design process. After using the platform for a season, farmers deemed the platform helpful in enabling them gain access to specific extension advice as well as demonstrating their individual accountability to partners as a trust building mechanism. Farmer oriented platforms therefore made positive contributions to farmer inclusiveness in partnerships by enhancing farmer ability to make farm advice more tailored to their needs and to build trust. On the other hand, farmers did not feel empowered to use the platforms to push for material support or flexibility from partners in response to emerging farm conditions such as pest and disease outbreaks, particularly since this would involve further costs and risk to the more powerful partners. We find that on matters where conflict of interests were expected to arise, unequal power relations reduced perception of the platform's effectiveness at enabling inclusiveness. This highlights a need for critical consideration and adjustment of the social and political dimensions of partnership interactions, in tandem with the advancement of digital innovations, in order to effectively facilitate inclusiveness in partnerships.

Paper long abstract:

Knowledge sharing platforms targeting to improve livestock farming practices including animal care and disease management, are part and parcel of livestock herding communities. Related to disease management, such as tick borne diseases, vast scientific and extension services literature exists on procedures of preventive and curative care as audio, text, and visual information interventions. Digital platforms for knowledge sharing may contribute to improving local disease management practices. Such knowledge sharing platforms strive to solve technological challenges, information access problems and language barriers of end users. Combining both science and contextual knowledge, including end-users' knowledge and experiences are key considerations to take into account

Tick control thrives on appropriate tick treatment, facilitated by access to tick treatment means such as acaricides, application equipment (spray races, pumps and knapsacks) and the knowledge to correctly use these inputs for optimal treatment results under complex everyday contexts. Based on our study of tick control knowledge and practices of different stakeholders in Laikipia county (Kenya), we show the importance of considering both technical and local knowledge on ticks and tick management, combined with insights from people's contextual experiences. The main research question is: what ticks, tick borne disease and tick management knowledge do stakeholders involved in tick management need and use in their everyday practices, where do they get this knowledge from and what knowledge gaps for effective tick management can a knowledge sharing platform address?

Based on interviews and focus group discussions as well as on field research to assess cattle owners' understanding of basic tick biology and tick treatment choices, it was found that different stakeholders indeed start from different kinds of knowledge for deciding upon (different) management practices. Tick treatment choices are informed by stakeholders' perceived efficacy and lived experiences with different tick treatment products (acaricides). There were noticeable differences in stakeholders' understandings of tick biology and on the working of acaricide active ingredients.

Agrovet shops are identified as important information nodes in such a platform as they already play a central role in both sharing knowledge and suggesting practices for effective tick management. It is concluded that a tick knowledge sharing platform to integrate both technical and local knowledge of tick control would be of great relevance to improve disease management in livestock.