Creative storytelling used to amplify DWFI smallholder irrigation research outputs

The DWFI team in Kigali, Rwanda has been working to gain a greater and more holistic understanding of the state of irrigation entrepreneurship, with an aim to support private-sector solutions to small-scale irrigated agriculture.

Through a process of desk research, field visits and in-person interviews, they have made several advancements, including the development of a Rwanda smallholder irrigation ecosystem map, a report mapping the business ecosystem for smallholder irrigation and another on the current state of irrigation-as-a-service in Rwanda.

To help amplify their work, DWFI communications specialists Arianna Elnes and Rachel Williss, both based in Lincoln, Neb., USA, traveled to Rwanda to meet with Kigali-based DWFI program consultants Grace Mukarusagara, Raissa Urujeni and Natacha Akaliza. The purpose of the visit was to gain a greater understanding of the team's research and gather materials for future publications and communications initiatives.

Working together, the team created a suite of communications assets to share their work, including interviews, photos and video footage in the field and a social media campaign. They created videos to capture key aspects of the report, including the definition of irrigation-as-a-service, what led to the team studying the topic, the results and the significance of their research.

Elnes and Williss also worked with Mukarusagara, Urujeni and Akaliza on creating blogs to highlight case studies of irrigation-as-a-service. The result was an impactful variety of media and storytelling, which provided audiences a deeper understanding of the work. The irrigation-as-a-service report has been widely shared on social media and has been popular on DWFI's social channels, in part due to the graphics and visuals which help readers understand the topic more clearly. On LinkedIn, content relating to the report has had nearly 6,400 impressions, the videos have 988 views, and the report has been clicked 500 times to date.

Following the release of their most recent report, the team in Rwanda has presented at multiple conferences, including the 2nd WASAG International Forum on Water Scarcity in Agriculture and the 2023 Daugherty Water for Food Global Conference, and began mapping the irrigation ecosystem in Uganda to understand key players.