Rural Extension and Advisory Services
Improving agricultural productivity, profitability, and sustainability in the developing world depends on the ability of rural people in those countries to adopt change and innovate in their use of technologies, management systems, organizational arrangements, institutions, and environmental resources. Expanding the people’s capacity to innovate depends on their access to knowledge and information services.
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| A USAID agricultural extension program in Yemen brought better income opportunities for two sheep farmers. Mohamed Ahmed Alawili (left) and a local extension agent proudly display a quadruplet of healthy lambs. |
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Rural extension and advisory services meet the immediate needs of farmers and other rural people as they change their production and livelihood systems. As a whole, these efforts:
- Provide advice to farmers on problems or opportunities in agricultural production, marketing, conservation, and family livelihood
- Facilitate development of local skills and organizations and links with other programs and institutions
- Transfer new technologies to farmers and rural people
- Address public interest issues in rural areas: resource conservation; health and food security monitoring; agricultural production monitoring; food safety, nutrition and family education; and youth development
USAID's approach
Transitioning from a focus on public sector technology transfer, USAID’s recent efforts in extension and advisory services recognize the more complex agricultural knowledge and information systems that serve diverse needs of farmers. USAID works to:
- Involve diverse public and private sector providers, including input suppliers, produce buyers, farmer organizations, NGOs, consultant firms, and government organizations
- Efficiently deliver knowledge and information services through the private sector or mass media
- Address problems of diverse groups of rural people, including commercial farmers, women, resource poor farmers, youth, and non-farm populations
- Involve cost-recovery, fee-for-service, and cost-sharing to improve financial sustainability and ensure responsiveness to client needs
- Employ demand-driven, participatory approaches and decentralized administration to improve effectiveness
- Provide market information, organizational development, and family services as well as agricultural production information and technologies
Additional resources
MEAS—Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services
A USAID-funded project to define and disseminate good practice strategies and approaches to establishing efficient, effective and financially sustainable rural extension and advisory service systems.
GFRAS - the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services
The Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) provides for advocacy and leadership on pluralistic, demand-driven rural advisory services within a global development agenda that promote sustainable rural growth and help the poor.
Worldwide Extension Study
The Worldwide Extension Study provides empirical data on the human and financial resources of agricultural extension and advisory systems worldwide. The site also provides access to information on extension and advisory services and is creating a worldwide network of agricultural extension professionals, WEN.
Mobilizing the Potential of Rural and Agricultural Extension
FAO publication that provides a good overview of issues in modernizing extension and advisory services
Extension Reform for Rural Development
Report from the 2002 “Extension and Rural Development” workshop hosted by the World Bank, USAID, and in collaboration with the Neuchâtel Initiative
The Neuchâtel Initiative
Forum for developing common views on agricultural and rural extension. Neuchâtel has published several papers relevant for USAID’s work:
Common Framework for Supporting Pro-Poor Extension
Common Framework on Agricultural Extension
Common Framework on Market Oriented Agricultural Advisory Services
Common Framework on Financing Agricultural and Rural Extension
Demand-driven Agricultural Advisory Services
Guide for Monitoring, Evaluation and Joint Analyses of Pluralistic Extension Support
Module on Investments in Agricultural Extension and Information Services
Summarizes principles and good practice for investments in building effective and sustainable extension system
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