Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services with Diverse Partners and ICT - Wednesday, November 12 9:30 am – 11:00 am EDT (online)

[Andrea Bohn]

Modern extension services in emerging economies are more diverse than ever. An increasing number of services are supported by private sector interests and many are still provided through donor-funded, time-limited projects. Many service providers are increasing their reach to farmers through the use of ICT and there is a general shift from free to fee-based services. In many countries, government reforms are leading to decentralized systems that focus on local production and marketing systems, and these trends will have significant implications for future support services. In other countries, modernizing public extension bureaucracies is more challenging and modernizing the outlook and skills of the extension workers could be critical to sustainable agricultural growth.

This talk will highlight and recommend ways modern extension services can take on more business functions along the value chain, how services can be designed in more selective ways to meet the needs of specific farmer segments and their market opportunities, and what this means for extension providers' job descriptions and required skills. The talk will draw examples from case studies in Kenya and Ethiopia, which highlight new initiatives and partnerships being tested by governments, NGOs and private sector organizations to improve farmer organization, production and market linkages.

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