Thirty-six-year-old Hak Bonak, a woman farmer from Prey Por Commune in Prey Veng Province, Cambodia, is regarded in her community as a power farmer-trainer. A prime mover of the farmer-to-farmer mode of technology transfer, Mrs. Bonak negates the long-held belief that such mode of technology transfer is inferior to the government extension system.
It was previously believed that compared to farmer trainors, government technicians are better capacitated to teach the methodologies of agriculture by virtue of their formal educational training. Mrs. Bonak is proof that on the contrary, farmer-to-farmer technology transfer is a more effective way of training farmers.
Government institutions have begun to acknowledge this. They are now implementing programs like training of farmer trainers, farmer-scientists, and local farmer technicians. Srer Khmer, the local NGO partner of SEARICE in Cambodia, is a staunch supporter of farmer-to-farmer technology transfer and has integrated the concept in all of the organization’s programs. It was Srer Khmer who asked Mrs. Bonak to join the Training of Trainers (ToT) designed for the agricultural technologists (ATs) of the government. ATs act as community facilitators in implementing the FFS on rice.
Mrs. Bonak was reluctant at first, but Srer Khmer, who has a high regard for her capabilities, convinced her to join. True enough, Mrs. Bonak became a very diligent community facilitator for the project.
Being a farmer, Mrs. Bonak has a distinct advantage as a trainer because because farmers can see from her farm that she practices what she preaches. Although she insists that she is just a simple villager doing what others do, like planting and raising animals, what draws her apart from the ordinary farmers is that she shares her experiences and innovations to the community not only in theory but by demonstrating in her farm everything that she has learned.
“I am very grateful for the new knowledge and skills I have gained from the training of trainors. I learned a lot about seed conservation and varietal selection,” Mrs. Bonak shares. She adds that the farmers she trained are also very happy and that they plan to continue to develop varieties that are adapted to their drought-affected locality.