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ABOUT THE RESOURCE CENTER:

 

NHZ is setting up an Agricultural Resource Center (ARC) on its 3,5-hactare land in Chitungwiza

The Center will consolidate many of the support services for the urban and rural agricultural community, promoting the future sustainability of the agricultural industry, it will serve as an educational resource center and field destination for school children and adults. The Center will be  designed to look and feel like a farm from the architectural design of the buildings to the presence of field and livestock operations. 

 

Who needs  the ARC ?

Farmers, Community workers, educators, researchers, policy makers, managers, local communities and self-help groups all need information. Information is especially important for training people on agricultural skills. There is plenty of evidence that access to the right information at the right time can mean the difference between life and death. Former executive director of UNICEF, James Grant, estimated that getting medical and health knowledge to those who needed it, and applying it, could have prevented 34 million deaths each year in the late 1980s.

 

Advances in technology make it vitally important that everyone involved in farming  has access to relevant information – not only during their initial training, but throughout their working lives, to enable them to keep up-to-date and develop their skills.

 

Farmers and educators need basic data on plant or animals disease profiles of the local area, the latest techniques in diagnosis and treatment, how to communicate with others , how to work with other sectors such as education or environment, ideas on how to undertake promotions, and, increasingly, good information about how to run a community resource  center.

 

Researchers need factual information on the area they are researching, and they need to know what research is being carried out, or has been completed and the results, to ensure that they are not duplicating any work.

 

Policy makers and managers need information on epidemiology, population size and characteristics, finances, staffing needs and facilities. They also need information on disadvantaged groups, the work of other sectors that contribute to health, and structures that promote community involvement.

 

Local communities and self-help groups need to learn how to participate in planning, implementing and evaluating programmes, promote animal and plant healthy and prevent disease, campaign for better services, promote their own services, and learn about their food quality.

 

  • Farm Life - The property will be designed to function as a farmstead. As such, there will be barns, livestock stalls and pastures, crop operations, a farm manager's house and a farm life demonstration area.

  • Education - The Center provides hands-on learning about agricultural practices, as well as educating the public on the importance and economic benefits of local food production and other agricultural activities.

  • Demonstration - The Center includes information and demonstration areas on numerous subjects including water harvesting, watersheds protection, gardening, forestry ,fish farming and beekeeping.

  • Recreation - Picnic pavilions and a comfort station will enhance the recreational activities provided by the hiking trails and open spaces

     

By end of 2016 New Hope would have introduced e-Agriculture and will select e-learning courses related to the use of ICTs and to agriculture.

HOW THE RESOURCE CENTER WILL BENNEFIT FARMERS

 

Information plays an important part in the wider learning process – helping trainers to understand the context of their work, follow new approaches, undertake new responsibilities, improve their practice and remind them of basic concepts.

 

Learning takes place not only at workshops or on training courses, but also through discussions with colleagues, practical experience, and consulting newsletters, books and audiovisual materials. Resource centres can support a wide range of learning activities by making information available. By helping health workers learn, they can play a valuable part in improving the health of a nation.

 

The  resource centre will aim to:

 

  • create a pleasant environment for learning

  • contain a relevant and accessible collection of resource materials (based on the actual needs of users) • provide a range of information services on sustanable farming.

  • encourage people to use the information in the resource centre

  • help users gain access to information from other sources.

 

CHECKLIST:

 

What NHZ  resource centre can do :

 

Make information accessible

  • collect and organise  farming materials

  • provide access to materials that are up-to-date and relevant to farmers

  • provide a pleasant environment for e-learning to traininers.

 

Encourage the use of information

  • assist users to find relevant information of farming, water harvestion and suggest how they can use it in their work

  •  provide materials to support training of farming

  •  provide information to those responsible for planning, managing and implementingfarming  programmes in Zimbabwe  management teams and community groups

  • produce information packs and resource lists

  • organise participatory workshops that use materials as tools for problem-solving

  •  work with teachers and trainers to identify resource materials for farming training activities

  • offer an information and enquiry service

  • develop ways to reach potential users.

 

Produce materials

  • work with farming  teams and community groups to document their experience and share with others.

  • adapt, translate and produce learning materials.

 

Strengthen links with other organisations

  • list local, national, regional and international organisations working in farming and related fields

  • develop contacts between organisations working in similar fields, such as the Ministry of Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environment, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and community organisations

  • identify other sources of information.

 

E-learning

New Hope is going to introduce E-Agriculture through its E-learning  facilities housed at the resource center. E-Learning has various definitions, but central to all is the concept of learning which is conducted via electronic media. This is usually via the Internet, but can also be offline with a CD-Rom or DVD.

E-learning offers many benefits to learners in all regions, but for agricultural and rural development, where learners are often based in geographically remote areas, it has the potential to play an even more important role.

 

Typical benefits include:

  • Reduced travel time and costs

  • Students can choose the course which best suits their interests

  • Self-paced learning

  • Learning can be scheduled around work and family commitments

  • Participation strengthens computers and technology skills, which are useful in other areas of life

 

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