Assessing and strengthening Malawi’s pluralistic agricultural extension system: Evidence and lessons from a three-year research study PDF Download
Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Assessing and strengthening Malawi’s pluralistic agricultural extension system: Evidence and lessons from a three-year research study PDF full book. Access full book title Assessing and strengthening Malawi’s pluralistic agricultural extension system: Evidence and lessons from a three-year research study by Ragasa, Catherine. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: Ragasa, Catherine
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 12
Get Book Here
Book Description
In July 2016, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and partners launched a three-year evidence-based policy support project to analyze demand for and supply of agricultural extension services in Malawi and help design activities to strengthen service providers’ capacity to address farmers’ demands for information. For this project, IFPRI partnered with Wadonda Consult and the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) to conduct the household survey and qualitative interviews. Funding came from the Government of Flanders, the U.S. Agency for International Development through the Strengthening Agricultural and Nutrition Extension (SANE), the German Agency for International Cooperation [GIZ]), and the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM). The project collected two rounds of nationally representative panel data of 2,880 households (2016 and 2018), two rounds of focus group discussions (FGDs), census of extension service providers in 15 districts, and a series of in-depth interviews. This note summarizes the main findings from 10 reports completed to analyze and draw conclusions from the stories behind these datasets.
Author: Ragasa, Catherine
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 12
Get Book Here
Book Description
In July 2016, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and partners launched a three-year evidence-based policy support project to analyze demand for and supply of agricultural extension services in Malawi and help design activities to strengthen service providers’ capacity to address farmers’ demands for information. For this project, IFPRI partnered with Wadonda Consult and the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) to conduct the household survey and qualitative interviews. Funding came from the Government of Flanders, the U.S. Agency for International Development through the Strengthening Agricultural and Nutrition Extension (SANE), the German Agency for International Cooperation [GIZ]), and the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM). The project collected two rounds of nationally representative panel data of 2,880 households (2016 and 2018), two rounds of focus group discussions (FGDs), census of extension service providers in 15 districts, and a series of in-depth interviews. This note summarizes the main findings from 10 reports completed to analyze and draw conclusions from the stories behind these datasets.
Author: Faure, Guy
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 48
Get Book Here
Book Description
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.
Author: Davis, Kristin E.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 14
Get Book Here
Book Description
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. Designing and implementing effective provision of extension is complex, and efforts to strengthen extension services often fall into a trap of adopting “best practice” blueprint approaches that are not well-tailored to local conditions. An expansive literature examines the promises and pitfalls of common approaches, including training-and-visit extension systems, farmer field schools, and many others (Anderson and Feder 2004; Anderson et al. 2006; Waddington and White 2014; Scoones and Thompson 2009). To understand extension systems and build evidence for what works and where, the “best-fit” framework, a widely recognized approach developed by Birner and colleagues (2009) and adapted by Davis and Spielman (2017), offers a simple impact chain approach (Figure 1). The framework focuses on a defined set of extension service characteristics that affect performance: governance structures and funding; organizational and management capacities and cultures; methods; and community engagement — all of which are subject to external factors such as the policy environment, agroecological conditions, and farming-system heterogeneity. To enhance extension performance and, ultimately, a wide range of outcomes and impacts, new and innovative interventions can be applied and adapted within this set of extension characteristics.
Author: Davis, Kristin E., ed.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN: 0896293750
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 380
Get Book Here
Book Description
Agricultural transformation and development are critical to the livelihoods of more than a billion small-scale farmers and other rural people in developing countries. Extension and advisory services play an important role in such transformation and can assist farmers with advice and information, brokering and facilitating innovations and relationships, and dealing with risks and disasters. Agricultural Extension: Global Status and Performance in Selected Countries provides a global overview of agricultural extension and advisory services, assesses and compares extension systems at the national and regional levels, examines the performance of extension approaches in a selected set of country cases, and shares lessons and policy insights. Drawing on both primary and secondary data, the book contributes to the literature on extension by applying a common and comprehensive framework — the “best-fit” approach — to assessments of extension systems, which allows for comparison across cases and geographies. Insights from the research support reforms — in governance, capacity, management, and advisory methods — to improve outcomes, enhance financial sustainability, and achieve greater scale. Agricultural Extension should be a valuable resource for policymakers, extension practitioners, and others concerned with agricultural development.
