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Information Strategy

Recognising that effective communication is essential if the project is to achieve its objectives, the project team developed a detailed communication strategy during the Lusaka workshop:

1. End users:
Two main groups will benefit from project information:

Group 1: organisations involved in or influencing funding for on-farm conservation:

  • Donor agencies: headquarters and regional offices
  • International organisations: member institutions of Consultative Group on International
    Agricultural Research (CGIAR); Convention on Biological Diversity (national focal points, Secretariat); International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Seed Treaty)
  • International NGOs
  • National and regional policy-makers

Group 2: implementing agencies

  • Development workers
  • Extension agents
  • Local administration (District Councils)
  • National Agricultural Research System institutions
  • Industry (contracting production at local level)

The project consortium concluded that both Groups are of equal importance as information targets.

Farmers are unlikely to be end-users of information from this project, because it focusses on project approaches and processes rather than techniques and technologies.

2. Modes of communication
Key modes of communication during the project will include:

  • Raise awareness of project from the beginning, through radio interviews, newspaper articles, articles in organisational newsletters, telling professional contacts about project website
  • Telephone calls/visits to identify named individuals to receive each information product, and to raise their awareness of project outputs, before sending products.
  • PowerPoint presentations at relevant workshops, seminars, conferences nationally, regionally and internationally


3. Products
A mapping exercise identified a wide range of information products for specific audiences:

  • Brochure
  • Policy report
  • Policy brief
  • Best practice guidelines
  • Journal article
  • Method guide
  • Articles in national newspapers
  • Articles in organisational newsletters
  • Interviews for local radio
  • Information for tele-centres &rural information stockists
  • Information for New Scientist
  • Powerpoint presentations
  • Final conference
  • E-group discussions
  • A CD-ROM

4. Intermediate products
A range of intermediate information products will also be needed:

  • Excel file of end-users with e-mail coordinates.
  • Website: project consortium to transfer to communication through website rather then e-group. To contain closed section for intra-consortium communciation and lodging of draft documents; and open section containing finished products and other relevant information.