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Author: Davis, Kristin E.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 16
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Book Description
Public and nonpublic extension and advisory services are both key to sustainable agriculture, resilient livelihoods, and inclusive growth1. The Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) has called for “the new extensionist”(Davis and Sulaiman 2014), emphasizing the functional competencies needed to help clientele cope with complex challenges such as climate change and nutrition. Since 2015 the GFRAS “New Extensionist Learning Kit” (NELK)has been equipping extension agents globally with functional competencies through face-to-face, online, and blended learning(AFAAS 2018). Competencies are defined in many different ways (Westera 2021). For this paper, we define competency simply as “the capability to perform actions which add value” (Mulder, 2012: 319). Functional competencies(the so-called soft skills, as distinct from more technical areas in agriculture, animal sciences, natural resources, etc.)have not been well documented in the academic literature, especially with respect to digitally enabled extension (Strong et al. 2014). According to Khalil and colleagues (2009), competencies such as leadership, communication, program planning, and evaluation are important factors for performance of extension staff. Digital skills are also becoming more important for extension officers. The utilization of digital technology (online modules, webinars) to deliver the NELK modules provides the opportunity to use expertise available globally to train many extension professionals at the same time. How ready, however, are extension officers globally to use such digital approaches –for continuous professional development and learning and also for outreach? Spielman and colleagues (forthcoming) developed an index of “digital readiness” of extension agents in Rwanda. Digital readiness is also referred to as Networked Readiness Index or Technology Index, and indicates the status and growth of information and communications technologies (ICT) and how ICTs are effectively used to achieve maximum benefits to the country and its citizens (Bharatula and Murthy 2020).
Author: Davis, Kristin E.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 16
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Book Description
Public and nonpublic extension and advisory services are both key to sustainable agriculture, resilient livelihoods, and inclusive growth1. The Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) has called for “the new extensionist”(Davis and Sulaiman 2014), emphasizing the functional competencies needed to help clientele cope with complex challenges such as climate change and nutrition. Since 2015 the GFRAS “New Extensionist Learning Kit” (NELK)has been equipping extension agents globally with functional competencies through face-to-face, online, and blended learning(AFAAS 2018). Competencies are defined in many different ways (Westera 2021). For this paper, we define competency simply as “the capability to perform actions which add value” (Mulder, 2012: 319). Functional competencies(the so-called soft skills, as distinct from more technical areas in agriculture, animal sciences, natural resources, etc.)have not been well documented in the academic literature, especially with respect to digitally enabled extension (Strong et al. 2014). According to Khalil and colleagues (2009), competencies such as leadership, communication, program planning, and evaluation are important factors for performance of extension staff. Digital skills are also becoming more important for extension officers. The utilization of digital technology (online modules, webinars) to deliver the NELK modules provides the opportunity to use expertise available globally to train many extension professionals at the same time. How ready, however, are extension officers globally to use such digital approaches –for continuous professional development and learning and also for outreach? Spielman and colleagues (forthcoming) developed an index of “digital readiness” of extension agents in Rwanda. Digital readiness is also referred to as Networked Readiness Index or Technology Index, and indicates the status and growth of information and communications technologies (ICT) and how ICTs are effectively used to achieve maximum benefits to the country and its citizens (Bharatula and Murthy 2020).
Author: Davis, Kristin E.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 42
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Book Description
Extension and advisory services are key to sustainable agriculture, resilient livelihoods, and inclusive growth. In South Africa, there is need for new training, skills, and attitudes by extension staff to meet the demands of the changing sector. The purpose was to find out South African extension agent competency levels, attitudes and mindsets, especially toward digital extension, to be relevant for the future. Using a population survey, we targeted all public and non-public extension staff from every province using an online and paper-based questionnaire. We examined existing competencies, new needs, and differences in attitudes and competencies by factors such as education, employer, age, and gender. We created an index of “digital readiness” and an index of “technological readiness” based on technology use and attitudes and compared by various factors such as sector, age, and gender. We find that while extension officers tend to have a good arsenal of technical skills, they are less equipped with functional skills. Several competencies and attitudes necessary for the new norms and standards for extension officers are lacking in a good proportion of respondents, such as inclusivity and empowerment. While extension staff recognize the importance of digital literacy for the future, only about half have received any training on the use of digital tools. We recommend that extension role players take a systems view to revitalize extension. For extension to perform effectively, we must go beyond skills and training. Extension departments and organizations also need a certain level of competencies, and the enabling environment should be conducive. We recommend that, in addition to rounding out the technical and functional expertise of South African extension and advisory services staff that adequate incentives and rewards are in place to ensure professionalism and motivation.
