Strengthening extension systems in
developing countries: University of Illinois
experience and capacity from MEAS, FAST,
SEAS and INGENAES
Paul E. McNamara
University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign
College of ACES, Office of
International Programs
February 9, 2015
Associate Professor, Department of
Agricultural and Consumer Economics,
University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign; Director, Modernizing
Extension and Advisory Services Project
(MEAS)
A major development challenge: quality
extension services
“A major and as yet
unresolved challenge Innovative farmer in Liberia
is to develop costeffective and demanddriven advisory
services through
effective partnerships
among farmers, public
agencies, and civil
society.” (World Bank,
Awakening Africa’s Sleeping Giant,
2009, p. 18)
Extension is critical for agricultural
growth
Targeting women with high
“Agricultural
value horticulture training and
extension, or
marketing support in Nepal
agricultural
advisory, is
increasingly
recognized as
playing a vital role in
improving
agricultural growth.”
(p. 1 Glendenning
and Babu, IFPRI,
2011)
Why invest in extension?
“Investing in
extension so that it
helps more farmers
in more places –
women as well as
men, smallholders
as well as
commercial farmers
– is the only way to
reap the full benefit
of innovation.”
(Gates Letter, 2015)
An irrigation innovation in
West Africa (photo Jim Stipe)
Outline
• University of Illinois international
extension capacity related to MEAS
• Overview of MEAS, FAST, SEAS
and INGENAES
• Examples of extension strengthening
activities and impacts
MEAS Team Members
Dr. Paul E.
McNamara
Associate Professor,
Agric. & Consumer
Economics,
Principal
Investigator
MEAS, SEAS
FAST, INGENAES
Dr. Joyous Tata
Post Doctoral Fellow
MEAS, INGENAES
Benjamin Mueller
Project Manager
FAST, SEAS
Dr. Austen Moore
Post Doctoral
Fellow
MEAS
Kathryn Heinz
Communications
Specialist
MEAS, INGENAES
Maria Jones
Project Specialist
INGENAES
Andrea Bohn
Project
Manager
MEAS
INGENAES
Oliver Ferguson
International Programs
Coordinator
MEAS
ALSO: Illinois Interns for Agricultural Extension and Food Security (to be selected this week).
MEAS Collaborators at University of Illinois
Dr. Scott Poole
Director of I-CRASS
MEAS: Research and
Evaluation of Agricultural
Extension IT in
Bangladesh, Sept 2014August 2015
Dr. Michael L. Black
Post Doctoral Research,
Assistant Director of ICRASS
Research Assistant
MEAS
Dr. Mosbah Kushad
Professor and
Extension Specialist,
Food Crops
SEAS
Dr. Lulu Rodriguez
Associate Professor,
Agricultural
Communications,
NRES,
INGENAES
Dr. Juan Andrade
Assistant Professor,
Food Science and
Human Nutrition,
FSHN,
INGENAES
(Honduras)
Dr. Burt E. Swanson
Original PI, Professor
Emeritus, and
International
Extension Specialist,
MEAS
Dr. Mohammed
Bobadoost
Professor and Extension
Specialist, Plant Pathology
SEAS, FAST
Festus Amadu
NRES Phd Student,
MEAS – Grameen
CKW Evaluation
Dr. Gail Summerfield
Director, Women and
Gender in Global
Perspective (retired)
MEAS
ALSO: Dr. Michael Culbertson (was a PhD student in Educ Psych and Statistics), MEAS Grameen
CKW RCT Evaluation, and Daniel Anderson, assisted with the MEAS Summer Institute
Paul Hixton
MEAS: ICT in
Extension, training in
Malawi 2011
MEAS
Leader with an Associate (LWA)
Project, $12 million over 5 years,
funded by
Goal:
to help transform and
modernize extension and
advisory systems, so they can
play a key role in both
increasing farm incomes and
enhancing the livelihoods of
the rural poor, especially farm
women.
Project Objectives:
to define and disseminate good
extension management
strategies that will help establish
efficient, effective and financially
sustainable extension and
advisory service systems in
selected developing countries.
Consortium Partners
SAF
E
Defining Extension
“Extension is defined broadly to include
• all systems that facilitate access of farmers, their
organizations and other market actors to
knowledge, information and technologies;
• facilitate their interaction with partners in
research, education, agri-business, and other relevant
institutions;
• and assist them to develop their own technical,
organizational and management skills and practices.”
