1. Strengthening extension systems in developing countries: University of Illinois experience and capacity from MEAS, FAST, SEAS and INGENAES Paul E. McNamara Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign; Director, Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services Project (MEAS) Paul E. McNamara Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign; Director, Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services Project (MEAS) University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign College of ACES, Office of International Programs February 9, 2015

2. A major development challenge: quality extension services “A major and as yet unresolved challenge is to develop cost- effective and demand- driven advisory services through effective partnerships among farmers, public agencies, and civil society.” (World Bank, Awakening Africa’s Sleeping Giant, 2009, p. 18) Innovative farmer in Liberia

3. Extension is critical for agricultural growth Targeting women with high value horticulture training and marketing support in Nepal “Agricultural extension, or agricultural advisory, is increasingly recognized as playing a vital role in improving agricultural growth.” (p. 1 Glendenning and Babu, IFPRI, 2011)

4. Why invest in extension? An irrigation innovation in West Africa (photo Jim Stipe) “Investing in extension so that it helps more farmers in more places – women as well as men, smallholders as well as commercial farmers – is the only way to reap the full benefit of innovation.” (Gates Letter, 2015)

5. Outline University of Illinois international extension capacity related to MEAS Overview of MEAS, FAST, SEAS and INGENAES Examples of extension strengthening activities and impacts

6. Dr. Paul E. McNamara Associate Professor, Agric. & Consumer Economics, Principal Investigator MEAS, SEAS FAST, INGENAES Andrea Bohn Project Manager MEAS INGENAES Dr. Joyous Tata Post Doctoral Fellow MEAS, INGENAES Benjamin Mueller Project Manager FAST, SEAS Oliver Ferguson International Programs Coordinator MEAS Dr. Austen Moore Post Doctoral Fellow MEAS Kathryn Heinz Communications Specialist MEAS, INGENAES Maria Jones Project Specialist INGENAES MEAS Team Members ALSO: Illinois Interns for Agricultural Extension and Food Security (to be selected this week).

7. Dr. Mohammed Bobadoost Professor and Extension Specialist, Plant Pathology SEAS, FAST Dr. Mosbah Kushad Professor and Extension Specialist, Food Crops SEAS Dr. Scott Poole Director of I-CRASS MEAS: Research and Evaluation of Agricultural Extension IT in Bangladesh, Sept 2014- August 2015 Dr. Michael L. Black Post Doctoral Research, Assistant Director of I- CRASS Research Assistant MEAS Paul Hixton MEAS: ICT in Extension, training in Malawi 2011 Festus Amadu NRES Phd Student, MEAS – Grameen CKW Evaluation Dr. Burt E. Swanson Original PI, Professor Emeritus, and International Extension Specialist, MEAS Dr. Gail Summerfield Director, Women and Gender in Global Perspective (retired) MEAS MEAS Collaborators at University of Illinois ALSO: Dr. Michael Culbertson (was a PhD student in Educ Psych and Statistics), MEAS Grameen CKW RCT Evaluation, and Daniel Anderson, assisted with the MEAS Summer Institute Dr. Lulu Rodriguez Associate Professor, Agricultural Communications, NRES, INGENAES Dr. Juan Andrade Assistant Professor, Food Science and Human Nutrition, FSHN, INGENAES (Honduras)

8. MEAS Project Objectives: to define and disseminate good extension management strategies that will help establish efficient, effective and financially sustainable extension and advisory service systems in selected developing countries. Leader with an Associate (LWA) Project, $12 million over 5 years, funded by Goal: to help transform and modernize extension and advisory systems, so they can play a key role in both increasing farm incomes and enhancing the livelihoods of the rural poor, especially farm women.

