Developing Innovative Extension Systems to help Small-scale Men and

Women Farmers

Burton E. SwansonProfessor Emeritus of Rural Development

University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignModernizing Extension and Advisory Services Project

Coordinator, Worldwide Extension Study

Background Key goals of the international community:

Maintain national food security and Increase the incomes of small-scale farm households

Agricultural extension can be the key pathway to achieving both goals

However, pluralistic extension systems are now common in most countries (and competing for resources)

The key question is how to create more innovative extension systems, especially in reaching the rural poor

First, lets examine the value-chain projects being financed by the donor community

Demand Supply

SUPPORTING FUNCTIONS

RULES

LawsIn

form

al ru

les

& no

rms

Standards

Regulations

InformationIn

frast

ruct

ure

Related

services

Value Chains are now the Primary Donor-Financed Advisory Services

Business membership

organisations

GovernmentPrivate sector

Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)

MARKET PLAYERS

InputSuppliers Producers Wholesale Retailers

USAID: Meeting the Challengesof Value Chain Development: A Learning Event

Key Issues Being Addressed by USAID Funded Value-Chain Projects

1. Determine which districts are the poorest and where farm households need the most help.

2. Determine which agro-ecological areas within each district can produce specific staple, livestock and/or other high value products (HVPs).

3. Determine farmer access to markets where these crops/livestock/HVPs can be produced & sold.

4. Determine which firms can provide inputs and then process, package and successfully market these products along the designated value chain.

Unless Specified, These Value Chain Projects Can Have Negative Effects

A key problem is that these value chain projects generally focus on only 4 crop/livestock products

In most cases, small-scale farmers are not included in these donor-driven value-chain projects, since they cannot handle the necessary “risks”

In particular, women farmers are the least likely to be “involved” in these value-chain projects

Unless specified in the project, only the more progressive farmers, who can handle risk, are the primary ones most involved and then only if they are in the designated project area.

With this brief overview of Value Chains, let’s move on to Review the Key Functions of Comprehensive Agricultural Extension Systems

• Building social capital: Helping

men and women farmers organize into

producer groups to increase market access

& other needed services

• Achieving Long- term food security by using sustainable land, soil, water & other NRM practices

• Increasing farm-household income

by helping small-scale men and

women farmers learn how to produce

and market high- value food

products

• To achieve national food security the primary target group will continue to be small-scale male farmers since they produce these crops in most countries Technology

transfer, especially for the staple food crops

Training farmers how

to intensify & diversify

their farming systems

Training farmers how

to organize into producer and self-help

groups

Training farmers how to use sustainable NRM practices

Training rural women how to improve family nutrition and use improved family planning, hygiene and health care practices

Improving Rural LivelihoodsMaintaining National Food Security

PRODUCT INNOVATION PROCESS INNOVATION

What are the Key Functions of an Effective,Comprehensive Agricultural Extension System

Relationship between Agricultural Extension and Innovation Systems

Definition of an Innovation: A new way of doing something; most agricultural innovations either reduce costs and/or increase profits

Agricultural innovations can be categorized as: Product innovations –primarily from research and

with a strong focus on creating traditional value chains for progressive farmers

Process innovations—should be a new role for extension in the 21st Century, especially in serving small-scale men and women farmers and other rural households (i.e. the rural poor)

Building Social Capital: a key element to develop a successful, market-driven extension system

To create an effective market-driven extension system, then small-scale men and women farmers must get organized into groups (i.e. build social capital): In India, small-scale male farmers began as farmer

interest groups and then transitioned into producer groups based on resources;

Rural women began as self-help groups (SHGs), including micro-credit, and then transitioned into producer groups (primarily using community property resources)

Under the ATMA approach, most groups were organized by local NGOs; then extension would take over and provide technical assistance on specific HVC/Ps;

Subsequently, local farmer group leaders would begin organizing other producer groups in nearby communities; thereby linking them with both extension and markets.

Extension’s Role in Serving the Needs of Small-scale Men and Women Farmers

Public extension should focus more attention on: process innovations, where extension personnel serve

as “facilitators” or “knowledge brokers.” Process innovations are especially location

specific, due to: Access to markets for different high-value products Local agro-ecological conditions, and the Specific interests and resources of small-scale men &

women farmers, including the rural poor. Finally, innovative farmers can play a key role in

identifying and scaling up process innovations

Key Players in Agricultural Innovation Systems:Most Agencies and Firms Play Different Roles

Agricultural Research System

Agricultural Extension Services

Agricultural Education

System

Ag Innovation Systems (AIS)

Farmers

Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems

ExportersAgro-

Processors

Producer Organizations

Input Supply Providers

Credit Agencies

NGOs

Key Functions of an Innovative, Market-Driven Extension System in Helping Small-Scale Men AND Women Farmers Increase their Household Income

An Innovative Extension

System

1Expanding

High-Value Markets

6Develop Market Chains

5 Train

Interested Farmers 4

Farmer-to Farmer Assess-

ment

3Organize Self-Help Groups

2Identify

Innovative Farmers

On-farmresearch re:

HVC/Ps recommend-

ations

Research on HV Markets

& Value Chains

PRA

NGOs can helporganize SHGs,especially ruralwomen

Why Should Extension Systems become more Decentralized and Bottom-Up?