Ian Christoplos, FAO, 2010 (emphasis added)
MEAS – 3 Key Components
TEACH - Disseminating Modern Approaches to Extension
LEARN - Documenting Lessons Learned and Good Practice
APPLY - Designing Extension and Advisory Service Programs
C1 TEACH
Develop training
modules
C2 LEARN
Best Fit Review
C3 –
APPLY
Country or regional
Extension System
Assessments
TEACH
Conduct training
Case Studies
USAID Mission
field-buy in to
conduct country
specific
assignments
APPLY
LEARN
Develop and
disseminate
technical notes
Evaluations
Pilot Action
Research
MEAS Associate Awards
Tajikistan: FAST
•
•
•
•
Farmer Advisory Services Tajikistan
$8 million
July 18, 2013 to April 17, 2017
COP: Don Van Atta; Partner: RUYO
Rep. of Georgia: SEAS
•
•
•
•
Strengthening Extension and Advisory Services activity
$2.3 million
October 15, 2013 to October 14, 2015
COP: Roland Smith; Partner: Ministry of Agriculture
INGENAES: Integrating Gender and Nutrition into
Agricultural Extension Systems
• Will target four Feed the Future (or aligned) countries initially
• $7 million
• October 2014 to September 2017
INGENAES
A Liberian farmer explains her
needs for extension services at
the Margibi County Agricultural
Office
• At the country level improve
access to extension services
and technologies and
finance for women farmers
• Integrate gender-sensitive
and nutrition-sensitive
approaches into extension
programs
• Use networks, partnerships,
mentoring, action-research
and training in the approach
FAST
Real time design and implementation of an extension program aimed at household
farms. Policy support in the areas of agricultural policy, land policy and water
policy. Special issues of post-Soviet, post-conflict, and post-colonial status. FAST
has two academic professionals on the ground in Tajikistan: Dr. Don van Atta,
COP, and Dr. Patrick Ludgate, DCOP.
SEAS
Extension system strengthening through design and policy level technical
assistance and a training program for newly hired agricultural consultants
(extension agents). Texas A&M is a key partner on this project and Dr. Roland
Smith is the COP. Winrock International assists as the local business entity for the
project. Emphases in year 2 include ICTs and additional training and a high-level
conference on extension in Georgia.
Key Elements of Extension Reform Include:
Demand driven - Responding to need, bottom up
Decentralized - Closer to clients
Market oriented - Farming as a business
Sustainably financed
Institutional pluralism – Public, CSO, private
Gender equity - Reaching all farmers
Expanded use of ICT - New technologies, mass media
MEAS Country Level Observations
• Recurring themes:
– Pluralistic, many partners, coordinating issues,
projectization, politicization
– Budget challenges and recurrent cost problem
– Broken links: research & extension; budgeting and
performance
– Gender imbalances in staffing and programming
– Focus on production and less on agriculture as a business
– Performance issues in public sector
– Public/Private partnerships
– Staff needing upgrading in skills
– ICT interest – no proven, scaled internet extension, some
under development
MEAS Country Level Observations -Continued
• Extension often is working in the most challenging
enabling environment in the country
– Cultural and gender factors
– Infrastructure needs – rural areas have poor roads
and communications networks
– Staffing challenges in remote villages and Districts
• Policy level – need for coordination and clearer roles,
finances for logistics and support and at scale
• A need for solid evidence about what is working and
why, especially within public sector
• Need for more direct input and control by farmers of
extension services
MEAS Country Level Observations – Some
bright spots
• Devolution and decentralization offers an
environment for new approaches and more local
voice into extension
– Kenya
– Ghana
• Innovative ICT approaches and programs
• Public/Private Partnerships and private sector
extension models
• In some countries a renewed commitment by
government for rural development and extension
– Latin America examples
• Increased recognition of the importance of extension
for poverty reduction and agricultural productivity
Examples of MEAS Impact in the field
• Randomized controlled trial of an extension program
in Uganda (Grameen with Gates Foundation funding)
→ program redesign and strengthening
• Assessment of National Coffee Growers Federation in
Columbia → tighter links between research and
extension and improved extension quality that
benefits 500,000 farmers and their families
• MEAS investment in CRS Farmbook and Smartskills
ICT tools → improved program quality directly
benefitting more than 700,000 smallholders
• MEAS assessment in Bangladesh → helped shape
the design of a $20 million USAID investment into
ICT-based extension
Conclusions
• Top extension issues appear at the levels of
management, financing, political
• MEAS, INGENAES, FAST, SEAS emphasize
extension systems management, process, capacity
and implementation to reduce rural poverty and
increase agricultural productivity
• University of Illinois has substantial institutional
experience and capacity in leading projects and
networks devoted to strengthening extension for
development
• Opportunity to leverage this experience with new
funding partners and in new countries