Introduction to Benchmarking in Farming

Created Feb. 7, 2024 by William Kanyi

Share-Plan for Change-Monitor and Evaluate

OVERVIEW

The last category of benchmarking process involves sharing findings and results with farmers, developing an action plan to implement changes to improve your farm’s performance and continuous reflection and evaluation of results. In this lesson, you will learn how to prepare a presentation to share information with the farmers and best practices in sharing findings and results, important steps in planning for change and the benefits of reflection and evaluation of results from the implemented action plans. The lesson will cover step eight, nine and ten of the benchmarking process. By the end of this lesson, your learning group will prepare a presentation of finding and results, develop a plan of action and come up with a criterion to monitor and evaluate results from benchmarking process. The objective of these steps is to implement the benchmarking process.

SUBJECT AND KEY TERMS

Results, Presentation, Action Plan, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation, Gaps, Causes, Solutions, Outcomes

OBJECTIVES

  • Participants will be able to develop a presentation to share results of the benchmarking process.
  • Participants will be able to create an action plan to implement benchmarking findings.
  • Participants will be able to develop a criterion to monitor results from benchmarking implementation process.

RESOURCES

Reading - Click here: Farm Business Analysis Using Benchmarking

               Part 2 (pg. 113-128)

READING INSTRUCTIONS

All the information you have collected and learned from the benchmarking process culminates in this three steps. Review the previous steps before reading this section. As you read this section, decide which information to share and how best to share the information with farmers. Develop a presentation using the reading as a guide. Use the steps outlined in the plan for change to devise plans to implement changes.

ACTIVITIES

  • Develop a PowerPoint presentation of findings and results.
  • Outline actions plans to be implemented. 
  • Create criteria to evaluate the results of implementation.    

DISCUSSION

  • What are the key findings, results and action plans to be shared with the farmers?
  • How will this action plans be implemented to address the gaps and causes in performance? 
  • What will be the reflection and evaluation criteria to monitor success of the process?
  • How will you encourage collaborative efforts and sharing of information?
  • How will you decide on which plans of action to implement?
  • How will you coordinate the follow up activities to monitor plan of action?

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

  • What are some tips for presenting the findings?
  • What are some guidelines for putting together a visual presentation?
  • What are the key elements in the planning and implementation step?
  • What are some tips for facilitating learning?
  • What is the general pattern for reflection?
  • What are the pros and cons of monitoring and evaluation?

SUMMARY

The sharing of findings and results of the benchmarking process is invaluable. Discussions with members of the learning group as well as other farmers located in the vicinity are important to ensure that the information derived from the benchmarking process is put to best use. You may find it difficult to convince farmers to share experiences about their farm business. Again, you will have to help farmers to see the value of sharing with one another. The information collected should provide benefits to all concerned. The purpose of identifying performance gaps and causes is ultimately to introduce actions and devise plans that the farmers in the learning group can use to improve the performance on their farms. Plans should include realistic targets for each farmer to achieve. You can encourage, and support farmers and guide them in action planning, but the preparation of the plan ultimately rests in the hands of the individual farmer. The last step in the process is to reflect on and evaluate the results. This requires that the plan be monitored. The farmers can reflect on the outcome and decide on the next course of action. You can facilitate this learning process and help farmers in the learning group to increase the benefits received from the benchmarking process( Kahan 2013, p. 25-26).

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