Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences 1999, Vol. 2(2): 219- 226
Farmer partieipation in decision making at various phases of project implementation contributes
very.highly to project success. The Soil-Water Management Research Programme (SWMRP) has
gained valuable experience in the involvement offarmer in all phases during the implementation of
the programme .. The programme used the following instruments to ensure farmer participation:
• Socio-economic ~urvey~~ including Participatory and Rapid Rural Appraisals.
• Farmer participation in onjarm experimentation.
• Participatory technology evaluation through workshops and seminars aimed at monitoring
project ppformanqe and getting feedback from stakeholders.
The process of farmer participation evolved over the duration of the project.·l!essons learnt at the
begin.ning were incorporated in the research process over time. Initially, the planning of the ex-'
periments did not fully allow jor farmer participation. This shortcoming was lat'er rectified, and
more farmer participation was allowed. Among the achievements of the project is the construction
of a water diversion canal worth about Tanzanian Shillings 1.28 million in Hedaru village, Same
DistTict. The structure is currently supplying water to about 45 hectares in the village. The programme
contributed only 18 % of the total cost in terms of materials (6%) and technical'supp01t
(12%). Farmer participation enabled mobilization of resources w01th the remaining 82% of the
total cost. The contributions were in the form of cash, labour, materials and decision making.
This paper analyses the process offarmer participation in this programme and how it has influenced
the pe~fo17nance of the programme. It is concluded that, with effeCtive participation, minimum
extemal support (small push) can result into substantial achievements.