Tips for trainers: hopes and fears: introduction and icebreaking

This article considers the development of a series of tools developed in the Philippines and Namibia to improve the quality of agricultural extension advice at the level of individual farmers, farmer groups, and cooperatives. The tools allow these actors to build a local market picture which can be used for interaction between service providers, and act as a starting point for a more in-depth consideration of marketing and business plans and strategies.|The rationale for why it is necessary to understand the immediate marketing environment is discussed, and tools are presented which assist this process.