Global Reform of Agricultural Extension for Rural Development

1
Global Reform of Agricultural Extension for Rural
Development

• William Rivera
• College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
• University of Maryland

2
Background

• International workshop on Extension and Rural
  Development
• sponsored by the World Bank and the U.S. Agency
  for International Development, in collaboration
  with Neuchâtel Initiative Group.
• Held in November 2002 at IFPRI Hqs.
• http//www.worldbank.org/extensionworkshop
• New compilation44 cases edited compiled

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Main headings

• 3. Demand-driven
• Demand-driven programs
• Participatory programs
• Producer organizations
• 4. Revitalization
• 5. National Strategies and Reform Process

• 1. Decentralization
• 2. Privatization
• Privatization experiments
• Contracting for extension delivery
• Private market-oriented services

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Decentralization

• Deconcentration to branch offices of national
  government
• Devolution to state government
• Subsidiarity to municipal government
• Delegation to NGOs, Community-based and
  grassroots organizations, farmer organizations
• Privatization (total/partial)

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Privatization

• Total privatization
• Complete transfer of funding and delivery
• Partial privatization
• Transfer of delivery to private providers
• Adoption of private practices
• Transfer of funding to end-users (Uganda)

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Demand-driven

• Demand-driven programs
• Participatory programs
• Rural producer organizations (RPOs)

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Revitalization

• Public-private partnerships
• Projectization
• New approaches, e.g., ICTs
• Expansion to include other rural development

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National strategies and reform process

• Farmer group organization
• Government role in coordination
• AKIS development
• Importance of government role

9
Public Sector Agricultural Extension Reforms
since the 1980s  FUNDING  
Public
Private
Shifting
authority for the public good
to the private sector
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General challenges - 1

• View Extension within a wider development agenda.
•  
• Define an Extension policy for a pluralistic
  system.
• Make long-term commitments.
• Develop a stakeholder coordinating mechanism

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General challenges - 2

• Build capacity of RPOs, the public sector and
  service providers
•  
• Be realistic about the limits of fully private
  extension (a caution especially for donors)
• Focus public financing on the poor.
• Introduce cost recovery schemes where
  appropriate.

12
General challenges - 3

• Decentralize administration of public funds.
• Provide continuing technical support. 
• Develop a strong system for ME from the
  beginning.
• Experiment with different extension approaches to
  strengthen reforms.

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Decentralization

• China
• Ghana
• India
• Nicaragua
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Uganda
• Viet Nam

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Findings on decentralization

• Decentralized, demand-driven and participatory
  programs tend to be more democratic in design and
  more successful in implementation. Involving
  producer organizations in extension activities is
  an obvious means of engaging producers in
  programs that coincide with their own goals.
• Chinas central government delegation of
  authority to the provincial, prefecture and
  county levels has been instrumental in the
  success of public sector reform.
• Indias decentralization initiatives are largely
  oriented to promoting user participation in local
  extension activities.

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Privatization

• Experiments
• Chile
• Ecuador
• Estonia
• Germany
• Pakistan
• South Africa
• Uganda
• United Kingdom

• Contracting
• Honduras
• Venezuela
• Market-oriented
• Mali
• Niger

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Findings on privatization

• Private sector plays an important role in rural
  knowledge systems, but total privatization is
  seldom feasible, even for commercial agriculture.
  Appropriate mix of public and private roles can
  only be determined through piloting and learning
  from experience.
• Three important government tasks in implementing
  extension privatization include (1) to establish
  and manage the appropriate economic environment
  for extension privatization, (2) to establish and
  manage effective privatization processes and
  procedures, and (3) to develop adequate private
  sector management capability to ensure successful
  private sector extension operations.

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Demand-driven

• Demand-driven programs
• Benin
• Colombia
• East Africa
• Kenya
• Participatory programs
• Brazil
• Egypt
• Philippines and Indonesia
• Tanzania
• West Africa
• Zimbabwe

• RPOs
• Germany
• Malawi
• Portugal
• West Africa

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Findings on demand-driven approaches

• Capacity building at all levels is critical.
  Funding for capacity building and institutional
  strengthening is an absolute for near-term and
  future development.
• Training must have clear objectives related to
  program achievement, and it must be more
  hands-on, involving participants in every aspect
  of the training. Must begin with assessment of
  employee or farmer needs, not merely training for
  trainings sake.
• Venezuela introduced extension service reforms
  that highlight training as a major part of their
  program for contracting and decentralizing
  extension.

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Revitalization

• Australia
• Bangladesh
• Nepal
• Russia
• Sasakawa/Africa
• United States

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Findings on revitalization

• New extension policy begins with inventory of
  providers and assessment of the quality of
  services rendered, before deciding on reform.
  Government must identify over-all objectives for
  public sector involvement in extension and define
  the role and responsibilities expected of service
  providers. National extension system requires
  country-led vision and political support
  independent of donor agendas, but in line with
  country-driven processes.
• Bangladesh adopted New Agricultural Extension
  Policy (1995-2010), to partner with all extension
  providersgovernment agencies, NGOs and trade
  organizationsto optimize use of resources and
  competencies to meet diverse needs of farmers.

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National strategies and reform process

• Denmark
• Mozambique
• Nicaragua
• Uruguay
• West Africa

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Findings on national strategies and reform process

• New approaches take years to be fully
  institutionalized. Long-term commitments must be
  adopted within a widely shared vision and
  strategy at the various levels.
• Denmarks extension system evolved over 100
  years.
• Trinidad and Tobago still changing after ten
  years of reform.
• Uganda extension development plan covers 25
  years.
• Decentralization reform requires new capacities
  and long term planning horizon. Private sector
  must also change its time frame to play new role
  in extension reform.

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Conclusions

• General observations
• Case study findings
• Challenges ahead

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General observations

• Extension more broadly conceived
• Private sector involvement essential
• Participation and demand-driven approaches
  paramount

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Case study recommendations 1

• View extension within wider rural development
  agenda
• Define extension policy for pluralistic system
• Make long-term commitments
• Develop stakeholder coordinating committees

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Case study recommendations - 2

• 5. Build capacity of RPOs, public sector and
  service providers
• 6. Be realistic about limits of fully private
  extension (caution for donors)
• 7. Focus public financing on the poor
• 8. Introduce some cost recovery

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Case study recommendations - 3

• 9. Decentralize administration of public funds
• 10. Provide appropriate research support
• 11. Develop a strong system for ME from the
  beginning
• 12. Experiment with different extension
  approaches to strengthen reforms

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Challenges ahead - 1

• Ongoing policy challenges
• Food security
• Income generation
• A clean environment
• Food quality and related issues
• Social equity
• Sustainable agriculture

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Challenges ahead - 2

• Alliance with private sector
• Other extension clients
• Consumers
• Retailers
• As well as producers
• Urban agriculture
• Global markets and diversification

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Challenges ahead - 3

• System management and leadership
• Management
• Leadership
• Executive leaders
• Networkers
• Local line leaders
• Capacity enhancement

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Final note

• Extension reform moving from innovation to
  execution
• Governments not yet undertaking reform, advised
  to
• Establish a strategic vision
• Build commitment within public sector
• Identify local change managers
• Maintain realistic expectations

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Final note

• For governments already undertaking reform
• Further attention to others reform efforts
• Expanded vision of extension
• Pluralistic partnerships for agricultural and
  rural development
• Initiate special problems gender equality, food
  security, rural income generation

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In summary

• Agricultural development will continue to occupy
  leading place in extension agenda,
• However, new challenges suggest a more inclusive
  view or extensions role in the future and
  perhaps new policy and institutional arrangements.