Tropentag, September 10 - 12, 2025, Bonn "Reconciling land system changes with planetary health"

Fostering agroecological transition in Rwanda through farmer-centred social learning and knowledge co-creation

¹University of Hohenheim, Dept. of Communication and Advisory services in Rural Areas, Germany
²Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), Rwanda
³French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), France

Abstract

Agroecological transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa require not only technical agronomic knowledge but also farmers’ awareness of their rights for deciding the agricultural knowledge they receive from advisory services. Advisory services play a crucial role by facilitating social learning, strengthening farmers’ participation, and supporting knowledge co-creation. This study investigates how Rwanda’s Agricultural Advisory Services (AAS) can support agroecological transitions through participatory and context-specific approaches.
Using a mixed-methods approach, combining literature review, focus group discussions with farmers, and interviews with advisors, this research identifies the strengths and limitations of current advisory methods. Findings show that farmers strongly prefer collective learning environments, especially farmer-to-farmer advisory and demonstrations, which foster co-learning and align with agroecological principles of local knowledge, knowledge co-creation, and bottom-up transformation. Peer-led advisory enhances relevance and trust, while sharing success stories promotes social learning and makes advisory services more demand-driven and contextually appropriate.
Digital tools, such as Short Message Services, radio, Interactive Voice Response, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, and videos, are increasingly integrated into Rwanda’s AAS landscape. While these technologies hold strong potential to scale knowledge dissemination, their effectiveness depends on participatory content development and farmers’ digital literacy. These prerequisites highlight the need for government-led reforms of national extension services that involve farmers in designing advisory content and training them on how to engage with digital tools effectively.
This study argues that advisory methods for agroecological transition should combine group-based learning models with inclusive digital tools. Farmer groups can act as platforms for co-creating knowledge, including success stories and locally adapted practices, which can then be disseminated through digital channels to reinforce broader social learning.
By adopting a farmer-centred perspective and focusing on the social dimensions of advisory systems, this study offers practical insights for supporting inclusive and participatory agroecological transitions in Rwanda. Further research is recommended to explore farmers’ motivation for sharing knowledge and participating in content co-design.

Keywords: Agricultural extension, agroecology, digital extension, farmer participation, Rwanda

Contact Address: Shu-Wei Chow, University of Hohenheim, Dept. of Communication and Advisory services in Rural Areas, Stuttgart, Germany, e-mail: sue0taipeigmail.com