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Farmers Reached
Farmers and households benefited
Farmers organized into groups for training, learning, and community action.
About RIPAT
Rural Initiatives for Participatory Agricultural Transformation — a pragmatic, community-driven approach to closing the agricultural technology gap in Tanzania and beyond.
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Help-to-Self-Help
Every project recipient supports three other community members — zero dependency culture.
What is RIPAT?
An Approach, Not a Technology
RIPAT is an approach to agricultural development through motivation, grouping, and new knowledge. It is a kind of extension approach — a generic model — on how to design agricultural development projects for smallholders.
RIPAT is about how to reach farmers with new knowledge in a way they find relevant. A RIPAT project can include various types of technologies (basket of options) depending on the local setting. So RIPAT is like a truck — or a camel — that can carry various types of new knowledge and technology interventions.
RIPAT was developed among small-scale farmers in Northern Tanzania by RECODA under the partnership and sponsorship of the Rockwool Foundation. It is a pragmatic mix of the traditional Training and Visit (T&V) method and participatory extension approaches such as Farmer Field Schools.
Why RIPAT Was Created
Two Development Challenges RIPAT Solves
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Why Do So Many Projects Generate So Little Impact?
Hundreds of agricultural development projects have come and gone in rural Tanzania with negligible sustainable impact. RIPAT was developed to break this cycle — rooting interventions in community ownership, genuine participation, and the principle that development cannot be provided on a silver plate.
Read More →02
Why Are Improved Technologies Not Adopted by Farmers?
Researchers develop improved seeds, better practices and new breeds — yet adoption rates remain stubbornly low. RIPAT's basket-of-options model ensures farmers genuinely choose technologies that fit their specific needs, resources, and agro-ecological context. One size does not fit all.
Read More →Geographic Suitability
Where RIPAT Works Best
In principle RIPAT is applicable in most agricultural-based communities, but works best where these conditions are met.
Proximity of Farmers
Farmers should live relatively close to one another — ideally no more than 5 km apart — to enable regular group meetings and field school activities.
Agricultural Conditions
Relatively good conditions for agriculture — adequate soil and rainfall patterns — that provide a foundation for improved technology adoption.
Settled Population
Participating farmers must be permanently resident and have crop and livestock production as part of their livelihood for sustained project engagement.
The Active Poor
Designed for active poor small-scale farmers with the ability and motivation to move from poverty level into the mid-level of the wealth ranking.
Local Resources Available
Communities where locally available resources and opportunities exist for livelihoods improvement — RIPAT mobilizes what's already there.
Engaged Local Government
Areas where local government officials are willing to partner — district coordinators, ward development committees, and village extension officers.
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Unlike other extension approaches used in Tanzania after being adapted from other countries, RIPAT has been developed based on the environment of our country. RIPAT is a peculiar approach — it is about initiating positive development and poverty alleviation among rural farmers through community sensitization, mobilization and capacity building to utilize locally available resources.
Late Prof. Amon Z. Mattee
Department of Agricultural Education and Extension, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
RIPAT at a Glance
Impact & Reach
Empowering smallholder farmers for food security, income, resilience and self-reliance across Tanzania.
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Farmer Groups & FFS
Farmer Field Schools for hands-on learning
Hands-on learning through FFS, demonstrations, and peer-to-peer exchange.
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Technology Options
Crops, livestock, agroforestry, water management & more
A basket of technologies for farmers to choose what works best locally.
RIPAT
Rural Initiatives for Participatory Agricultural Transformation
Empowering smallholder farmers for food security, income, resilience and self-reliance.
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Regions of Operation
Arusha, Karatu, Singida, Dodoma, Morogoro & more
Active across Tanzania and collaborating throughout East Africa.
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Villages Reached
Villages across Tanzania
Improving livelihoods and building climate resilience at village level.
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VSLA Groups
Strengthening financial inclusion & resilience
Village Savings and Loan Associations improve access to finance.
Our Goal
Poverty reduction
Improved food & nutrition security
Environmental conservation & climate resilience
Rural empowerment & self-reliance
View full impact diagram
The RIPAT Model
How the Approach Works
Situation Analysis
Participatory PRA surveys identify challenges, potentials, opportunities, and stakeholders. A project proposal with a basket of options is developed.
Mobilize & Form Groups
Communities are sensitized and 2 groups of 35 members per village are formed. Vision of the "super household" is shared to inspire change.
FFS Demonstrations
Technologies are demonstrated at Farmer Field School plots. Farmers learn by doing and evaluate which methods to adopt on their own farms.
Scaling Out
Super Farmers, sister groups, and government extension officers spread the innovation beyond the original groups to additional villages.
Monitor & Reflect
Continuous monitoring with Action Learning and Reflection (ALR). Mobile-based data collection uploaded to central quality control systems.
Self-Reliance
Farmers take charge of their own development. Every beneficiary supports 3 others through knowledge, materials, and VSLA savings groups.
Key Publications
Two Complementary Books
Farmers' Choice presents the FACTS — what came out of RIPAT. The RIPAT Manual shows how to ACT to get the same results.
Farmers' Choice
Evaluating an approach to agricultural technology adoption in Tanzania. Edited by Helene Bie Lilleor and Ulrik Lund Sorensen. Rockwool Foundation Research Unit. Presents what came out of RIPAT and how and why it happened.
Download Free ↗The RIPAT Manual
Rural Initiatives for Participatory Agricultural Transformation by Vesterager, J.M., Ringo, D., Maguzu, C.W., Ng'ang'a, J.N. (2013). The Rockwool Foundation, Denmark. A step-by-step guide on how to ACT to achieve the same results.