MEAS Symposium 2015

June 3

“Private Sector and Development Organizations' Approaches to

Extension Service Provision”

Documenting Extension Approaches of Selected Development

OrganizationsSarah Sahlaney &Katie Hoeberling

Junior SpecialistsUniversity of California, Davis

What did we do and why?

Interviewed 19 development organizations of varying size and function.

Four Questions:1) What are organizations’ EAS approaches and success factors?2) What approaches are unique to each organization?3) What are common challenges, and how do they overcome them? 4) Where do organizations want to improve?

Identify shared knowledge, best practices, and common areas for improvement among EAS organizations

Extension systems are increasingly pluralistic and organizations provide non-traditional extension and advisory services.

Common Approaches

Common Approaches• Farmer Field School and demonstration plots• Capacity building involving lead farmers• Credit mechanisms• Engaging and involving private sector

Successful Approaches: Participation, building trust, and reducing risk• Engaging the private sector – collaboration and capacity building• Flexibility• Farmer-to-farmer• Facilitating relationships

Challenges

• Weak local capacity• Short project cycles

– Developing trust and relationships to help long-term success

• Behavior change: facilitating adoption, messaging• Inadequate infrastructure

Opportunities for Improvement

• ICT use• Participatory methods• Formative research• Knowledge sharing:

– within organizations• Organizational approaches• Best practices• Gender mainstreaming

– among organizations• Engagement of private sector• Collaboration with local governments• Innovative attitudes

Disclaimer

This presentation was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development, USAID. The

contents are the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.