Countries have different approaches in providing agricultural advisory services to farmers; it is not clear which provide best services and lead to least human or environmental hazards. In China, agricultural extension workers, trained as plant doctors, run plant clinics with at least six varying degrees of linkage to agri-business. More than 20,000 farmer queries were recorded during > 3,800 plant clinic sessions between 2014 and 2015, including the diagnosis of > 125 plant health problems of > 70 common crops as well as the related pest management recommendations. Diagnosis and recommendations appeared of high quality across all plant clinic types. Agri-business-connected plant doctors provided slightly less complete written advice regarding integrated pest management options than did non-business plant doctors; but gave slightly more detailed advice. Business-connected plant doctors advised slightly more highly hazardous pesticides and fewer antibiotics than non-business doctors; but differences are tiny. Overall, agri-business-connected and non-business plant doctors comparably reached farmers.

Rice is the world’s most important staple food for some 4 billion people, while in Asia, the poorest of the poor derive up to 70% of their calorie intake from rice. The crop is produced by some 144 million farm households, and harvested from 166 million hectares annually. Rice farming is associated with poverty in many areas. About 900 million of the world’s poor depend on rice as producers or consumers, and out of these, some 400 million poor and undernourished people are engaged in growing rice. Because of its geographic expansion and typical manner of wetland cultivation, worldwide rice production contributes about 10% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agricultural sector, mainly because of methane (CH4) emissions from continuously floodedwetland rice fields.

Nigeria’s agricultural sector is dominated by smallholder farmers, who represents about 80% of the farmers and operate on farm sizes averaging about 2.5 hectares. If appropriately supported,the smallholder farming sector can put the country on the path to self-sufficiency and ensure satietyfor household food consumption. However, this potential is undermined by productivity challenges,high post-harvest losses and lack of commercialization. Post-harvest losses are as high as 40%, driven bypoor handling techniques and lack of adequate storage facilities and infrastructure. Consequently, smallholder farmers receive lower prices due to quality losses and encounter difficulty in accessingcredit for their working capital needs.AGRA recognizes that a well-designed and efficient National Agricultural Warehouse System can provide many benefits to smallholder farmers, cooperatives, traders, and other players across the agricultural commodity value chains. 

Agricultural advisory services such as “training and visit” schemes used to operate —except in rare cases— like a stream flowing from the “wise” (researchers and technicians) to peasant farmers in order to fulfil the priorities of the State and its financial partners. Those days seem far away. Austerity and structural-adjustment measures brought an end to most of the State-run schemes that operated those services. A number of development actors then began providing advisory services to farmers: professional agricultural organisations, State agencies, investors, input suppliers, NGOs, telephony companies, etc. But how are those services structured? What is their purpose? Whom are they for?

The study assessed digital platforms used to link agriculture investors with smallholder farmers in Nigeria. Content analysis and in-depth interviews were used for the study. Three digital platforms, namely the ThriveAgric, EZ Farming and Farmcrowdy were purposively chosen for this study. Results showed that ThriveAgric is user friendly; EZ Farming and Farmcrowdy provide risk assessment scores for easy monitoring. Also, ThriveAgric uses the Agricultural Operating System (AOS) to track farmers’ activities. EZ Farming uses social media platforms for adverts and campaign while Farmcrowdy innovatively used the platform to render advisory services to the farmers. ThriveAgric and Farmcrowdy invested in crop and livestock production while EZ Farming areas of investments were crop, livestock, fisheries, farm equipment and hydroponics. Smallholder farmers’ derived benefits were mainly observed in the aspect of reduction in post-harvest losses. Untimely delivery of agricultural inputs and cost of running the platforms were identified as major impediments to the effective deployment of the platform by the farmers and operators of the platforms respectively. Cost66sharing mechanism should be incorporated into the partnership to ensure sustainability and a win-win situation. Also, regular review of the initiative by all the stakeholders is strongly recommended.

Advisory services are considered to play an important role in the development of competitiveness and sustainability in agriculture. Advisory services have been studied at policy level, structural level and within case studies, but there is still restricted knowledge about advisors’ and farmers’ view on advisory services in general. This paper presents the views of Swedish advisors and farmers on advisory services. In a survey-based study, perceptions of farm advisors and full-time farmers in commercial Swedish agriculture on advisory services were identified and statistically analysed, comparing differences between and within the groups. Significant differences in perceptions of advisors and farmers emerged in less concrete areas and on topics connected to change, management and strategy. Consequences of discrepancies in perceptions are that advisors may deliver too much, too little or off target, especially when expectations on advisory services are not clearly expressed. A strong and proactive back-office supporting the advisors is needed to prevent these possible consequences.

This study examined Greece's Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) and assessed the flow of information and linkages among eight stakeholder groups: policy, education, research, consulting, agricultural cooperatives, credit, private enterprises, and farmers. Data were collected using an online survey tool from 61 experts/representatives following an initial phone communication. The Graph Theoretical Technique was utilized to achieve the survey's objectives. The results revealed dominant and subordinated actors in the system and identified a critical pathway for information flow within AKIS. Policymakers can leverage these findings to strengthen linkages, address information gaps, and promote innovation and equitable development in the agricultural sector.

