Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Mobilising Women Farmers and Making a Difference to...

Subdirección de Investigación y ExtensiónFood and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations

Research and Extension Branch

1

Capacity Development to Strengthen Agriculture Innovation for Small Holders

Xiangjun Yao, Director, Office of Knowledge Exchange,

Research, and Extension

Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO)http://www.fao.org/oek/en

Subdirección de Investigación y ExtensiónFood and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations

Research and Extension Branch

2

Reduction of people suffering from hunger through access to safe & nutritious foods – Food Security

Elimination of poverty & social progress through increased food production, rural development, & sustainable livelihoods – Economic Development

Sustainable management of natural resources – Natural Resource Management

FAO global goals

3

Research and Extension BranchFood and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations

Research and Extension

4


Agriculture & Rural Development Challenges

Nearly a billion hungry today Price shocks of 2006 – 2008 demonstrated how

fragile food security can be - undernourished rose by 8 percent in Africa

Population expected to reach 9.1 billion by 2050 70 percent increase in food production to feed the

world Majority of increase in demand from developing

regions

5


Agriculture & Rural Development Challenges (contd.)

Global growth of human population and ...

Increased urbanization, per capita food consumption increases & shifts to animal-based diets

Climate change impacts & increased frequency of weather shocks on food security

Since the mid-1980’s, however, aid to agriculture has fallen by 43 percent

Rural extension and advisory services suffered in particular with decreasing support

Sustainable increase of food production will be critical for meeting the global demand

6


Harnessing the Opportunities

Recent aid trends have begun to reverse, evidenced by the L’Aquila G8 Meeting in July 2009

High-Level Expert Forum on “How to Feed the World in 2050”, concluded the planet can feed itself provided that the decisions made are honoured and the required resources are effectively mobilized.

Extension has not remained immobile over the past 20 years, but has experimented and had successes

7


Capacity Development to Strengthen Agriculture Innovation for Small Holders

Challenges & Opportunities at three dimensions

Enabling Environments Organizational Individual

8


Enabling Environment level

Highly centralized and supply driven extension models

Conversely multiple and wildly disconnected extension models

Weak articulation with other actors in the value chain or within the agriculture innovation system

9


Enabling Environment level (contd.)

Too many project or outside funding-driven extension models

Need to develop the best fit, financially sustainable model

Based on small holder demands, authentic national policy development and planning and support (with a receptive ear to innovations from others) will be beneficial

10


Organizational level

Move beyond agriculture production focus only to food security, rural incomes and livelihoods, and sustainable natural resource management

Greater focus on extension as facilitators of innovation and supporters of rural innovation processes is needed

Strengthening of small holders’ organizations so that they can more

effectively demand, partner with, and implement their vision of extension

11


Organizational level (contd)

Reach more rural women

Using knowledge management strategies so ICTs can help to improve human and institutional capacities

More policy analysis and evidence-based research on rural advisory services

12


Individual level

Urgent need to prepare new generation of rural advisors & their leaders

Upstream curriculum and university preparation of extensionists needed

Innovation brokerage needs new skills in communication for development, marketing, social change processes & technical competence

Training only one modality to increase skills

13


Overall Investments

GFRAS is an investment for all; we should support advocacy, networking, and skills building for strengthened extension

Increase investments to 1 – 2 % of Ag GDP or more nuanced figures like those recently developed by FAO for country level extension investment needs

Overall, Maputo level declaration levels of 10% for agriculture development, including rural advisory services

14


The Time is Right

New interest & investments in agriculture development & extension Rich experience over past 20 years National, regional, and global networking increasing

We can feed ourselves for the future provided

that the decisions made are honoured and

the required resources are

effectively mobilized

15


Conclusion

Developing the capacities of rural advisory services at enabling

environment, organizational, and individual levels

16


Thank you!

Xiangjun Yao,

Director OEK of FAO

Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Mobilising Women Farmers and Making a Difference to...

Education

Transcript of Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Mobilising Women Farmers and Making a Difference to...