Local service provision – a trigger to improve farm production

Ms. Annet Witteveen, Head, Food Security and Livelihood Unit, Concern Universal, Bangladesh, described the project implemented by her organization to improve sustainable smallholder production in India’s north-east border state of Assam and in Jamalpur district in north Bangladesh. 

Limited transfer of best practices and technology, non-existent quality services for the poor and middleman in commodities trade, are major constraints to promoting sustainable production by small farmers in both countries. The Concern Universal project provides rural services to small-scale farmers and focuses on the development of individual local service providers (LSPs), who serve as “triggers” to improve farm production and marketing. 

LSPs are selected by local communities and organized into associations at the subdistrict level. Capacity-building support is provided to LSPs in agricultural technologies, marketing and business development. Service provision by LSPs to small-scale farmers has been initiated, based on organizing farmers around value-chains. 

The salient LSP feature is establishing a trade-off between public and private partnership in terms of market establishment, agro-advisory and new technologies. The sustainability of the LSP system relies to a large extent on the interaction between public and private sectors on technology, its practical implementation at the farmer level and working together to find local sustainable solutions. Through adoption of new and improved skills, practices and technologies, small farmers are able to improve production and livelihoods, get better prices for their produce and invest in farm business activities. 

It has been noted that access of small farmers to local services triggered by LSPs, has led to an increase in small and medium-scale agricultural enterprises. 

A value-chain approach to economic development

In his presentation, Mr. Philip Charlesworth, Agricultural 

Program Director, iDE Cambodia, outlined challenges before small farmers in Cambodia who lack adequate access to agricultural inputs, irrigation, agronomic know-how and market information. iDE Cambodia is addressing these gaps through a commercially viable model focused on delivering quality agricultural inputs and know-how to smallholders.

The NGO has established ‘Lors Thmey’ (‘new growth’ in the Khmer language) – a franchise company that generates value for smallholders through high-quality agricultural inputs, advice, and services. iDE has established a franchised network of Farm Business Advisors (FBAs) that bundle high-quality agricultural inputs with an advance focus on technical advisory and customer services. In addition, iDE is introducing new sustainable agriculture technologies to reduce risk for farmers in testing technologies at the farm level. FBAs are franchisees earning income by selling inputs and services to smallholder clients and providing advice as an embedded service at the time of sale and throughout the growing season.

Since 2009, FBAs have sold $500,000 worth of agricultural inputs to smallholders with an estimated 15,000 smallholders served by 150 FBAs. As a result, small farmers earned an average of $150 additional net income in the first year. 

The core strength of iDE is constantly seeking to improve and expand the range of services offered to clients. iDE is networking with R&D providers and private companies to ensure that fresh knowledge is extended to FBAs so that they remain competitive in the market. To reach the goal of becoming a self-sustaining enterprise, Lors Thmey continues to develop necessary systems, tools and processes that will enable efficient scaling of the network to reach more farmers with high quality information and services.

Strengthening research-extension linkages to benefit smallholder farmers in the Central Himalayas

In her presentation, Ms. Sonali Bisht, Institute of Himalayan Environmental Research & Education (INHERE), Almora, Uttarakhand, India, noted that geography and a difficult environment limit the agricultural livelihood choices available in the Himalayan region with mostly rain-fed cropping possible on terrace farms. Natural disasters, especially flash floods from cloud-bursts as well as droughts are also major challenges. 

INHERE works with research institutions on validation and extension of successful practices using farmer mobilization and motivation. Farmers are encouraged to take part in comparative experiments and to adopt and adapt suitable technologies. INHERE is linking farmers with multi-stakeholder global networks such as Prolinnova to promote innovation and adaptation and to share experiences.

The INHERE Action Research Initiative-I provided financial support to farmers to adopt innovative sustainable agriculture practices and initiated technical linkages to validate and support comparative research on crop productivity and new technologies. The Action Research Initiative -II promoted partnerships with research institutes, community mobilization and identification of community stakeholders, development of socioeconomic statistics and feedback to research institutions. Action Research Initiative-III is promoting own farm extension through community training in the classroom and on the field. 

