GFRAS Community of Practice in Extension and Rural Advisory Services

6 December 2023. Kick-off meeting of the GFRAS Community of Practice in Extension and Rural Advisory Services

GFRAS, the “Enabling Farmers for Agricultural Transformation (EFAT)” Project, Winrock International and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are collaborating to strengthen agricultural extension and advisory services and systems (EAS) globally.

Part of the activities planned for this partnership involve the revitalization of an on-line community of practice on extension and advisory services.

This first online meeting, presented the results of a survey collecting the main topics of interest in RAS and food-systems, present an overview of what the online platform has to offer, and how to interact with other members.

Resource

GFRAS (2023) Recent Trends in Contemporary Digital Rural Advisory Services # 32 p.

Digitalization is considered the avenue to reach the 500 million smallholders that deserve better livelihoods and improved resilience against the adverse consequences of climate change and other environmental threats. As a contribution to the global discussion around this theme, the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) seeks to determine what kind of agricultural extension will be needed in the future to overcome today’s challenges.

Advisory services are becoming more intelligent and data-driven, delivering highly localised information that helps farmers make better decisions and in a timelier manner. These can help link climate indicators with on-farm activities, using big data analytics and artificial intelligence. Digitally powered peer-to-peer and participatory advisory services, such as Wefarm and Farm.ink, help provide crowdsourced information in places including Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda (page 7)

Related:

Close to 200 agricultural leaders and global experts in extension and rural advisory services gathered in Denver in October for the 14th Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) Annual Meeting, sharing ideas and exploring strategies for producing the next generation of agricultural leaders.

Attendees representing more than 40 countries across North America, South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe participated in the three-day event, which was hosted by the North American Agricultural Advisory Network (NAAAN). It was the first GFRAS meeting held in the United States.