Author: Riikka Rajalahti
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
The purpose of this paper is to provide information on how to transform and strengthen pluralistic agricultural extension and advisory systems in moving toward the broader goal of increasing farm income and improving rural livelihoods. The focus of this book is primarily on the technical knowledge, management skills, and information services that small-scale farm households will need to improve their livelihoods in the rapidly changing global economy. In addition, the book will also include information on how extension should help all types of farmers in dealing with escalating natural resource problems, including climate change. The primary focus of this paper will be a comparative analysis of different extension strategies, organizational models, institutional innovations, and resource constraints and how an extension system might be transformed and strengthened through specific policy and organizational changes as well as needed investments. This paper is organized into nine chapters. These chapters follow an institution building strategy used by many donors and governments as they seek to improve their extension system. The diagram in Figure one outlines these basic planning, implementation, and evaluation procedures that will be considered. The sections outlined below will provide a brief overview of the different chapters included in this paper.
Author: Ragasa, Catherine
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 44
Get Book Here
Book Description
This paper aims to test this hypothesis and to contribute to better understanding of strategies to revitalize the agricultural extension system in Malawi. Specifically, it examines the interplay between the fertilizer subsidy and access to extension services, and their impact on farm productivity and food security in Malawi. Results show that the fertilizer subsidy has inconsistent impact on farm productivity and food security; at the same time, access to agricultural advice was consistently insignificant in explaining farm productivity and food security. Further analysis, however, shows that when access to extension services is unpacked to include indicators of usefulness and farmers’ satisfaction, these indicators were statistically significant. Households who reported that they received very useful agricultural advice had greater productivity and greater food security than those who reported receiving advice that they considered not useful. This result implies the need to ensure the provision of relevant and useful agricultural advice to increase the likelihood of achieving agricultural development outcomes
Author: Davis, Kristin E., ed.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN: 0896293769
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 4
Get Book Here
Book Description
Agricultural transformation and development are critical to the livelihoods of more than a billion small-scale farmers and other rural people in developing countries. Extension and advisory services play an important role in such transformation and can assist farmers with advice and information, brokering and facilitating innovations and relationships, and dealing with risks and disasters. Agricultural Extension: Global Status and Performance in Selected Countries provides a global overview of agricultural extension and advisory services, assesses and compares extension systems at the national and regional levels, examines the performance of extension approaches in a selected set of country cases, and shares lessons and policy insights. Drawing on both primary and secondary data, the book contributes to the literature on extension by applying a common and comprehensive framework — the “best-fit” approach — to assessments of extension systems, which allows for comparison across cases and geographies. Insights from the research support reforms — in governance, capacity, management, and advisory methods — to improve outcomes, enhance financial sustainability, and achieve greater scale. Agricultural Extension should be a valuable resource for policymakers, extension practitioners, and others concerned with agricultural development.
Author: Ragasa, Catherine
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 45
Get Book Here
Book Description
The lead farmer (LF) approach has been implemented and heavily promoted nationwide in Malawi since 2009 to support government extension workers and accelerate technology dissemination. Earlier reports have shown that donor-funded projects in Malawi widely adopted the LF approach, indicating positive roles and contributions of LFs. However, national data show persistently low rates of adoption of management practices being promoted by the LFs, prompting this study to look closely at the nationwide implementation and effectiveness of the LF approach. Specifically, we model the effects of farmers’ interaction with and exposure to LFs and farmers’ access to LFs’ advice on farmers’ awareness of and adoption of several promoted technologies and management practices. We use data from 531 randomly selected LFs linked to panel data from 2,800 farming households and, using correlated random effects, model the effectiveness of the LF approach on technology awareness and adoption. This is complemented by 55 focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with agricultural extension development officers (AEDOs) and service providers. Our results point to two major conclusions. First, LFs support and assist AEDOs in their work, especially in organizing community meetings and farm demonstrations, and are also an important bridge between farmers and AEDOs. But LFs complement AEDOs’ work rather than substitute for it. In communities without strong AEDOs and community leaders to work with and monitor them, LFs were not active or performed at a substandard level. Second, results show limited coverage and weak implementation and effectiveness of the LF approach at the national level. Only 13 percent of farmers reported receiving agricultural advice from an LF in the last two years, and only 20 percent reported having interacted with an LF. Our econometric models also consistently show neither the farmers’ exposure or interaction with LFs nor farmers’ access to LFs’ advice had an effect on awareness of and adoption of the major agricultural management practices being promoted. When heterogeneity and types of LFs are unpacked, results show that quality of LFs, adoption behavior of LFs, and regular training of LFs have strong and consistent effect on the awareness and adoption of most agricultural practices promoted.