NGOs can play a vital role in strengthening agricultural research-extension linkages due to their proximity to and support among the farmer community, better knowledge of farmers’ needs and their committed staff. Slow bureaucratic procedures and difficulty in mobilizing financial resources are major constraints to NGOs’ role in strengthening research-extension links at the community level. 

Strengthening agricultural research-extension linkages in Malaysia

Explaining the challenges to strengthening agricultural research-extension linkages in Malaysia, Mr. Tapsir Serin, Deputy Director, Economic and Technology Management Research Center, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) said national research-extension policies aim to advance agriculture in step with other sectors of the economy in order to realize the vision of making Malaysia a developed country by 2020. “In our point of view, to meet our goal, agriculture needs to move together with other sectors.” 

Mr. Serin introduced the concept of Research and Development and Commercialization (R&D&C) in agricultural development to take science to commercialization “What we produce should be commercialized.”

Technology transfer through extension services is a combination of knowledge, skills, technique and expertise covering the production of crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture and food processing. The beneficiaries are not only farmers but also the scientific community, small and medium industry, and the private sector. MARDI employs several mechanisms to transfer technology to beneficiaries such as publications, exhibitions, technology incubators, technical training, pilot projects and technical visits.

MARDI is successfully implementing R&D&C through many projects. It is recommended that R&D&C should be implemented selectively, based on customer needs and focus on products and appropriate technologies. “Technology is successfully adopted by users only if it fulfills their needs,” Mr. Serin emphasized.

There are still many challenges to strengthening research-extension linkages in Malaysia. Smallholder farmers cannot adopt high-cost technologies unless these are subsidised. Technologies should also be easily understood by farmers. For a sophisticated technology, it is better for the researcher to be involved in the extension process as an extension agent. Malaysia is restructuring agricultural agencies with the establishment of one-stop centres to provide agricultural services under one roof and to decentralize expertise to the district level.

Mr. Serin suggested incorporating R&D&C as an important component of the proposed Regional Action Framework for strengthening research-extension linkages in order to promote public-private partnerships in agribusiness.

National agriculture research-extension system linkages in Indonesia

Outlining the challenges facing agricultural research-extension system linkages in Indonesia, Dr. Agung Hendriadi, Director, Indonesian Center for Agricultural Technology Assessment and Development (ICATAD), Ministry of Agriculture, said Indonesian farmers need technology and innovation to respond to changing food consumption patterns with consumers demanding quality food. “While the Human Development Index (HDI) has been increasing, challenges in agriculture sector are also increasing because the food consumption pattern is changing and consumers are also demanding quality foods” 

Indonesia faces a decline in the agricultural labour force with the share of population working in agriculture falling from 64.16 per cent in 1970 to 33.32 per cent in 2011. The average age of farmers is now over 50 years.

A crucial research-extension issue in Indonesia is the capacity of extension workers. The research-extension workforce of about 54,000 comprises 3,000 researchers with 21,000 skilled and 30,000 unskilled extensionists. The limited linkage research-extension programme at national and regional levels results in poor dissemination and technology transfer.

To meet agricultural development targets in promoting sustainable self-sufficiency and improving farmers’ welfare, ICATAD has developed two research-extension orientations including science-based activities as upstream research and impact-based activities as down-stream research. Extension services range from the national to the village level. 

The research-extension system in Indonesia covers three activities: research activities with technology components, assessment activities involving identification of specific technologies and design of development models, and extension activities applying agribusiness practices.

Dr. Hendriadi listed several research-extension programmes in Indonesia including the Integrated Crop Management (PTT) programme in which adoption is accelerated through the Field School and the Sustainable Household Food Security Program involving use of home yards by women to cultivate vegetable and fruits and for raising poultry.

