Getting the best of agricultural extension in Kenya

Agricultural extension                    by Mwangi Mumero

With a ratio of one agricultural extension worker for 1,470 farmers, Kenya still fall short of the recommended one worker to 400 farmers, a recent conference in Nairobi was told.

The conference brought together some 400 leading global experts in agriculture development from 75 countries

However, experts at the conference agreed that technology that can disseminate information to farmers beyond face-to-face interaction is crucial to filling this gap.

Farm extension and rural advisory services occupy a strategic position in the agricultural production cycle.

They link farmers to information about appropriate farming practices, when and what to plant, and how to use new technologies like seeds and soil management techniques developed by researchers.

Extension service providers also pass on feedback from farmers to policy makers and help to ensure that government policies are effectively meeting the needs of farmers.

“We are the link between new knowledge and the farmers. Without extension officers, new ideas in farming, soil and water conservation and agricultural economics will remain just abstract ideas. We interpret these ideas into practical solutions”, observed Charles Njogu, an agricultural extension officer in Murang’a County.

Over the years, agricultural extension services have received lip service by government leading to a major disconnect between researchers in organizations like KARI, ILRI, ICRAF and others producing volumes of new research which were never implemented .

Seventy-five percent of the world's poor live in rural areas, and most of them depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

Studies have shown that agricultural growth reduces poverty by twice the rate of growth in other sectors.

It has therefore become imperative that agricultural extension service be strengthened to boost food production as global population soar.

"With the global population approaching nine billion by 2050, we need widespread adoption of farming practices that can sustainably increase yields in a changing climate to feed more people, while also creating new job and market opportunities to address high unemployment and poverty," said Michael Hailu, executive director of CTA—the Netherlands-based Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation at the conference.

 Mailu added "Smallholder farmers—particularly women—produce the bulk of food in developing countries, often under difficult circumstances. National governments and international donors must redouble their efforts to boost smallholder agricultural production if we are to reverse persistent food insecurity and rural poverty."

But for African farmers to fight hunger and food insecurity, new ideas must be able to get to the grassroots according to the speakers at the conference.

"To unlock the potential of smallholder farmers to fight hunger and food insecurity, and to bring prosperity, these innovations must reach farmers. Extension agents and advisory services are critical in transforming Africa's agriculture," said Dr. Namanga Ngongi, president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

He added that new technologies and access to seeds and inputs and better management practices are critical to changing this dire food situation.

Availability of extension services is slowly changing with the entry of better equipped players.

Recently, agricultural extension systems in many countries have changed from under-funded, centrally controlled, top-down programs to initiatives where many different entities are providing information and advice to farmers—from NGOs to bulk commodity purchasers and research institutes to state agencies.

These demand-driven reforms have made them cost-effective, efficient and sustainable.

At the same time, ray of hope in filling the gap in extension services across the African continent has come in for of emerging technology.

The rise of community radio stations across Africa, combined with the mobile phone revolution, have the potential to transform the extension and advisory sector, according to experts at the meeting.

Call-in programs have turned radio into an interactive tool that gives a voice to farmers, and SMS services provide farmers with timely market information.

“Radio has become a very vital way of getting information on any aspect of agriculture. We only need to call or text on a certain designated number and our queries are answered”, says Ngari Maina, a Kirinyaga- based farmer who is a regular listener to Mugambo wa Murimi (Farmer’s Voice)- a programme aired by a local vernacular radio station in Central Kenya.

In West Africa, there are several projects that are testing the use of SMS to give farmers market prices, extension advice, and even information on appropriate social and health-related issues.

The Scientific Animations Without Borders (SAWBO) project uses Bluetooth technology to transmit videos that provide farmers with farming and health advice, such as control strategies for insects that attack cowpea plants and cholera prevention.

"These communications technologies are part of a new age of extension that serve farmers well. They provide information to farmers when they need it; they give farmers a voice in development," said Doug Ward, chair of Farm Radio International, a Canadian-based organization working with hundreds of broadcasters across sub-Saharan Africa to educate farmers on best practices and inform them of innovations to improve their harvests.

While communications innovations are extending the reach of advisory services, farmers themselves are also leading the way in sharing information with other farmers.

"Farmers are able to see the benefits firsthand on my farm. They know my advice is based on experience," said Mary Gichuki, a farmer who has been working with the East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) project to promote the use of fodder trees to feed dairy cows.

 Experts also noted that revitalizing extension and advisory services is not simply a matter of allocating more money.

It about reforming the way these services work and their systems of governance, and making sure that the reforms that are already underway are effective and achieve the desired impact. (ends)