1. Key considerations when designing your leaflet:
Only promote technologies that are proven and cost effective with a realistic suggestions of what return on investment can be achieved. State the likely improvements, not the best possible outcome.
Make sure that the information provided is ‘actionable’
Colours:
We showed some materials to a group of people in Mozambique – they described the design as funeral colours. In this template we have supplied options for using bright bold colours.
Should you need to select an alternative colour then consider using bold brights rather than pastel shades.
Text & Language:
Think about the size of the text (point size) and the function of the print – generally older people and people with lower literacy like larger print.
These templates use Arial and Arial bold. Avoid adding in other fonts as it can complicate the the piece and dilute your message.
Think about the hierarchy of messages, so use one clear headline to attract attention to your subject matter then organise the information with sub headings, bullet points.
Adopt plain language, a literary style that is easy-to-read and matches the reading skill of the audience . It is important to decide what farmers need to know – not show them how much we know. Look at everything you have written and ask yourself –what do I expect a farmer to do with information.
Think what do farmers need to know?
Use farmer’s jargon, not scientific language – make sure you know the terms farmers actually use
Use short words and short sentences make it easier to follow instructions
Keep in mind that children of the house may do the reading – where adult literacy is an issue – so this may influence your design or text
When you are planning your text, work out what is essential to know – and what is desirable.  The most important information should come first within each paragraph or section
Farmers do not usually have standard measuring devices such as tape measures, or measuring cylinders. Instead use examples of non-conventional methods:
Body parts – hands legs
50kg fertilizer bags (the bags that the farmers actually used could contain up to 85kg of harvested maize)
Coke/Fanta crown tops, match boxes, margarine containers or water bottles
Cutlass blades or other basic farm tools farmers
Ensure that the text and images reflect the differences in the way men and women work
Important! Test your drafts with the target audience.
Images:
Ensure that images reinforce all key processes that are recommended – images help lock in meaning for people who struggle to read.
Getting the right photo for material can be hard. Photographs taken on a farm are much better than photos taken at research trials at research stations. 
Clear comparisons – e.g. with improved seed and without, with organic material and without shown in photographs will be very persuasive.
Back cover of leaflet
Use for general information, contact
details and logos
Front cover of leaflet
Main content of leaflet, use headings, images as required
Double soybean yields, increase income
Main heading
4. Harvest
This leaflet was produced by the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) in October 2013 for soybean farmers in Zambia. It is available on the website of the Africa Soil Health Consortium (ASHC - as Creative Commons material which can be reproduced and re-used without permission - provided ZARI and ASHC are credited. The content was developed as a result of partnership between ZARI and ASHC.
For more information, contact your extension officer or:
Laston Milambo Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI)
Through good agricultural
practices
Sub heading
Plough, harrow and level your field for a uniform seed bed to help spread water throughout the field.
Plant rice on a fairly flat field with loamy soil. Loamy soil retains moisture well and has organic matter.
Avoid burning to clear the field. Burning kills soil life and destroys some nutrients.
Bund your field to conserve water and to control diseases like blasts and brown spot.
Space for main image
4. Post-harvest
Dry the harvested plants on tarpaulin in sunlight for 4 days before threshing, to a moisture content of 13% or less. Soybean seed is sufficiently dry if it breaks or cracks when bitten or pinched with finger nails
Pile soybean plants on a tarpaulin and hit gently with a stick. Sort and winnow
Pack seed in clean bags and place the bags on wooden pallets in a cool place
Space for logos

2. Main content of leaflet, use headings, images as required
Key considerations when designing your poster:
Only promote technologies that are proven and cost effective with a realistic suggestions of what return on investment can be achieved. State the likely improvements, not the best possible outcome.
Make sure that the information provided is ‘actionable’
Colours:
We showed some materials to a group of people in Mozambique – they described the design as funeral colours. In this template we have supplied options for using bright bold colours.
Should you need to select an alternative colour then consider using bold brights rather than pastel shades.
Text & Language:
Think about the size of the text (point size) and the function of the print – generally older people and people with lower literacy like larger print.
These templates use Arial and Arial bold. Avoid adding in other fonts as it can complicate the the piece and dilute your message.
Think about the hierarchy of messages, so use one clear headline to attract attention to your subject matter then organise the information with sub headings, bullet points.
Adopt plain language, a literary style that is easy-to-read and matches the reading skill of the audience . It is important to decide what farmers need to know – not show them how much we know. Look at everything you have written and ask yourself –what do I expect a farmer to do with information.
Think what do farmers need to know?
Use farmer’s jargon, not scientific language – make sure you know the terms farmers actually use
Use short words and short sentences make it easier to follow instructions
Keep in mind that children of the house may do the reading – where adult literacy is an issue – so this may influence your design or text
When you are planning your text, work out what is essential to know – and what is desirable.  The most important information should come first within each paragraph or section
Farmers do not usually have standard measuring devices such as tape measures, or measuring cylinders. Instead use examples of non-conventional methods:
Body parts – hands legs
50kg fertilizer bags (the bags that the farmers actually used could contain up to 85kg of harvested maize)
Coke/Fanta crown tops, match boxes, margarine containers or water bottles
Cutlass blades or other basic farm tools farmers
Ensure that the text and images reflect the differences in the way men and women work
Important! Test your drafts with the target audience.
Images:
Ensure that images reinforce all key processes that are recommended – images help lock in meaning for people who struggle to read.
Getting the right photo for material can be hard. Photographs taken on a farm are much better than photos taken at research trials at research stations. 
Clear comparisons – e.g. with improved seed and without, with organic material and without shown in photographs will be very persuasive.
Inside left page
Inside middle page
Inside right page¡
Main content of leaflet, use headings, images as required
1. Land preparation
2. Planting
3. Field Management
Select soil with moderate to high fertility
Plough in crop residues and vegetation to improve soil fertility. Break up large lumps of soil and level
Where soil is acidic, broadcast agricultural lime at the rate of 20 bags of 50 kg per hectare and plough in
Plant improved varieties. Use certified seed or seed from a crop grown from certified seed. Do not use same seed for more than 3 seasons
Test seed for germination before the start of the rainy season. Plant 100 seeds, and if at least 85 germinate, then the seed is good to plant
Inoculate seeds under a shade and plant on the same day. In Zambia, 250 g inoculant from Mt. Makulu is used for 50 kg seed
Plant at the start of the rainy season - usually between the 1st and 3rd week of December
Space furrows at cm. Furrows should be 5 cm deep
At planting, apply 2 bottle-tops of Soymix fertilizer per meter along the furrow (4 bags of 50 kg per hectare). Cover the furrow partially with soil
If manure is available, make furrows slightly deeper, apply manure and fertilizer along the furrow, and mix with soil before placing seed
Drill seeds along the furrow at a spacing of 3-5 cm between seeds. You will need 100 kg of seed per hectare
Cover seed with soil immediately to protect the inoculant from damage by the sun
Weed on time - first weeding at 2 weeks after planting and the second at 5–6 weeks after planting
For seed production, uproot diseased plants, and plants that look different from the rest
Seek advice when applying chemicals:
- use pre-emergence (Acetochlor) or
post-emergence (Bragadier) herbicides
- insecticides such as Karate control leaf-eating insects if damage is likely to reduce yield
- fungicides such as Bravo control rust, frogeye and powdery mildew