extension

In the first phase of the Agribusiness-based Advisory Services (ABAS) project, the main key questions have been identified resulting in an analytical framework. Within that framework relevant experience, information and potential cases have been identified that could help answer the study questions. »

Small-scale farmers in developing countries can profit substantially from advisory service delivery by agri-food companies. Agribusinesses are invited to join a collaborative learning trajectory to improve their private models for advisory services. This trajectory is a joint initiative of KIT, DADTCO, Moyee Coffee and Agriterra, with the support of the F&BKP. »

This article demonstrates that showing agricultural extension videos significantly increased farmers’ knowledge of recommended practices on seed selection, storage and handling. The video messages were delivered through Android tablets to a sample of potato farmers in southwestern Uganda. This research suggests that videos should be crop and context specific, featuring model farmers to maximize the potential of videos to leverage knowledge farmers already possess but may not be confident enough to use. »

This article in the Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology highlights an important challenge that is threatening agriculture in Africa: the difficulty in collecting timely data on disease spread and effectiveness of on-farm control methods. This study served as a case study for assessing the viability of a participatory GIS (Geographic Information System) to enable a plant diagnostics network with fieldworkers. »

This paper by KIT is about the role that agricultural extension can play to rural development. KIT asked eight renowned experts in the field of extension to guide the reader on a narrative journey through the intricacies of agricultural extension. Agricultural extension has a significant role to play in rural development. Yet, ‘extension’ itself is also developing and so is its role in development. How extension is understood, coordinated, financed and implemented has evolved over time. »

This paper elaborates on the role of gender-sensitive rural advisory services (RAS) in addressing gender inequalities. RAS programmes have often fallen short of expectations to design and implement relevant services to help rural women and men achieve food security and generate more income. This paper is based on an examination of a broad selection of existing literature on gender-sensitive RAS. »