Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Meeting the Needs of Farmers

Small-holder farmers, especially the resource poor in remote rural communities in Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific are not receiving adequate extension – application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices - and advisory services. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can support the realignment of these services.

In the prevailing climate, in which governments and extension agents do not have adequate resources to respond to the diverse needs of farmers, innovations are necessary to provide responses to the complex challenges. Revitalizing extension and advisory services and strengthening their linkage with other actors are fundamental to the future of food and rural livelihoods, according to the CTA, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation is an ACP-EU institution working in the field of information for development. How best can the changes be realized to rebuild trust and facilitate learning in a cost effective manner?

“The explosion in the growth of mobile phones offers exciting ways for sharing knowledge” states Ibrahim Tiemongo, CTA’s expert. “In 2004, the Cameroon NGO “Services d’Appui aux Initiatives Locales de Développement” (Support services for local development initiatives)  (SAILD) developed the service “Allo Ingénieur” – “Hello engineer” - whereby farmers call a telephone number and agricultural experts provide technical advice”. Other initiatives in different ACP countries include Jamaica where the national Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) established a “One-Stop-Shop” to provide business counselling, technical and marketing information and to facilitate investment. The Agricultural Business Information System (ABIS) provides information on production, markets and stakeholders. Frontline extension agents use Blackberries to communicate with farmers and provide timely advice. Some extension agents also use global positioning systems (GPS) for collecting and recording data from farmers.

“In Kano State, Nigeria,” continues Ibrahim Tiemgogo, “extension radio programmes have empowered farmers socially, culturally and economically. Women, youths and farmers’ groups are first trained or sensitized by the Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN) on various topics e.g. fisheries based on the community’s specific needs. When important concerns are raised, WOFAN contacts resource persons from the Agriculture and Mass Communication faculties of Bayero University and the agricultural extension agencies to provide technical support and facilitate question and answer sessions to enrich the content of the programmes.” On a weekly basis, WOFAN and community representatives record the radio programmes on cassettes which are then sent to Radio Kano for final editing. Listener groups sit around their radios when the programmes are aired to listen, comment and exchange views on the programmes.

“These are a few examples for improving the effectiveness and outreach of extension and advisory services” says CTA’s key expert, Judith Francis. “Now that the tide has changed and governments and the international community are mobilized and committed to providing an enabling environment for agricultural and rural development, CTA and its national, regional and international partners are organizing an international Conference on “Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Linking Knowledge to Policy and Action for Food and Livelihoods in Nairobi, Kenya from November 15-18, 2011 to take full advantage of this policy space.”

For more information, please see www.cta.int

Marie-Martine Buckens