Roles, Strategies, and Capacities to Strengthen Extension and Advisory Services

Extension and advisory services (EAS) 1 play an important role in agricultural development. However, these services need new capacities to address the current challenges in agriculture and to contribute better to agricultural innovation – a process that that requires interactions and knowledge flows among a wide range of actors in the agricultural innovation
system (AIS).

A summary of this paper is available here.

A guide for extension workers

The guide aims to highlight major issues affecting rural households, and to provide users with resources and tools for collecting, analysing and sharing information about the constraints, opportunities and priorities faced by communities, households and individual household members.

The guide promotes the use of gender-sensitive and participatory approaches as a means of achieving sustainable development that puts people at the centre of the issues, analysis and solutions.

TechnicalNote from MEAS

The most recent shifts in agricultural extension and advisory services (EAS) parallel the growing complexity of the global food system. A diversity of actors, from smallholder farmers to multinational food corporations, each with different needs, objectives, strengths and weaknesses now operate in the sector. Not only do they each have their own concerns, they may work in different ways with different partners, increasing the challenges of coordinating the different elements of domestic and internationally-oriented agricultural value chains. Women, who are estimated to comprise about 43% of the agricultural labor force in developing country agriculture (FAO 2011: 5), are among this group of new and newly recognized actors in these networks. Managing the global food system must contend with demands for efficiency and sustainability while at the same time encouraging greater equity in access and participation.

A workshop presentation

Synthesis of the e-­‐discussion of SDC’s e+i network from 19 March to 10 April 2012

"How can the Making Markets Work for the Poor Framework work for poor women and for poor men?" This is the underlying question of a discussion paper for an M4P Women's economic empowerment (WEE) framework prepared by Dr. Linda Jones on behalf of the M4P Hub. In order to achieve WEE, through M4P or any other approach, the paper recognises the need to define economic empowerment and its main elements. The four elements of WEE proposed in the paper were used as guide during the e-­‐discussion as well as to structure this synthesis. Besides the discussion of these four elements, some practical tips were compiled from the discussion and are presented
at the end of this synthesis paper.

Agriculture + Rural Development Network Brief No 1

Targeting women in rural advisory services (RAS) was chosen by members of SDC's Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) network as an important challenge that needs to be addressed. This short paper takes this challenge as a starting point and identifies ways forward - drawing from the inputs of ARD network members to an e-discussion held in September 2011.

Strategy 2011-2015

Echoing the voice of Pacific Youth

Policy brief 10/2010 by the Secretariat of Pacific Community SPC

Increasing gender equality in access to rural advisory services has the potential to make important con-tributions to a fairer playing field for men and women, and to provide women with their right full potential to contribute to and benefit from economic opportunities in the agricultural sector. Moreover, equal opportunities for men and women are an important precondition for increasing productivity in smallholder farming in most developing countries. Recent publications have emphasised the need for increased gender equality in the agricultural sector . Several organisations are concerned with the lack of results in this area and are therefore seeking guidance on how rural advisory services can fully roll out their potential for inclusion of women into the process of agricultural development on equal terms with men .

Roles, Strategies, and Capacities to Strengthen Extension and Advisory Services

Extension and advisory services (EAS) 1 play an important role in agricultural development. However, these services need new capacities to address the current challenges in agriculture and to contribute better to agricultural innovation – a process that that requires interactions and knowledge flows among a wide range of actors in the agricultural innovation
system (AIS).

The full position paper is available here.

This is chapter 10 of the publication:

Farming Systems Research into the 21st Century

MEAS provides user-friendly materials for dissemination as well as training programs that promote new strategies and approaches to rural extension and advisory service delivery. The modules and their brief descriptions are being published upon approval as "in progress". Upon completion, the training material will be made accessible as well.