The COVID-19 outbreak imposed shocks so serious that the gap between the rich and the poor has widen – worsening the predicaments of marginalized and vulnerable people. Unless the voices of the voiceless are raised and the plights of the vulnerable are effectively addressed, poverty, inequality and exclusions will continue to widen.This report, which adopts a rapid assessment methodology, presents a framework to lift the bottom quintile of South Africa’s population from falling deeper into poverty, squalor, and exclusion.To achieve this, the report provides a rapid assessment of the needs created by COVID-19, not only directly, but indirectly through the impact of lockdowns and other measures taken to combat the spread of the disease.

Issues around bundling of climate smart agriculture (CSA) and climate information services (CIS) have been kept relatively distinct whereas in reality, they are more impactful when integrated. Using the case of the Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Change Research in Africa (AICCRA) Project that emphasizes bundling as a critical component of research in development, six regions of Ghana were purposively selected based on the identified value chain crops for implementation. 120 respondents including practicing farmers and advisors as reference,rated contributions of 21 innovations to 25 climate smartness indicators. These include gender, youth and social inclusion (GSI), enabling environment (EE), ability to enhance soil, water, crop and animal health (One-Healthinclusion (GSI), enabling environment (EE), ability to enhance soil, water, crop and animal health (One-HealthAchievement) (OHA), end-user friendliness (EUF) and climate smart agriculture (CS) for prioritization, bundling and ultimately to construct a Climate Smart Readiness Index (CSRI).

Mexico is considered the geographic center of origin of the Agave genus. The "maguey pulquero" (Agave mapisagaand A. salmiana) is produced and used in central Mexico to make a traditional fermented beverage known aspulque, which has been made and consumed since pre-Hispanic times and is still a form of subsistence for rural families.The maguey provides great ecological, cultural and nutritional benefits. In Jiquipilco, pulque production dates back to the settlement of the Otomí ethnic group (ñhañhú) in pre-Hispanic times. However, due to the discrediting of pulque and its marginal commercialization, few people seek the sustainable production and use of this crop. This project began as a training project for a professional master's degree in 2013. It was not funded, but flourished from the conviction of contributing to transform the socioecosystem around the maguey pulquero, an initiative to which various actors joined voluntarily.

This research examined the challenges, and training needs for the integration of social media into extension in Enugu State, Nigeria. Ninety-seven agricultural extension workers were proportionately selected from six agricultural zones in Enugu State. Data were generated through a questionnaire and results were presented with percentages and mean scores. The major challenge to the use of social media was the lack of access to social media by some target audiences ( x =1.55) and the complexity of the devices (phone and media). Some areas of training needs of the extension workers were how to place advertisements using Youtube (89.5%), how to transform images on Instagram (89%), how to post a link on Twitter (83.6%) and how to update WhatsApp application (79.4%). The government and extension organization should provide internet and internet-enabled devices as part of tools for extension work and the use of social media should be incorporated as part of continuous professional development (CPD) for extension agents by extension organizations in Enugu State.

The study assessed the capability of extension agents in disseminating Climate Change (CC) information in Delta State, Nigeria. A multi-stage procedure was used in selecting 60 respondents. Data were collected on respondents’ capacity for outreach to farmers; existence of linkage on CC and sources of information on CC, constraints to building capacities for outreach and strategies to strengthen capacities.  Lack of human resources, training programmes on CC were constraints to building capacities for outreach. Organization of seminars, workshops, proper staffing, provision of incentives were suggested as strategies to strengthen capacity for outreach. Extension agents in the state lack the requisite facilities for outreach to farmers on climate change agricultural adaptation. Also, there are inadequate human and material resources necessary for effective coverage of the farming population. Government and development organizations should hire qualified extension personnel and provide weather observatory for CC outreach in Delta State.

A successful combination of training, demonstration and incentives led to a new ecosystem for a pluralistic, farmercentered, and market-oriented extension system in Cambodia, fully mainstreamed and embedded in national policy and institutional frameworks. This resulted in an expansion of the traditional range of public investments in infrastructure for irrigation and improved water management; clean energy-powered equipment; natural resource management; erosion control; forest replanting; and disaster preparation.

