'Here we give advice for free': the functioning of plant clinics in Rwanda

Autor: Conny Almekinders, Bellancile Uzayisenga, Solveig Danielsen, Jean Pierre Kalisa, Jean Claude N. Majuga
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: Development in Practice 28 (2018) 7
Development in Practice, 28(7), 858-871
ISSN: 1364-9213
0961-4524
DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2018.1492515
Popis: Although plant clinics are considered an important mechanism in the service delivery to farmers, not much is known about their functioning in the daily reality of plant doctors and farmer-clients. This article reports on an exploratory study describing the functioning of eight plant clinics in Rwanda. Personal and organisational commitment, publicity, and proactive communication with farmers and local leaders are key factors explaining higher attendance of some clinics. Farmer attendance is under-reported by 40–50%. Data management needs improvement to make clinic records reliable tools for decision-makers. This type of assessment can help improve operations and realise the plant clinics’ potential.
Databáze: OpenAIRE