Visiting a then, carefully, the topic can be turned to how this problem might
 be solved by having a few extra bags of maize for sale-if he follows
F arm your post-harvest recommendations.


 PRACTISING SKILLS
 Before you leave a farmer's compound, make sure he understands
 what you have been discussing and demonstrating. The best way
 to be sure-if the opportunity is there-is to see how he himself
 carries out a task. If the farmer does not do it correctly, then you
 have not communicated.
 A key quality is patience-being prepared to repeat a demon-
 stration and keeping calm if the farmer seems slow at picking
 things up. But you may well find that if you encourage a farmer to
 express his own views, if you observe what he is doing and explore
 his reasons, you will learn some very useful information yourself.
 And if a farmer disagrees with what you are saying, try not to
 challenge him, but take the chance of exploring why he thinks the
 way he does. He may have very good reasons for doing things his
 way. For example, he may have lost his trust because of a previous
 piece ofbad advice. Or, from experience, he may have a much better
 understanding of what can be achieved with his particular soils and
 conditions.
 What follows are two contrasting scenarios. One of them is much
 more productive than the other. They illustrate how important it is
 to choose the appropriate line of communication if we wish commu-
 nication to proceed harmoniously and purposefully:
 First Scenario
 Farmer: "No, I'm not interested in growing hybrid maize.
 It's not suitable for this locality."
 EW: "But it will give you a much greater yield. You will
 be making a big mistake if you don't." (Directing
 line)
 Silence. End of conversation on the topic.
 Second Scenario
 Farmer: "No, I'm not interested in growing hybrid maize.
 It's not suitable for this locality."
 EW: "I'm interested in your views on this. Tell me why
 you think this way." (Computer line)


Chapter 6