Status of research-extension linkages in Timor-Leste

Mr. Mariano Fernando Xavier Malik of the Timor-Leste Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) sketched the situation in his young nation where some 80 per cent of the 1.2 million people rely on agriculture, which accounts for about 30 per cent of the country’s non-oil GDP, with coffee as a main export crop.

Low productivity, pests, and post-harvest losses are challenges and the services provided by the extension system, established only in 2010, face budgetary constraints as well as limited staff technical capacity.

The MAF is reorienting research and extension services towards nutrition-rich crops and Mr. Malik saw as a key challenge, the development and promotion of technologies, e.g. for fertilization and soil cultivation, that are suitable for local farmers. Better connections are needed between research and extension, which should be more firmly based in the experiences and feedback of farmers. Recent MAF reorganization measures are promising.

Status of research-extension linkages in Papua New Guinea

Outlining the state of research-extension linkages in his country, Dr. Raghunath Ghodake, Director-General, Papua New Guinea National Agricultural Research　Institute (NARI), noted that although a resource-rich country, Papua New Guinea faces major challenges to promoting food security and nutrition with an estimated 7 million food-insecure people in a nation where 80% of the population is dependent on agriculture. 

Listing the complex interactions in smallholder agriculture, relating not only to commerce and infrastructure, but also to sectors like health and law and order, Dr. Ghodake underlined challenges in coordinating policy, ICT and other infrastructure in the interest of all stakeholders.

In recognition of the complex and sometimes non-linear trajectory of development, NARI aims to be a facilitator of innovation rather than follow more traditional extension roles, focused only on supplying technologies and knowledge. For extension to be demand-driven and focused on outcome and impact, rather than only inputs and outputs, Dr. Ghodake stressed it was important to realize that “extension is a process not an organization.” To ensure that extension leads to yield gains, Papua New Guinea has launched the Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D) initiative. “AR4D is the paradigm shift we accepted. Under AR4D, research output is dedicated for development impacts.” To ensure AR4D success, Papua New Guinea emphasizes ownership-based and community-driven extension.

Role of research-extension systems in promoting food and nutrition security

A panel discussion on the role of research-extension system in promoting food and nutritional security was the first interactive session during the Expert Consultation on 11 December 2013. Panel moderator Dr. Raj Paroda, Executive Secretary of the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI) put the following questions to the panelists who included Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad, Chairman, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC); Dr. Annie Wesley, Senior Program Specialist, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada; Dr. Abdus Salam, Advisor, Agriculture & Food Security Program, BRAC, Bangladesh; Dr. Ir. Agung Hendriadi, Director, Indonesian Center for Agricultural Technology Assessment and Development (ICATAD); and Mr. Sopheap Pan, Executive Director, Farmer and Nature Net (Cambodia) :

• How to bridge the gap between research and extension and increase the impact of extension?
• How to ensure that extension is related to the farming system with knowledge and multi-disciplinary approach are needed for food security?
• What role do stakeholders play in strengthening extension to fill gaps which governments cannot fully respond to? 

In response the first question, Dr. Ahmad acknowledged that although research and extension have contributed to food security to a great extent in Pakistan, there is still a gap between research and extension systems. “Government policy advocacy is important. Unless the government understands, they cannot create good policy for smallholder farmers,” he pointed out.

He said agriculture must be seen as an industry and not just as an issue of subsistence in order to ensure a holistic approach. Private sector involvement must be encouraged with new investment concepts such as ‘minimize external resources and utilize local resources’. He called on all stakeholders to work together to develop a regulatory framework integrating such an approach. He emphasized the importance of doing more to attract youth into research and extension.

Dr. Wesley, representing the donor community noted that “nobody can deny that research and extension are highly significant and unprecedented improvements have been seen, especially in Asia and Pacific.” Yet, achievement in strengthening the three pillars of food security has been mixed, she added, with most progress in the area of food availability with room for improvement in the area of accessibility and utilization.

