Suggestions for Improving the Field Guide
I would like to suggest a few improvements to the Field Guide to make it easier for contributors to provide complete, accurate, and useful information.
1. Provide More Space for Responses
Some of the fields do not provide enough space for contributors to enter the information required. I suggest expanding the answer boxes, especially for the following sections:
Season: Provide enough space to explain when a crop is planted, when it grows best, and when it is harvested.
Market Price: Allow contributors to enter the price, unit of measurement, and other relevant details. For example, tomatoes may be sold per basket, paint bucket, crate, or kilogram.
Where to Buy: Provide enough space to list markets, shops, farms, or other locations where the product can be purchased.
Larger text boxes would help contributors provide more detailed and useful information without having to shorten their answers unnecessarily.
2. Allow Multiple Contributors to Submit the Same Item
Another important question is whether different contributors can complete a Field Guide entry for the same item. For example, if one person has already submitted information about tomatoes, should another person be allowed to submit a separate entry about tomatoes?
I suggest allowing multiple contributors to submit information about the same item, particularly when they live in different locations or have different experiences. Tomato prices, growing seasons, and places of purchase can vary between cities, states, and markets.
For example, one contributor might provide information about tomatoes in Port Harcourt, while another provides information about tomatoes in Lagos or Kano. Both contributions would be valuable because they offer different local perspectives.
3. Improve the System for Similar Entries
Rather than automatically preventing duplicate entries, the platform could distinguish between entries based on location, season, market price, and contributor experience. This would encourage people to share fresh, location-specific information while helping the platform avoid unnecessary repetition.
Conclusion
These improvements would make the Field Guide more flexible, informative, and useful to everyone. Providing adequate writing space and allowing multiple contributors to share information about the same item would encourage greater participation and help build a more comprehensive database of local agricultural products, wildlife, market prices, and purchasing locations