SOSIA+ Internship

We are Hendrikje and Janneke, bachelor students of Wageningen University. For our bachelor program, we got the opportunity to do an internship of 9 weeks in Kumasi, Ghana. Together we worked on integrating the SOSIA+ program with lead farmers in and around of Kumasi. The SOSIA+ program is part of the Archipelago project, a collaboration between TU Delft, Kwadaso Agricultural College, Future Water, and Holland Greentech.

Janneke was tasked by the project team with collecting insights into the vision and aligned behavior of farmers regarding the irrigation techniques of the SOSIA+ program. She researched the motivations of the lead farmers involved. This has been done using a Q-sorting methodology. Conducting a Q-sorting research on the motivation of farmers participating in the SOSIA+ project is crucial for gaining a deeper understanding of their perspectives. This understanding, in turn, enhances the effectiveness of the irrigation tool, contributing to its overall success.

Hendrikje worked on soil moisture properties of the SOSIA+ demonstration field at the Kwadaso Agricultural College. With gaining a deeper insight into soil moisture behavior, new irrigation techniques and innovative irrigation advise can be obtained.

By visiting a lot of local farmers and connecting with the students of Kwadaso agricultural collage we had a valuable and most wonderful experience in Kumasi. After finishing our internship, we had the opportunity to explain our findings and methods in the archipelago class. This together with our educational videos is granting students and teachers the opportunity to learn more about our techniques and performances for their own future research.