Author: Jock R. Anderson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural extension work
Languages : en
Pages : 42
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Burton Swanson
Publisher: Daya Books
ISBN: 9788170354086
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 234
Get Book Here
Book Description
This book on Improving Agricultural Extension: a Reference Manual offers a critical review and inventory-analysis of the State of the Art in agricultural extension theory and best practices written by internationally known agricultural extension practitioners, educators and scholars. A total of 38 authors from 15 countries contributed to the 23 chapters of this book and thus they provided broad international perspectives, covering both theory and practice, as well as micro and macro issues related to agricultural extension. It is the third edition of a classic reference manual on agricultural extension published by the Food an Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Aimed at agricultural extension planners, managers, trainers, educators, and field practitioners, this book could be useful in improving the quality of agricultural extension and in generating new ideas and methods for increasing further the cost-effectiveness of agricultural extension programmes. It provides many sound and practical suggestions for developing and improving the conceptual, technical and operational methods and tools in order to strategically plan, efficently manage and scientifically evaluate a problem-solving, demand-driven and needs-based agricultural extension programmes. Contents Part I: Overview of Extension in Agricultural and Rural Development; Chapter 1: The history, development and future of agricultural extension by Gqyn E Jones and Chris Garforth; Chapter 2: Alternative approaches to organizing extension by Uwe Jens Nagel; Chapter 3: The context of extension in agricultural and rural development by Warren Peterson; Chapter 4: The economic contributions of agricultural extension to agricultural and rural development by Robert Evenson; Part II: Improving Extension Programmes and Process; Chapter 5: Assessing target gorup needs by N L McCaslin and Jovan P Tibezinda; Chapter 6: Using rapid or participatory rural appraisal by Jules N Pretty and Simplice D Volouhe; Chapter 7: Developing and delivering extension programmes by Artur Christovao, Timothy Koehnen and Jose Portela; Chapter 8: Selecting appropriate content and methods in programme delivery by Dunstan A Campbell and St Clair Barker; Chapter 9: Improving Women Farmer Access to Extension Services by Janice Jiggins, R K Samanta and Janice E Olawoye; Chapter 10: Implementing strategic extension campaigns by Ronny Adhikarya; Chapter 11: Evaluating extension programmes by David Deshler; Part III: Improving Extension Management; Chapter 12: Formulating extension policy by Tito E Contado; Chapter 13: Improving the Organization and Management of Extension by M W Waldron, J Vsanthakumar and S Arulraj; Chapter 14: Managing human resources within extension by K Vijayaragavan and Y P Singh; Chapter 15: Training and professional development by Abdul Halim and Md Mozahar Ali; Chapter 16: Acquiring and managing financial resources by Robert P Bentz; Chapter 17: Monitoring extension programmes and resources by D C Misra; Chapter 18: Establishing a Management Information System by A Ramesh Babu, Y P Singh and R K Sachdeva; Chapter 19: Strengthening research-extension-farmer linkages by Burton E Swanson; Part IV: Current Trends and Development; Chapter 20: Extension s role in sustainable agricultural development by Niels Roling and Jules N Pretty; Chapter 21: Establishing and strengthening farmer organizations by Shankariah Chamala and P M Shingi; Chapter 22: Privatizing agricultural extension by William M Rivera and John W Cary; Chapter 23: The role of nongovernmental organizations in extension by John Farrington.
