Farmers and extension workers face a constant challenge in managing plant health problems. Diagnosis is made difficult by a diversity of causes and symptoms with multiple possible origins. Choosing the best management options needs careful consideration. Technical support services are often weak and extension providers struggle to reach all farmers. Plant health clinics (PHCs) are a practical way of enabling plant health specialists to work closely with extension workers in offering farmers advice on how to manage all types of plant health problems.

The National Agricultural Extension Strategy (NAES) is derived from the National Agricultural Extension Policy 2016 and was developed through a wide consultative process. The NAES is also aligned with the Five- Year National Development Plan (NDP II) 2015-2020. 

The Directorate of Extension Services (DAES) is mandated by the policy to work closely with existing MAAIF Departments and Agencies; other sector Ministries and Non- State Actors on the provision of agricultural extension services. The new strategic direction articulated in this strategy, is to transform extension from a system of parallel institutionally fragmented public and non-state actors to a well-coordinated, harmonized, regulated pluralistic service with multiple providers addressing diverse needs. The second dimension of the new direction is to address the extension needs along the entire value chain (as opposed to the previous focus on mainly primary production) and synergistic integration with other agricultural support services for optimum return on investment. 

The Government of Uganda has in the past developed and invested in

various agricultural extension approaches and systems with varying

demand for human, capital and financial resources. The success has been

mixed and sometimes unsatisfactory. In June 2014, Government took a decision to re-structure the entire national agricultural extension system in order to address past weaknesses in extension services. This decision was based on the recommendations of the Cabinet Sub Committee Report (2014). The reforms dubbed as “Single Spine Extension System” included transfer of the extension function from the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) to the mainstream Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and the creation of a Directorate of Agricultural Extension Services (DAES); integration of the NAADS program into the local government production departments and eliminating the parallel institutional arrangements as well as separation of agricultural input supply from the extension service delivery system. In a bid to effectively implement the reforms, MAAIF has prioritized the formulation of an agricultural extension policy and strategy to guide implementation.

Extension and advisory services (EAS) are well recognized as a key factor in contributing to agricultural productivity and growth. However, rigorous evaluation of EAS approaches and assessment of complex national or subnational pluralistic EAS systems are rare. This working paper examines the literature on experiential and empirical insights and explores methods to assess complex pluralistic EAS systems. The authors present conceptual thinking on innovation systems and EAS, and review the IFPRI “best-fit” framework. This framework remains relevant because it is based on a holistic perspective with an impact pathway orientation. The paper aims to operationalize and improve the best-fit framework to guide the evaluation of complex EAS systems. The authors draw on and summarize existing literature to illustrate methods and tools used to analyze each component of the framework. The review pays close attention to the literature and methods for assessing the diversity of service providers and their various delivery tools and learning approaches. The discussion also pays close attention to the interaction of each component and how it affects the performance and impact of EAS from a systems perspective. This paper adds key points and considerations on how to operationalize the best-fit framework to carry out evaluations of pluralistic EAS.

An extension campaign is a coordinated effort to inform many farmers in a relatively short period of time about an agricultural topic of widespread concern or interest. The aim is to achieve quick, large-scale change in farmer behaviour and practices through carefully choreographed efforts by different organisations, using a variety of communication channels.

Low income, poor eating habits, lack of knowledge about good nutrition practices, and limited access to diverse food items are other important determinants of food insecurity and malnutrition. This is why EAS need to identify and address the nutritional needs of rural households and mainstream nutrition-sensitive messages in their service provision. This note reviews selected instruments that EAS can use for this purpose.

By virtue of their power and privilege, men are in a prime position to tackle malnutrition in their own homes and in the broader community. In many households and communities, men make key decisions about what to grow and which animals to raise. They often decide what to sell, how much to store, and what foods to buy. However, many initiatives target women and girls, and ignore men. Women may learn a lot from courses on good nutrition, but excluding men means that women may not be able to act on their improved knowledge.

More than 500 million family farms manage the majority of the world’s agricultural land and produce most of the world’s food. We need family farms to ensure global food security, to care for and protect the natural environment and to end poverty, undernourishment and malnutrition. These goals can be thoroughly achieved if public policies support family farms to become more productive and sustainable; in other words policies must support family farms to innovate within a system that recognizes their diversity and the complexity of the challenges faced.

The State of Food and Agriculture 2014: Innovation in family farming analyses family farms and the role of innovation in ensuring global food security, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. It argues that family farms must be supported to innovate in ways that promote sustainable intensification of production and improvements in rural livelihoods. Innovation is a process through which farmers improve their production and farm management practices.

En medio de un entorno tecnológico, económico y social impregnado de constantes e importantes transformaciones en todos los órdenes, se hace necesario mantener actualizados los sistemas de extensión tendientes a revitalizar los programas de producción agropecuaria.

Precisamente, la Red Latinoamericana para Servicios de Extensión Rural – RELASER- por medio del FORO de Costa Rica ha venido apoyando la elaboración de un Manual de Buenas Prácticas de Extensión Rural en apoyo a los programas de extensión que realizan instituciones públicas, privadas y académicas.

Supporting agricultural extension towards Climate-Smart AgricultureAn overview of existing tools

The Compendium seeks to provide an overview of approaches and practical tools to support extension services in the field of climate-smart agriculture. 

The document provides an overview and understanding of the GFRAS Capacity Assessment process. The Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) are meant to be a practical set of tools and templates available to support national and regional networks conducting capacity assessments.

This document has been developed for both practitioners and non-practitioners. Specifically, for practitioners the document can be used as a high level reference and guide including detailed supporting documents. For non-practitioners the document is intended to serve as a process overview, with an operational level of detail.

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À l’échelle mondiale et au sein des institutions de développement et des gouvernements, il existe une prise de conscience plus affûtée du besoin de mieux comprendre les liens entre l’agriculture et la nutrition et de décrypter comment le secteur agricole pourrait contribuer à une nutrition améliorée. On en sait encore moins en termes de quoi fournir et comment fournir aux ménages ruraux des « services agricoles sensibles à la nutrition1 » de manière efficiente. Les conseillers agricoles (par des circuits publics, privés ou par le biais d’organisations non gouvernementales (ONG)) sont souvent jugés comme une plateforme ou un véhicule prometteur pour la fourniture de savoir et de pratiques pour améliorer la nutrition des communautés rurales parce qu’ils touchent les agriculteurs et interagissent avec eux dans différents contextes. Ils agissent comme des prestataires de services importants sur des aspects qui touchent la production, la consommation et la sécurité alimentaire dans les domaines de l’agriculture, l’élevage et la foresterie.