MoabiMatsepe1

4 October always makes me reflect on what independence means for us as Basotho.

For me, it also brings me back to agriculture.

A country’s independence is closely connected to the strength of its food systems and the ability of its people to build secure and resilient livelihoods.

This is where I see agricultural extension playing an important role.

Extension is not simply about taking technologies from researchers to farmers. It is about listening to farmers, understanding their realities, connecting knowledge with local experience, supporting innovation and helping communities make better decisions in a changing environment.

For Lesotho, this is increasingly important as smallholder farmers face climate variability, water challenges, land degradation, changing markets and pressure on household livelihoods.

We need agricultural extension and advisory services that help farmers not only produce more, but become more resilient. This means strengthening climate-smart agriculture, farmer knowledge, access to information, innovation, markets and practical solutions that work within local conditions.

As a Mosotho who has trained in Agricultural Extension Education, I see extension as part of the wider work of building resilient food systems and a more self-reliant Lesotho.

Our independence is a history we celebrate, but it is also a responsibility to keep building.

Happy Independence Day, Lesotho.

I am happy to share that I have completed my M.Sc. (Agriculture) in Agricultural Extension Education at Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Technology in India, as an ICCR India-Africa Maitri Scholar.

The experience has deepened my understanding of agricultural extension beyond simply transferring knowledge to farmers. It has strengthened my interest in how research, education, communication, innovation and advisory services can come together to support farmers and rural communities.

My research focused on Climate-Smart Agriculture practices and the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Ayodhya District, Uttar Pradesh. It was a valuable opportunity to learn from farmers in a different agricultural context while reflecting on issues that are also very relevant back home in Lesotho.

Now that I have returned to Lesotho, I look forward to putting the knowledge and experience into practice, while continuing to learn from and contribute to the wider agricultural extension and advisory services community.

The degree is completed, but the learning and the work continue.

A thought after reading about this year’s World Food Day theme.

We often talk about innovation in agriculture as if innovation simply means new technology, machines or digital tools. But I think innovation becomes meaningful when it reaches people and makes a difference in their everyday lives.

Just looking at our situation in Lesotho reminds me why this matters.

We may welcome two days of good rain, and for a farmer that rain can bring hope. But at the same time, we have to look beyond the immediate weather and consider what the coming season may bring. With El Nino expected to strengthen and the possibility of drier conditions ahead, preparation becomes just as important as hope.

Lesotho is also supporting farmers through subsidised agricultural inputs, including seed and fertiliser. This is important because access to quality inputs is part of building agricultural production and food security.

But inputs are only one part of the picture.

This is where agricultural extension becomes more than simply transferring information.

Farmers need timely knowledge that helps them make decisions before challenges arrive. But knowledge alone is not always enough. It must translate into behaviour change, practical action and sustained adoption.

A farmer may have access to improved seed, know about water conservation, soil management, climate-smart practices or drought-tolerant crops, but the real impact comes when that knowledge influences decisions and becomes part of everyday farming practice.

For me, this is where Climate-Smart Agriculture, agricultural extension and behaviour change come together.

The multilayer farming systems I encountered in Ayodhya also reminded me that innovation does not always mean introducing something completely new. Sometimes it is about observing what works, combining local knowledge with scientific knowledge, adapting practices to available resources and finding better ways to use the land.

The two days of rain can give us hope. The El Nino outlook reminds us to prepare.

Perhaps that is the real value of innovation in agriculture: not simply giving people new information or inputs, but helping turn knowledge into action, action into practice, and practice into resilience.

From Ayodhya to Lesotho, the lesson remains relevant: innovation matters when it becomes something people can understand, adopt, adapt and make their own.

After reading the briefing from the 15th GFRAS Annual Meeting held in Senegal feels very relevant to my educational background and experience pertaining to Agricultural Extension Education.
The focus on integrating Rural Advisory Services (RAS), enhancing capacities of advisors, and coordination of research, training and advisory systems seems to address exactly what some of us are currently trained for.
As a post-graduate student in Agricultural Extension Education, I completely agree that advisory services are more than just pure delivery methods, and that they involve social processes, organizational processes and educational processes that need competent professionals and competency-based frameworks.
The plea for emphasis on endogenous and community-level advisors, in addition to web technology for outreach in remote farmers, especially youth, has special relevance in African agriculture.
The momentum generated by Senegal reaffirms my commitment to work through evidence-based and people-centric and inclusive advise systems that connect education and practice.

Extension and advisory services play a central role in enabling farmer transformation, yet their potential is often underutilized.
In your experience, what practical approaches have been most effective in strengthening extension systems to support inclusive and sustainable agricultural development?
I look forward to learning from the experiences shared within the GFRAS–EFAT Community of Practice.