Fostering innovative partnership to strengthen pluralistic Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services (EAS)

25 June 2024. Fostering innovative partnership to strengthen pluralistic EAS in Agrifood systems: Cases from Eastern and Southern Africa

Different countries have different experience in designing and implementing pluralistic extension services systems based on their specific situation, challenges, and priorities. 

FAO Office of Innovation, the Regional Office for Africa of FAO (RAF), and the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS), had initiated a joint activity in documenting and showcasing different good practices of pluralistic Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services (EAS)  in countries in Africa; and facilitating knowledge and experience sharing among countries across the region. Three cases have been selected for the webinar through a rigorous selection process.

Speakers

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  Kristin Davis

  Senior Research Fellow·Natural Resources and Resilience (NRR) Unit at the International Food Policy Research Institute

  
  

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  Godfrey Omony

  CARE Uganda

  Godfrey Omony has been on the CARE Uganda team for 3 years. He currently manages the Scaling Up Farmer Field and Business School, SFFBS-C, and FNGAP Projects where the Farmer Field and Business School approach is being scaled up in different contexts.

• 

  Jerry Aries

  Western Cape Department of Agriculture

  
  

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  Beatrice N. Luzobe

  Chief Executive Officer (Ex-Officio)·Uganda Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (UFAAS)

  
  

• 

  Peter Gitika Mwangi

  The Country Focal Person KeFAAS (2018-date) Agricultural Rural innovations Expert (ARIS)-Egerton university
  

Resources:

Reflections on 50+ Years Assisting Smallholder Farming Communities RL Tinsley1 Prof. Emeritus Soil & Crop Sciences, Colorado State University # 33 p.

 

To assist countries in making evidence-based decisions regarding Extension and Advisory Services, FAO has recently developed guidelines and tools for the systematic assessment and performance measurement of national EAS systems. Three complementary instruments are developed and these are here:
FAO (2022) INDICATOR FRAMEWORK FOR NATIONAL EXTENSION AND ADVISORY SERVICE SYSTEMS: Metrics for performance and outcome measurement # 56 p.

• This Indicator Framework provides much needed structure to EAS assessment, taking into account contemporary, pluralistic services and is complemented by FAO’s instruments for participatory data collection in EAS, including quantitative and qualitative data.

FAO (2022) EXTENSION AND ADVISORY SERVICE SYSTEMS YARDSTICK (EAS-Y): A Scoring Tool to Generate Evidence on Performance and Outcomes  # 48 p.

• To enable evidence based and informed policy and investment decision for extension and advisory systems, the EAS-Yardstick (EAS-Y) has been developed through a consultative expert process. 
• It constitutes a holistic scoring tool based on a comprehensive set of metrics that can capture all the nuances of the pluralistic EAS.

FAO (2022) COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF NATIONAL EXTENSION AND ADVISORY SERVICE SYSTEMS: An operational guide  # 108 p.

• This operational guide meets the longstanding demand for guidance on undertaking such a comprehensive assessment of national EAS systems. 
• It provides detailed directions on how to organize the entire process, from preparation to implementation and consolidation. 
• Its use will help identify gaps and entry points for targeting investments and realigning policies for transforming EAS.