9. Consortium Partners SAF E

10. Defining Extension “Extension is defined broadly to include all systems that facilitate access of farmers, their organizations and other market actors to knowledge, information and technologies; facilitate their interaction with partners in research, education, agri-business, and other relevant institutions; and assist them to develop their own technical, organizational and management skills and practices.” Ian Christoplos, FAO, 2010 (emphasis added)

11. LEARN APPLY TEACH C1 - TEACH Develop training modules Conduct training Develop and disseminate technical notes C2 - LEARN Best Fit ReviewCase StudiesEvaluations Pilot Action Research C3 – APPLY Country or regional Extension System Assessments USAID Mission field-buy in to conduct country specific assignments MEAS – 3 Key Components TEACH - Disseminating Modern Approaches to Extension LEARN - Documenting Lessons Learned and Good Practice APPLY - Designing Extension and Advisory Service Programs

12. MEAS Associate Awards Tajikistan: FAST Farmer Advisory Services Tajikistan $8 million July 18, 2013 to April 17, 2017 COP: Don Van Atta; Partner: RUYO Rep. of Georgia: SEAS Strengthening Extension and Advisory Services activity $2.3 million October 15, 2013 to October 14, 2015 COP: Roland Smith; Partner: Ministry of Agriculture INGENAES: Integrating Gender and Nutrition into Agricultural Extension Systems Will target four Feed the Future (or aligned) countries initially $7 million October 2014 to September 2017

13. INGENAES At the country level improve access to extension services and technologies and finance for women farmers Integrate gender-sensitive and nutrition-sensitive approaches into extension programs Use networks, partnerships, mentoring, action-research and training in the approach A Liberian farmer explains her needs for extension services at the Margibi County Agricultural Office

14. FAST Real time design and implementation of an extension program aimed at household farms. Policy support in the areas of agricultural policy, land policy and water policy. Special issues of post-Soviet, post-conflict, and post-colonial status. FAST has two academic professionals on the ground in Tajikistan: Dr. Don van Atta, COP, and Dr. Patrick Ludgate, DCOP.

15. SEAS Extension system strengthening through design and policy level technical assistance and a training program for newly hired agricultural consultants (extension agents). Texas A&M is a key partner on this project and Dr. Roland Smith is the COP. Winrock International assists as the local business entity for the project. Emphases in year 2 include ICTs and additional training and a high-level conference on extension in Georgia.

16. Key Elements of Extension Reform Include: Demand driven - Responding to need, bottom up Decentralized - Closer to clients Market oriented - Farming as a business Sustainably financed Institutional pluralism – Public, CSO, private Gender equity - Reaching all farmers Expanded use of ICT - New technologies, mass media

17. MEAS Country Level Observations Recurring themes: –Pluralistic, many partners, coordinating issues, projectization, politicization –Budget challenges and recurrent cost problem –Broken links: research & extension; budgeting and performance –Gender imbalances in staffing and programming –Focus on production and less on agriculture as a business –Performance issues in public sector –Public/Private partnerships –Staff needing upgrading in skills –ICT interest – no proven, scaled internet extension, some under development

18. MEAS Country Level Observations -- Continued Extension often is working in the most challenging enabling environment in the country –Cultural and gender factors –Infrastructure needs – rural areas have poor roads and communications networks –Staffing challenges in remote villages and Districts Policy level – need for coordination and clearer roles, finances for logistics and support and at scale A need for solid evidence about what is working and why, especially within public sector Need for more direct input and control by farmers of extension services

19. MEAS Country Level Observations – Some bright spots Devolution and decentralization offers an environment for new approaches and more local voice into extension –Kenya –Ghana Innovative ICT approaches and programs Public/Private Partnerships and private sector extension models In some countries a renewed commitment by government for rural development and extension –Latin America examples Increased recognition of the importance of extension for poverty reduction and agricultural productivity

20. Examples of MEAS Impact in the field Randomized controlled trial of an extension program in Uganda (Grameen with Gates Foundation funding) → program redesign and strengthening Assessment of National Coffee Growers Federation in Columbia → tighter links between research and extension and improved extension quality that benefits 500,000 farmers and their families MEAS investment in CRS Farmbook and Smartskills ICT tools → improved program quality directly benefitting more than 700,000 smallholders MEAS assessment in Bangladesh → helped shape the design of a $20 million USAID investment into ICT-based extension

21. Top extension issues appear at the levels of management, financing, political MEAS, INGENAES, FAST, SEAS emphasize extension systems management, process, capacity and implementation to reduce rural poverty and increase agricultural productivity University of Illinois has substantial institutional experience and capacity in leading projects and networks devoted to strengthening extension for development Opportunity to leverage this experience with new funding partners and in new countries Conclusions