Farmer Research Team (FRT)
The project relies heavily on the involvement of FRT which is a volunteer, farmer led organization formed at the start of the project to conduct research and share knowledge on behalf of and with the community. The FRT is based on the participatory model in which small farmer groups carry out research for broader community (Ashby and Sperling, 1995). Village leaders told their communities about the project and villagers could volunteer to be FRT members, but had to be voted in by their community. The project began with 30 Farmer Research Members in seven pilot villages, but due to the increase in farmer participants and the expansion to over 80 villages, there are now 120 members in the FRT. Villagers voted to select FRT members based on leadership ability and willingness to volunteer time to help others, as well as based on general interest in the project objectives. The FRT is composed of a variety of different social groups (e.g. widows, divorced women, highly food insecure and well-off farmers). More than 50% of FRT members are women. FRT members have a critical role to play; they are involved in farmer training, seed distribution, data collection and awareness raising. They are also expected to provide informal support to SFHC participants in agricultural and nutritional issues related to legume production. FRT has proved to be effective at involving farmers in the agricultural research process.
Village Committees
In addition to the FRT, there are two other decision-making bodies of the project: the Village Committees and the Nutrition Research Team. The village committees are made up of the FRT members from that village, as well as village leaders and other respected elders in the community. The committees oversee the work of the SFHC project and ensure that community leaders are involved in the project decision-making.
The Nutrition Research Team
The Nutrition Research Team (NRT), formed in the original seven villages of the project, is made up of 35 men and women of different ages who are interested in promoting child nutrition. Older women play a particularly prominent role in this group. The team carries out informal nutrition education during mobile clinics, recipe days, home visits and ‘chatting’ with other village members in public locations on several themes: dietary diversity, family cooperation, breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices.