Poverty has become overwhelmingly rural in Vietnam. The vast majority ofpoor people (86 per cent) belong to ethnic minorities living in remote areas. Tra Vinh and Ben Tre provinces, two of the poorest provinces located in southern Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta Region, are highly vulnerable to and frequently impacted by climate-related disasters, such as floods, storms and droughts. Vietnam has embraced the approach of multidimensional poverty measurement, which defines the rural poverty line as VND 700,000 (US$29) per person per month. The Project for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Mekong Delta in the Ben Tre and Tra Vinh Provinces (AMD) worked to strengthen the resilience and adaptive capacity of 60,000 smallholder farmer households by generating sustainable income opportunities and improved rural livelihoods, reaching an estimated 210,000 people. To achieve this, AMD invested in climate-resilient, inclusive and remunerative value chain opportunities, including coconut, fruits and aquaculture. Ten people who benefited from AMD in different ways share their stories onthe following pages. Three years after the project closed, the rural businesses they built have proven to be sustainable, enabling them to escape poverty and contribute to the well-being of their families and communities.

Colombia produces more sugar per month on one hectare of land than any other country. This privilege is due to the productivity of sugar cane grown in the Cauca River valley, where 14 processing plants operate almost all year round to produce sugar, honey, bioethanol, and electrical energy. The cane is supplied by 2,750 growers, owners of 75% of the 240,000 hectares planted, and by the sugar mills themselves (25% of the area). The sugarcane chain provides more than 286,000 direct and indirect jobs. In 51 municipalities in 5 departments, 6 out of every 10 families depend on this productive activity. In 2016, the Fénix Program, now known as the Integra Program, was created in the Cauca River Valley. Since 2020, this initiative has been led by the Colombian Sugarcane Research Center, Cenicaña, as an opportunity to proactively prepare for the future. Between 2016 and 2023, 255 producers have joined the program (41,300hectares in 430 farms), and nearly $1,125,000 has been invested for the Program.

During the past decade (2013-2023), the Agricultural Extension in South Asia (AESA) Network (www.aesanetwork.org) has functioned as a platform for those passionate about Extension and Advisory Services (EAS). It serves as a space to share experiences and perspectives related to strengthening the contribution of EAS to agrifood systems transformation and to learn from these insights. We have consistently published the experiences and insights of our contributors in various formats, including blogs, good practices, meeting notes, face-to-face interviews, and book reviews. This second volume represents our ongoing effort to compile the next 100 blogs(101-200) published between 2019 and 2023.

Land degradation remains a major challenge in Kenya’s agricultural landscapes. It is estimated that about 0.25% of the country’s arable land is lost through soil erosion and other land degradation mechanisms each year. Land, water, and atmospheric degradation have placed serious consequences on all living organisms, food security, rural livelihoods and the socio-economic wellbeing of most households in the country. The situation is attributed to unsustainable land management practices caused by a weak extension support system, particularly in light of emerging external challenges such as climate change. Practical Action, through AESTANET, has responded to the challenge by developing this training toolkit to guide extension support and information dissemination on suitable soil and water conservation measures, composting technologies, agrobiodiversity, kitchen gardening,agroforestry, farmers seed systems, crop livestock integration, bio-fertilizers, ecological pest management,conservation agriculture through improved fallows, principles of soil health management and value addition. This toolkit presents the techniques applicable in different agricultural production systems and environmental conservation and management in a simplified format to be easily understood and applied by both extensionagents and farming communities.

Agricultural extension provides the critical connection from agricultural innovation and discovery to durable improvements at scale, as farmers and other actors in the rural economy learn, adapt, and innovate with new technologies and practices. However, lack of capacity and performance of agricultural extension in lower- and middle-income countries is an ongoing concern. Research on agricultural extension and advisory services (in short, extension) has been an integral part of the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) since its inception.This brief synthesizes key findings from research funded by and linked to PIM from 2012 to 2021, presenting lessons learned and a vision for the future of extension. A list of all PIM-related extension and advisory services research is provided at the end.

This AAP-PIRA project reviewed the agricultural extension advisory services (EASs) in MSU-AAP Consortium member countries covering Nigeria, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, and Kenya with key research questions: (a) Do extension curricula effectively address the needs of current food and agricultural systems? and (b) What are the critical job skills and core competencies required of extension workers? Overall, the findings revealed that the conventional top-down and supply driven EASs no longer appear to be an appropriate model to address the key challenges -- reduction and untimely governmental funding, declining number of well trained extension staff, inadequate research-extension-farmer-inputs linkages, inadequate policy-legal-regulatory-institutional frameworks, inadequate targeting of diverse groups, lack of coordination among pluralistic EASs providers, inadequate EAS infrastructure, and demand for market-driven and efficient EASs.

The planetary crisis is the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced, an existential threat calling into question the future of civilization. Unless collective action is taken to halt and reverse the decline of the planet’s ecosystems, the road to 2030 will be defined by accelerating levels of social vulnerability, povertyand crisis. The polycrisis experienced in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region over the past decade is a case in point, providing critical insights on the role of ecological change in the emergence of complex multidimensional crises. This paper explores lessons and insights from a new generation of integrated local solutions that have emerged across the region to manage risks and build resilience, and makes the case for a new systems orientation to development paradigms and practice to achieve goals of transformational change. In moving towards 2030, a new paradigm is needed in which development is seen no longer as a linear set of goals and targets but as the emergent property of a complex socioecological system.