The pilot project is the culmination of the design process. It permits the evaluation of proposed interventions and technologies, and allows for the development of novel solutions within local contexts. Pilot projects provide a low-risk trial where costly mistakes can be anticipated and then avoided, thereby conserving our clients’ precious resources and producing long-term results.

Beets (1990) describes a technically and socially appropriate system of technology transfer in agriculture:

Systems where only limited external material inputs are used, where better use is made of local know-how and expertise, but, where there is also more exchange of local know-how and more import of know-how from outside.

Agricultural Innovations applies this philosophy through the Farmer Field School (FFS) methodology. Using the FFS approach, our pilot projects develop local expertise and provide an invaluable foundation of experience upon which larger projects can compete for funding and succeed.