A model to make extension services work for the farmer

A farmer inspects maize crops in her farm in Siaya. In an effort to improve food and nutrition security, the government has been involved in delivery of extension services through several initiatives. FILE PHOTO | NMG

What you need to know:

  • Extension has evolved from the analogue top down service.
  • Due to increased competition, many stakeholders are spending fortunes in extension services, now seen as a marketing strategy.
  • Other areas where the services are sought include agricultural shows/trade fairs, websites, posters and brochures, field visits/demonstrations and exchange tours.
  • Answers from Level III support are sent by post or any other suitable means to the caller within 48 hours by the nodal officers on the address noted by the call centre agents. The matter is then closed.

Extension services involve the transfer of agricultural research updates and upcoming technologies to small-scale farmers.

This was vibrant in the 1980s and was predominantly carried out by the public sector. The question that many stakeholders currently ask is, “are extension services dead or alive?” The answer is both.

Extension has evolved from the analogue top down service from the public agents to farmers to a digitised service that is carried out by both the private and public sector. It is, therefore, alive and kicking and not universal but demand driven and target specific.

Evolving extension services

In an effort to improve food and nutrition security, the government has been involved in delivery of extension services through several initiatives that include National Agricultural Livestock Extension Programme (Nalep), Training and Visits (T&V), Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Rapid Results Initiative (RRI), Farmer Field Schools (FFS) and Agriculture Sector Development Support Programme (ASDSP), among others.

These programmes promoted the issues in the third green revolution of the 1960/70s that had significant contribution to agricultural production and productivity in Asia and Latin America. The issues advocated for in the green revolution included use of high-yielding varieties, use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, irrigation and mechanisation.

However, the structural adjustment programme of the 1980s that saw privatisation of some agricultural plans like artificial insemination services and froze recruitment of agricultural staff coupled with attrition through death and retirement led to a decrease in the farmer extension worker.

There was need, therefore, to include other players in the delivery of the services. The National Agriculture Sector Extension Policy (Nasep) of 2012 strived to harmonise the activities of the various players. But there was no operationalisation of the policy’s implementation framework.

Trends in extension services

Due to increased competition, many stakeholders are spending fortunes in extension services, now seen as a marketing strategy.

A good example is in the study carried out by Tegemeo Institute of Egerton University in 2006 where one private company was spending about Sh5m annually in extension services that include promotions, free trial samples, advertisements, meetings and conferences.

Currently, one can get extension services from the public sector (central and local governments, parastatals, and research and training institutions) and private (profit-making) and civil society sector operators (companies, NGOs, faith-based organisations, cooperatives and community-based organisations).

Other areas where the services are sought include agricultural shows/trade fairs, websites, posters and brochures, field visits/demonstrations and exchange tours.

Making extension services work

A good example to borrow from is India, a country that has not only been able to feed its 1.28 billion people without aid but is also a net exporter of agricultural commodities like rice and spices.

Approaches that have contributed significantly to this success is the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the public private partnership (PPP).

For ICT, it has been through the National eGovernance Project (NeGP) that ensures all government services are accessible to the farmer at a central point in his locality. There are common service centres (one for every six villages); a broadband connectivity; and a one-stop destination for all citizen services. Kisan Call Centre (KCC) for example has three levels of interaction/support for farmers.

Level I are professionally managed call centre agents (CCAs) that respond to calls from farmers and answer their queries. CCAs record name, address, contact details, query, type/subject of call and status of the call, among others, in a suitable format.

If a query cannot be resolved by CCA, it is referred in a conference call to an expert for Level II support. If due to any reason queries sent to these levels cannot be taken or resolved, they are accelerated to Level III (concerned directorate).

Answers from Level III support are sent by post or any other suitable means to the caller within 48 hours by the nodal officers on the address noted by the call centre agents. The matter is then closed.

On the other hand, PPPs for agricultural extension development were initiated with the government’s aim of capital mobilisation and efficiency improvement while the private sector hoped to maximise on profits.

One such good example is the implementation of Diploma in Agricultural Extension Services for Input Dealers. This is a government programme that trains private input dealers in efficient handling of inputs and laws governing their regulation making dealers an effective source of farm information at the village level.

An input dealer can pursue the programme without affecting his day-to-day business with cumulative lessons and field visits conducted on Sundays or local market holidays.