As a researcher, she thought that “making sure that research objectives incorporate what is necessary for research results to be implemented right from the beginning is important.” There is need to share research from the beginning for better connectedness and responsibility among all stakeholders to implement the results of research.

Dr. Salam raised the question of sustainability, insisting that “we must look at this from the perspective of sustainability of research and extension system to produce more food for improving livelihoods of those in marginalized areas.” Research systems should target multiple cropping, rather than single cropping for better sustainability.

Dr. Hendriadi listed four subsystems that can be developed to make research and extension more effective in promoting food and nutrition security. These include institutional capacity-building, cooperative research and extension systems, translating scientific research into easy-to-understand language and farmers’ participation in research. Public-private partnership should also be promoted given the budgetary constraints for many governments.

Mr. Pan pointed out that the most important challenge is that “extension services provided by the government do not yet fulfill the needs of farmers.” To address such problems, he suggested regarding farmers as scientists and extension workers themselves, because they can be more effective in transferring knowledge to colleagues and the next generation.

Comments from the floor pointed out the importance of indigenous knowledge, sustainable food-value chains, the need to set up more farmers’ organizations and constant upgrading of knowledge.

Concluding the session, Dr. Paroda reiterated the importance of advisory services and advocated that national systems must be reoriented to link research and extension systems. This requires reorienting the research agenda to address small farmers’ concerns “‘Farmer first,’ is the message,” he said.

Reporter: Ms. Yuri Kim, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), yuri.kim73@gmail.com 

Status of research-extension linkages in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was another country represented in presentations on ‘Status of Research-Extension Linkages’ during the Expert Consultation. Dr. R. R. A. Wijekoon, Director General of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka, stated that “agriculture contributes 11.1 per cent to Sri Lanka’s GDP with an estimated growth rate of 5.8 per cent”. The main agricultural produce include rice, vegetables, fruits and spices. The research-extension sector uses training, crop clinics and print media as the main tools to strengthen research-extension linkages.

The most remarkable research-extension achievement is the initiative of fixed and mobile crop clinics. Public-private partnership controls research and extension with activities such as awareness building, events and covers different agricultural sectors - paddy, vegetables, fruits, crops and plantation crops.

Capacity-building programmers are needed, using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and research-dialogues are required to review ways of filling gaps between research and linkage. The Sri Lanka Department of Agriculture has suggested increased role for public-private partnerships, transferring ICT knowledge to farmers and increasing field research activities.

Prepared by Suraj Pandey, Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT), India

Status of research-extension linkages in India

Indian agricultural growth has undergone wide diversification in the six decades since Independence. However, the agriculture sector, which is still crucial for the livelihood of the vast majority of people, is facing many challenges to ensuring food security for the nation.

Regional imbalances in access to agricultural resources are a major constraint to bringing about significant increases in crop yield. In recent decades, population growth, declining average farm size and the increasing vulnerability of smallholder farmers are threatening the sustainability of agriculture and resulting in a situation of “too many mouths, little food”.

Dr. Kiran D. Kokate, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Extension), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), presented the status of research-extension linkages in India. In recent years, institutional innovations by ICAR and other National Agricultural Research System (NARS) bodies have enhanced sustainable livelihood opportunities for farmers by strengthening linkages between technology adaptation and dissemination.

The ICAR organizational structure is a showcase of institution building and research-extension linkage, covering various agricultural disciplines. ICAR is giving top priority to a capacity-building programme using research-extension linkages from the district to the national level, with annual agro-advisory and stakeholder meetings organized by Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) or agricultural science centres.

This has led to the establishment of an Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA), District Annual Action Plan (DAAP) and State Extension Work Plan (SEWP) to provide technology inputs and updates to extension workers, scientists and farmers to strengthen their knowledge. The current research-extension linkage model also includes capacity-building of the extension system to enhance the knowledge of scientists and resource persons in State agriculture universities (SAUs), KVKs and ICAR.

