Résumé

Bien que l’appui apporté aux communautés rurales en matière de renforcement de la vulgarisation et de conseil, ait fait l’objet de nombreux débats ces dernières années, l’on sait peu de choses sur la façon de renforcer les capacités nécessaires dans les services de vulgarisation et de conseil (SVC), et sur le rôle que ces services jouent dans le système d’innovation agricole (SIA). Le présent document vise à combler ce déficit de connaissances en articulant une nouvelle vision pour les SVC dans le SIA, que nous appelons le « Nouveau Conseiller Agricole », tout en reconnaissant que ceci ne concerne pas seulement les rôles et les capacités individuels mais également les rôles et les capacités aux niveaux organisationnel et des systèmes. Le présent document examine les moyens de développer les capacités nécessaires pour l’opérationnalisation de cette vision à ces différents niveaux.

Bien que l’appui apporté aux communautés rurales en matière de renforcement de la vulgarisation et de conseil, ait fait l’objet de nombreux débats ces dernières années, l’on sait peu de choses sur la façon de renforcer les capacités nécessaires dans les services de vulgarisation et de conseil (SVC), et sur le rôle que ces services jouent dans le système d’innovation agricole (SIA). Le présent document vise à combler ce déficit de connaissances en articulant une nouvelle vision pour les SVC dans le SIA, que nous appelons le « Nouveau Conseiller Agricole », tout en reconnaissant que ceci ne concerne pas seulement les rôles et les capacités individuels mais également les rôles et les capacités aux niveaux organisationnel et des systèmes. Le présent document examine les moyens de développer les capacités nécessaires pour l’opérationnalisation de cette vision à ces différents niveaux.

For agricultural extension and advisory services (AEAS), social media presents a huge scope not just to communicate to the farmers  better and with efficiency, but also to act as innovation brokers in Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS). And not just for the organizations, social media has made it easier for farmers to communicate with extension professionals, experts and peers in real  time. And with this increased potential to share views and ideas and easy access to information, discretion  becomes important for organizations to maintain professionalism in a new social world.

Since the introduction of social media, communication is becoming more and more dynamic every day. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter have 1.18 billion and 316 million active monthly users as of 2015. Communication has become more virtual than physical. More and more people – young and old alike – are fascinated by the social media and it is a trend that is not going down very soon. For a long period in the future, social media is going to shape the way people interact, share information, form opinions and also lead individual and collective actions. In a world where social media etiquettes are probably more important than table manners, ignoring it is not something that the development sector can afford to do. Especially for agricultural extension and advisory services (AEAS), whose primary element is communication, social media can be a potential goldmine. The GFRAS global survey on use of social media in agricultural extension and advisory services conducted online across 60 countries and 226 respondents provides interesting results. 

Os Serviços de Extensão e Consultivos (EAS na sigla inglesa, Extension and Advisory Services)1 desempenham um papel importante no desenvolvimento da agricultura para segurança alimentar e da nutrição, soberania alimentar e estabilidade económica. No entanto, muitos serviços consultivos requerem novas capacidades para abordarem os atuais desafios que a agricultura enfrenta, a fim de contribuir melhor para a inovação agrícola – um processo que exige interações e o fluxo de conhecimentos entre uma vasta gama de atores no sistema de inovação agrícola (AIS na sigla inglesa, Agricultural Innovation System)2. Nos últimos anos, verificou-se que o cenário da extensão se tornou mais pluralista, com uma participação crescente do setor privado (insumos agrícolas, agronegócio, serviços financeiros), das organizações não-governamentais (internacionais e locais), grupos de produtores, cooperativas e associações, consultores (independentes e os ligados a associações de agronegócio e/ou de produtores) e serviços baseados nas tecnologias da informação e comunicação (TIC). Esse pluralismo, porém, não é bem compreendido por planeadores, decisores políticos, investigadores e até mesmo pelos consultores dos serviços de extensão.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), working in collaboration with the University of Illinois (UIUC), FAO, and the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS), developed the Worldwide Extension Study database as part of the assessment of the status of agricultural extension and advisory services worldwide between 2009-2013.  Also collaborating were the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Danish Agricultural Advisory Services (DAAS), and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD).  The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supported the work. This report briefly outlines the status of public extension in these countries by region and sub-region. Much more detailed information, data, web links, and secondary documents on most countries can be found at http://www.g-fras.org/en/world-wide-extension-study.html. 