Author: Davis, Kristin E., ed.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN: 0896293750
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 380
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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: Davis, Kristin E., ed.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN: 0896293769
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 4
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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: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251322945
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 252
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Book Description
This publication contains twelve modules which cover a selection of major reform measures in agricultural extension being promulgated and implemented internationally, such as linking farmers to markets, making advisory services more demand-driven, promoting pluralistic advisory systems, and enhancing the role of advisory services within agricultural innovation systems. The reform issues consider the changing roles of the various public, private and non-governmental providers, and highlights the collaboration required to create synergies for more efficient and effective high quality services responding to the needs and demands of smallholder farmers. The modules draw on reform experiences worldwide and provide an introduction, definitions and a discussion for each specific reform measure, as well as case studies, tools, exercises and a reference list. The reform topics are envisaged for policy-makers, management and senior staff of institutions providing agricultural and rural advisory services. It can also be very useful for students studying agriculture, rural development, and extension in particular. This is a substantially updated version of the 2009 publication of the same title, but with only nine modules. These nine modules were restructured and up-dated, and three modules were added. The layout of the modules changed to allow a better overview for the reader.
Author: William M. Rivera
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000562573
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 187
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Book Description
First published in 1987, Agricultural Extension Worldwide presents an international perspective on agricultural extension and highlights extension as an integral function of agricultural development. Agricultural extension is one of the largest nonformal problem-solving educational systems in the world. It is generally concerned with transferring knowledge and research to farmers but may include services to other target audiences such as farm families and rural youth, as well as serve for developing rural community resources. In sixteen chapters, various major systems of extension are discussed along with factors that make for their success or failure, including the linkages required and the policy and financial supports necessary to make them effective. This book is a must read for scholars and researchers of agricultural economics, agricultural policy and agriculture in general.
Author: Peter Oakley
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9789251014530
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 156
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Book Description
The framework of development; Understanding extension; Social and cultural factors in extension; Extension and comunication; Extension methods; The extension agent; The planning and evaluation of extension programmes; Extension an special target groups.
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251357986
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 72
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Book Description
Equipping agricultural extension and advisory services with nutrition knowledge, competencies and skills is essential to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture. This report presents the results of an assessment of capacity within agricultural extension and advisory services, undertaken in Malawi with the global capacity needs assessment (GCNA) methodology developed by FAO and GFRAS. The methodology is available online at https://doi.org/10.4060/cb2069en
Author: Gershon Feder
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Ability
Languages : en
Pages : 38
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Book Description
Abstract: May 1999 - The agriculture sector must nearly double biological yields on existing farmland to meet food needs, which will double in the next quarter century. A sustainable approach to providing agricultural extension services in developing countries-minimal external inputs, a systems orientation, pluralism, and arrangements that take advantage of the best incentives for farmers and extension service providers-will release the local knowledge, resources, common sense, and organizing ability of rural people. Is agricultural extension in developing countries up to the task of providing the information, ideas, and organization needed to meet food needs? What role should governments play in implementing or facilitating extension services? Roughly 80 percent of the world's extension is publicly funded and delivered by civil servants, providing a range of services to the farming population, commercial producers, and disadvantaged target groups. Budgetary constraints and concerns about performance create pressure to show the payoff on investment in extension and to explore alternatives to publicly providing it. Feder, Willett, and Zijp analyze the challenges facing policymakers who must decide what role governments should play in implementing or facilitating extension services. Focusing on developing country experience, they identify generic challenges that make it difficult to organize extension: The magnitude of the task; Dependence on wider policy and other agency functions; Problems in identifying the cause and effect needed to enable accountability and to get political support and funding; Liability for public service functions beyond the transfer of agricultural knowledge and information; Fiscal sustainability; Inadequate interaction with knowledge generators. Feder, Willett, and Zijp show how various extension approaches were developed in attempts to overcome the challenges of extension: Improving extension management; Decentralizing; Focusing on single commodities; Providing fee-for-service public extension services; Establishing institutional pluralism; Empowering people by using participatory approaches; Using appropriate media. Each of the approaches has weaknesses and strengths, and in their analysis the authors identify the ingredients that show promise. Rural people know when something is relevant and effective. The aspects of agricultural extension services that tend to be inherently low cost and build reciprocal, mutually trusting relationships are those most likely to produce commitment, accountability, political support, fiscal sustainability, and the kinds of effective interaction that generate knowledge. This paper-a joint product of Rural Development, Development Research Group, and the Rural Development Department-is part of a larger effort in the Bank to identify institutional and policy reforms needed to promote sustainable and equitable rural development. The authors may be contacted at
[email protected],
[email protected], or
[email protected].
Author: Maimunah Ismail
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443864811
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 210
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Book Description
This book is relevant to the practice and theory of agricultural extension. In the current context of significant changes in thinking, policy, and expectations, these changes require extension agents to respond to challenges in developing leadership skills to support and encourage changes at farm and household levels. The book has identified the background, personal, and environmental factors influencing achievement motivation in the leadership role of extension agents. The background factors are primary dimensions of diversity and are less amenable to change, exert significant impacts, and shape our basic self-image, sense of identity, and early learning experiences. Researchers often ignore the interdependence of the background factors with other (secondary) dimensions of diversity, in which the latter are changeable personal characteristics that are acquired, and may be modified or abandoned throughout life. Although the secondary dimensions of diversity are more controllable, they will be affected by other people’s decisions, which in this book we see as environmental factors. The reliability and applicability of the above-mentioned theoretical discussions have been tested in an original study involving extension agents in Iran.
