Listening, Learning, and Co‑Creating with South African Farmers
Farmer engagement sits at the heart of Integrative One-Health Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance’s (IOSAR) work in the United Kingdom and South Africa; this has been central to IOSAR’s early work in South Africa. Our team has spent time on farms across Northern Gauteng, meeting with producers, farm managers, workers, and extension officers to better understand the realities they face. These visits created an open space for discussion—farmers shared their perspectives on farm operations, challenges, and the practical constraints that shape decision-making.
A key part of the engagement included training farmers, farm workers, researchers and students in how to collect data and samples for the project, ensuring that field activities can be carried out consistently and safely across different sites. This hands-on training supported all to feel confident in the process and allowed IOSAR to co-design workflows that fit within their existing routines.
Crucially, these activities focused on partnership, listening and building the practical foundation for high-quality sample and data collection. Farmers in addition provided guidance on what current practices look like from their perspective, ensuring that future recommendations will be grounded in practical realities. Their openness and partnership are already helping us identify new opportunities for co-designing tools and practices that support farm resilience and essentially food security. Further strengthening the emerging community of practice that underpins IOSAR.
As IOSAR grows, these early engagements lay the groundwork for a community of practice built on trust, collaboration, and shared purpose—ensuring that future interventions are shaped not only by data, but by the farmers who live the work every day.