Roles, Estrategias y Capacidades para Fortalecer los Serviciosde Extensión y Asesoría

A pesar que durante los últimos años se ha discutido mucho sobre el fortalecimiento de la extensión y asesoría en apoyo a las comunidades rurales, menos se sabe acerca de cómo construir las capacidades necesarias dentro de los servicios de extensión y asesoría (SEA). Tampoco se sabe lo suficiente sobre el papel que juegan los SEA dentro del sistema de innovación agrícola (SIA). Es por esto que este documento pretende llenar este vacío de conocimiento mediante la articulación de una nueva visión de los SEA dentro de los SIA, a lo que llamamos el «Nuevo Extensionista», reconociendo que esto no sólo se trata de funciones y capacidades individuales, sino a nivel organizacional y de sistema. El documento analiza las formas de desarrollar las capacidades necesarias para poner en práctica la referida visión en estos niveles.

Roles, Estrategias y Capacidades para Fortalecer los Serviciosde Extensión y Asesoría

A pesar que durante los últimos años se ha discutido mucho sobre el fortalecimiento de la extensión y asesoría en apoyo a las comunidades rurales, menos se sabe acerca de cómo construir las capacidades necesarias dentro de los servicios de extensión y asesoría (SEA). Tampoco se sabe lo suficiente sobre el papel que juegan los SEA dentro del sistema de innovación agrícola (SIA). Es por esto que este documento pretende llenar este vacío de conocimiento mediante la articulación de una nueva visión de los SEA dentro de los SIA, a lo que llamamos el «Nuevo Extensionista», reconociendo que esto no sólo se trata de funciones y capacidades individuales, sino a nivel organizacional y de sistema. El documento analiza las formas de desarrollar las capacidades necesarias para poner en práctica la referida visión en estos niveles.

The fifth anniversary of GFRAS provides an opportunity to celebrate the past as well as look to the future. With that in mind, we offer you this snapshot of our accomplishments over the past half-decade and a taste of what lies ahead for us as the international community defines the global sustainable development agenda that will succeed the Millennium Development Goals in 2015.

2014 was an exciting year at GFRAS. We focused on several different endeavours. The first of these was the position paper on the role of producer organisations in rural advisory services (RAS). This was linked to the International Year of Family Farming. GFRAS believes that producer organisations (including farmers and other rural entrepreneurs) play a critical role in advisory services. As follow up to the 2013 annual meeting, which focused on the role of producer organisations in RAS, in 2014, GFRAS engaged in a series of online dialogues, face-to-face discussions, literature review, and gathering of experiences on this topic, which culminated in the position paper. 

This report contains the full audited financial statement that is not present in the printed copies.

The brief calls for the reform of curricula and learning materials. It urges decision makers to better balance the training of extension professionals between technical and functional competencies. It promotes the idea of the “extension professional,” and the need for professional associations where extension professionals can exchange experiences and gain new knowledge.

Esta Guía de Evaluación de Extensión Rural ha sido desarrollada por el Foro Global para los Servicios de Asesoría Rural (GFRAS). El propósito es apoyar a las personas involucradas en la evaluación de extensión a elegir cómo llevar a cabo evaluaciones más completas, rigurosas, creíbles y útiles. La Guía ayuda a los lectores a entender los diferentes tipos de evaluación, para tomar decisiones sobre lo que es más apropiado para sus circunstancias, y para acceder a otras fuentes de información teórico-prácticas.

This Position Paper was written to raise awareness of the roles of producer organisations in rural advisory services, and to contribute to discussions about how their effectiveness in these roles can be increased so that they contribute to improved livelihoods and poverty reduction. It is aimed at all actors involved  in the provision of rural advisory services, including  producer organisations themselves.

We argue that rural advisory services will contribute to improved rural livelihoods and poverty reduction  if they are demand-driven and pluralistic. Demand-orientation ensures that services meet the expressed needs of farmers. Pluralism – the co-existence of a variety of rural advisory service providers with specific comparative advantages – ensures that services can match the diversity of rural livelihoods.

In 2013 GFRAS underwent a mid-term review. The GFRAS steering committee wished to be informed if the forum was doing the right things and doing things right. Different aspects of GFRAS, such as organisational structure and processes, objectives and strategic orientation, governance and management, and work performance – as well as the forum’s role and position in an evolving international context of agricultural development – were appraised, and the forum’s main accomplishments and challenges faced during the period of 2010 to early 2013 were assessed. The review serves as a policy and managerial tool for GFRAS steering committee decisions regarding the immediate future, and includes forward-looking insights and practical recommendations regarding future options for GFRAS, within the existing strategic framework and beyond.