1. Both markets for high-value crops/products and agro-ecological conditions are location specific:a. First, extension workers should identify which HVC/Ps

have the highest potential of success in each areab. One approach is to identify innovative farmers who are

already producing and marketing specific products2. In addition, to make extension systems more

farmer-driven, they must formally establish Steering and/or Advisory Committees to identify the specific needs and priorities of representative poor farmers, especially rural women!

ATMA Model in India was Designed to Reach the Rural Poor and to Become more Farmer-Driven

Farm Information & Advisory Centres (FIAC) Farmer Advisory Block Technology Committee (30% women) Team (BTT)

Different socio-economic groups of men & women farmers were organized into Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs) and Self-Help Groups (SHGs)

BlockLevel

VillageLevel

Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA)

Governing Board (30% women farmers)ATMA Director and Deputy Director

ATMA Management Committee (AMC)

KVKZRS OtherDepts.

DOFDAHDOHDOA

DistrictLevel

FUND FLOW

WORK PLAN

Example of how the ATMA approach was ImplementedIn the Patna District in Bihar, India

Diara = Ganges river-basinSilt builds-up in the diara, which is good for post-monsoon horticultural crops

Tal = wetlands good for post-monsoon (rabi) pulse crops

Number and type of Farmer and Self-Help Groups in different blocks in Patna District, Bihar (Slide developed by K.M. Singh, 2008)

Vegetables - 46 FIGs (20)HMACs – 140 FIGs

Dairy – 125 FIGs (25)Poultry/Fisheries - 35 FIGs

Beekeeping – 13 FIGsVermi-compost – 52 FIGs (28)

Mushrooms – 152 FIGs (120)

Basmati Rice-40 FIGs

Pulses - 25 FIGs

Oilseeds - 10 FIGs

Potato/Onion - 35 FIGs

(Slide developed by K.M. Singh, 2008)

Major Urban Centres

Floriculture 19 FIGs

Swanson, Singh & Reddy, 2008

Post-harvest – 26 FIGs (17)Micro-credit SHGs = 45 (39)TOTAL FIGs = 763 (249)

Other Key Extension Issues

Currently, there are over 1 million public extension workers but, with the exception of China (600,000+), most are largely ineffective due to the T&V approach (top-down) and total lack of public funding to provide advisory services to farmers.Long-term public financing (and short-term donor financing) of public extension systems is essential.In a decentralized extension system, local extension staff

Must be able to work with farmer groups, But to do so, they need adequate program & operating funds, but most donors are unwilling to invest in public extension

To address this problem, the donor community must reconsider investing in public extension to ensure sustainability!

Strengthening Advisory Services for Natural Resource Management (NRM)

Overuse of water & climate change are serious problems in most developing countriesSoil and land-use management practices must help maintain sustainable cropping systems Most farmers should use fewer pesticides (IPM)Farmer field schools (FFS) is an effective method for IPM and NRM practices (but costly and not sustainable over the long-term)A key problem is that most Value-Chain projects do not address these important NRM issues!Donors needs to address these critical issues!

Role of Non-Governmental Organizations Providing Agricultural Advisory Services

The role of NGOs in providing extension services has changed substantially over past 20+ years Originally, most NGOs focused on “social skills” Now, with expanded donor resources being invested in

value-chains, “entrepreneurial NGOs” are hiring away the best public agricultural extension advisors, and

Most new agricultural NGOs are very successful in both competing for and carrying out donor-driven projects, especially those focused on “value chains.”

But, are these new NGO advisory service providers sustainable after donor funding ceases?

There is a need for Public-Private Partnerships!

Conclusions

Public extension should give priority to process innovations, especially focused on the rural poor

Public extension must also give high priority to natural resource management (NRM) practices

To make these institutional changes, public extension systems must become more decentralized, farmer-led and market-driven.

Finally, pluralistic extension systems can become more sustainable if donors start building public-private partnerships

This presentation was given:

By Burton E. Swanson on behalf of MEASat the Global Learning Exchange on

Best Fit Approaches in Extension and Advisory Servicesin Washington, D.C.

on June 6, 2012

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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.

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