Feedback and active engagement of stakeholders through stakeholder workshops and interviews will be central to the development of DST and Guidelines by taking into account the needs of specific end-user groups (farmers, farm advisory and extension services, policy makers). As such SmartSOIL will engage a range of stakeholders.
SmartSOIL will engage case study stakeholders at the local and regional level in six case study regions:
These regions represent a rage of biogeographical regions, farming systems and soil types as well as different socio-economic contexts.
These stakeholders will be representatives of intended beneficiaries of the DST and Guidelines, primarily from the farming advisory and farmer union sectors. They will participate in workshops and invited to provide feedback on the scientific outputs with respect to optimal crop and soil management practices. They will also be asked to suggest appropriate mechanisms for the DST and Guidelines dissemination strategy.
Stakeholders from a range of national agricultural organisations known to the research teams will be asked to comment on the dissemination strategy for the DST and Guidelines.
In addition to these beneficiaries, policy makers will also be consulted in a policy Stakeholder Workshop and asked to validate, draft policy recommendations.