Over the past 30 years, there has been a major shift in agricultural markets and the international trade of agricultural products. The world is moving from local and national markets towards a global system of trading, which means that neighbouring farmers working on small plots of land may be competing with large industrial farmers from another country in a single marketplace.

This module familiarises extensionists with the key terms and concepts required to introduce agricultural entrepreneurship to farmers, farmer groups and agricultural businesses and to support improved productivity and market engagement. The module provides a practical approach to improving the knowledge, skills and attitudes of extension agents as they seek to help the farming community take on new enterprise skills.

The purpose of this module on marketing and value chain development is to help extension agents, who are new to working with markets, understand the basic components of marketing and value chains. This module will also focus on the way in which extension agents can work with farmers and other key chain actors to target market opportunities and to develop an action plan that farmers can use to engage with markets successfully. 

In this practical part of the module, you will be familiarised with the use of market analysis tools and value chain upgrading strategies, as well the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in value chains services.

The purpose of this module is to help extension agents, who are new to working with markets, understand the basic components of marketing value chains and the way in which extension agents can work with farmers and other key chain actors to target market opportunities and to develop an action plan that farmers can use to engage with markets successfully. 

In the theoretical part of the module the focus is on the importance of agricultural marketing for farmers, the analysis of the agricultural market and the value chain, as well as market linkage methods. 

This module will provide basic guidelines to extension agents on how to help farmers form strong organisations that are able to effectively provide services to their members. Specifically, the module will discuss the definition of a farmer organisation (FO) and how different formations of farmers play different roles in the agricultural sector. Various factors influence the successful operation of FOs and this module will discuss several of these internal and external challenges, as well as suggestions on how to address them. This module will also look at issues that affect the sustainability of FOs and will help you as an extension agent guide farmers in forming and managing sustainable organisations. Lastly, the module will discuss the most important functions that FOs fulfil in the agricultural sector.

During the last decade, extension and rural advisory services have been increasingly recognised as professions. This module will briefly discuss the concept of ethics and the importance of professional ethics and codes of behaviour in the workplace. This module will look at the meaning of a profession and professionalism and what it means to be a professional. You will learn what qualities and characteristics define a profession and a professional and the importance of professional development. The final part of this module will look at what competencies you will need as a professional extensionist to perform your duties effectively.

 Une fois que vous aurez lu la vue d’ensemble et l’introduction du module, veuillez effectuer la pré-évaluation suivante afin de déterminer si vous avez ou non des difficultés à aborder le sujet de la vulgarisation. Veuillez évaluer vos connaissances sur le sujet sur une échelle de 1 à 5 en entourant le chiffre correspondant.

 Afin de mener à bien leurs mandats et de contribuer à des changements positifs, les vulgarisateurs ont besoin des connaissances et des compétences requises pour aborder les questions cruciales ayant trait au genre dans les moyens de subsistance ruraux. Les femmes et les hommes, jeunes et âgés, jouent tous des rôles essentiels dans les moyens de subsistance ruraux, mais des  suppositions sont souvent faites sur qui fait quoi et qui prend les décisions. Ces aspects détaillés du genre et de la prise de décisions sont cruciaux pour cibler les efforts et aider toutes les personnes concernées par les moyens de subsistance ruraux et l’agriculture à profiter des innovations et des technologies améliorées.

Ce module sur le genre est conçu pour vous aider à comprendre pourquoi ces concepts sont importants dans le cadre de la vulgarisation. Vous apprendrez à identifier pourquoi différents membres de la communauté ont des besoins différents sur le plan de la vulgarisation, et la manière dont vous pouvez commencer à les aborder. Une fois que vous comprendrez ces différents besoins, vous pourrez mieux relier les technologies et les opportunités, mettre en oeuvre des programmes fructueux, et éviter d’empirer la situation de qui que ce soit. Ce module vous aidera aussi à vous améliorer dans votre (ou vos) rôle(s) en matière de vulgarisation afin de mieux satisfaire les besoins cruciaux dans le cadre des moyens de subsistance

ruraux.

This module aims to familiarise you with risk management and adaptation planning in EAS. You will be introduced to the concepts of risk and uncertainty in order to better understand the impact of factors such as market and climate variability in the agricultural sector. You will also be provided with skills, tools and knowledge to address these factors through the use of risk management and adaptation strategies. Remember that this module not only focuses on improving your own risk management capacity but also focuses on your ability to improve the capacity of rural farmers; a primary goal of EAS.