1 min
Over the years, working with new groups of farmers comes with different tasks. One of these key activities is building trust as a professional; where farmers interact with our extension officers.
The foundation of building trust with farmers is to let them know your interests or end goal(s) in the relationship. In some cases, to enable our market to offtake quality and certified produce; where farmers earn more and the market is satisfied with produce quality. And in other cases, to help them increase their yield in order to meet project objectives. The intention is always clearly stated and the activities to achieve these are highlighted. In most cases, the farmers would state their own interests too, so as to re-align better. This is the first step to building trust.
Consequently, our contract agreements are simple and translated to their local languages in order for them to understand their responsibilities, our responsibilities as service providers, buyers responsibilities and the market requirements. This gives room to transparency as there is no room for doubts. It is important to avoid hiding under ambiguous words or clauses that could jeopardize the relationship. All rules are stated in clear terms and product specifications and prices are agreed upon. In our own case, for farmers involved in sustainable certification programs, it comes with additional benefits (depending on the standards implemented) such as implementation of community projects, additional price for sustainability amongst others. Everything is stated and agreed upon by all the parties involved.
In addition, we ensure that all information shared with the farmers and other stakeholders throughout the process is true and verifiable. We always stand for the truth and uphold it in our working relationship with farmers. Peradventure, if we notice that information shared with them was not 100% true, we MUST let them know. We don't try to gaslight or deceive them in order to accept terms, rather we inform them appropriately with the right information to make informed decisions. This is always a game changer because it helps build a long lasting relationship with the farmers and other stakeholders.
In conclusion, building trust helps to improve adoption of new technologies, innovation and knowledge sharing amongst farmers. However, it takes conscious efforts and resources to build trust with farmers and the rewards are enormous. So, for them to trust the process, they need to trust the person showing the process. Thus, trust is an important asset to achieving food security. Farmers don't only trust your words, they first trust your person. We need to incorporate activities that would better build trust with the farmers before we can solve their challenges holistically.
Yours-in-Service
Babatunde
Consequently, our contract agreements are simple and translated to their local languages in order for them to understand their responsibilities, our responsibilities as service providers, buyers responsibilities and the market requirements. This gives room to transparency as there is no room for doubts. It is important to avoid hiding under ambiguous words or clauses that could jeopardize the relationship. All rules are stated in clear terms and product specifications and prices are agreed upon. In our own case, for farmers involved in sustainable certification programs, it comes with additional benefits (depending on the standards implemented) such as implementation of community projects, additional price for sustainability amongst others. Everything is stated and agreed upon by all the parties involved.
In addition, we ensure that all information shared with the farmers and other stakeholders throughout the process is true and verifiable. We always stand for the truth and uphold it in our working relationship with farmers. Peradventure, if we notice that information shared with them was not 100% true, we MUST let them know. We don't try to gaslight or deceive them in order to accept terms, rather we inform them appropriately with the right information to make informed decisions. This is always a game changer because it helps build a long lasting relationship with the farmers and other stakeholders.
In conclusion, building trust helps to improve adoption of new technologies, innovation and knowledge sharing amongst farmers. However, it takes conscious efforts and resources to build trust with farmers and the rewards are enormous. So, for them to trust the process, they need to trust the person showing the process. Thus, trust is an important asset to achieving food security. Farmers don't only trust your words, they first trust your person. We need to incorporate activities that would better build trust with the farmers before we can solve their challenges holistically.
Yours-in-Service
Babatunde
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