The research-extension linkage package is still being improved to address gaps and issues. The ATMA, as a district-level convergence platform, facilitates and coordinates efforts to strengthen institutional capacities. The ATMA platform also involves farmers through research-extension links, using SAUs, block-level committees and district-level training programmes organized by government institutes. KVKs advise ATMA in implementation of their national-level flagship programmes such as NFSM, NHM and NAIS. ATMA and KVKs also organize Kisan Melas (farmers’ fairs) to disseminate scientific practices to the field.

There is a felt need to enhance research-extension linkages in India through collaboration with international organizations such as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and others.

Prepared by Suraj Pandey, Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT), India

Presenting an overview of expert consultation on strengthening linkages between research and extension to promote food and nutrition security

A joint presentation by Dr. Katinka Weinberger, Director of CAPSA and Mr. Kevin Gallagher, Agricultural Research, Extension and Education (REED) Officer, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, set out the issues to be considered by the Consultation. Noting that smallholder farmers contribute largely to world food production, Dr. Weinberger highlighted the need for research and extension to be focused on them.

Agriculture growth for whom?

About 75 per cent of the world’s poor live in rural areas in developing countries and most depend on agriculture for a living. There is irrefutable evidence that agricultural growth reduces poverty, in particular in rural areas, by increasing employment, incomes, wages and lowering prices for consumers.

Sustainable small-scale farming is challenged by increasing environmental degradation as well as the growing frequency of extreme weather events and climate change impacts, Dr. Weinberger pointed out.  Small farmers are expected to produce more while contributing to environmental preservation through lower resource intensity, in order to create new economic opportunities,  reduce food loss and waste, and to support the shift towards healthier diets.

Stressing that this requires small farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural practices, Dr. Weinberger said this can be done through the establishment of a knowledge-based centre focusing on capacity building and knowledge exchange. Extension and advisory services also need to be strengthened.

In recognition of the important role of small farmers and of research-extension linkages in agricultural development, the Expert Consultation aimed to assess the current status of research and extension and its linkage in selected countries in the region, she said.

Dr. Weinberger hoped the Consultation would result in a tangible Action Framework to identify appropriate national policy and programme options in support of small farmers in order to enhance food and nutrition security.

Doing better by sharing best practices

Mr. Gallagher noted that many countries in the region have already achieved international development goals related to food security and poverty reduction. He outlined challenges facing the agriculture sector including increasing population, urbanization, feminization, changing food consumption patterns and climate change. Mr. Gallagher emphasized that besides the major cereals, the fishery, livestock and aquaculture sectors should also be taken into account when talking about the agriculture sector. Agricultural development does not simply mean focusing on technology but also on increasing farmers’ access to markets.

The research and extension model has changed over time and is no longer a one-way communication from the research centre to the extension agency and then knowledge transfer to the beneficiary, but is a more complicated system with interactive communication and many actors such as the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and consumers. ICTs have made sharing of information easier and more convenient.

Mr. Gallagher listed several research-extension issues to be taken up by the Consultation including the big gap in capacity development among farmers, fishers, herders and foresters, budget constraints for public research, decentralization of extension, higher average age of agricultural experts and attracting youth into agriculture, which would inform the development by the Consultation of an Action Framework for 2014-2015.

Prepared by: Chanerin Maneechansook, chanerin@apaari.org 

Status of research-extension linkages in Bangladesh

Agriculture accounts for 20 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Bangladesh, with fisheries and livestock contributing another 3.7 and 4 per cent, respectively, to national income. “Agricultural growth has helped bring down the incidence of poverty in the country from more than 80 per cent in the 1970s to 31.5 per cent in 2010,” stated Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Centre (BARC) in today’s presentation on ‘Status of Research-Extension Linkages in Bangladesh’. 

The main agricultural produce in Bangladesh include rice, jute, maize potato, fruits, vegetables, pulses and spices. The country is made up of nearly 80 per cent plain alluvial land and 8 per cent hill terrain, with a very high cropping intensity of about 191 per cent in 8 million hectares.

The government ministries responsible for the agriculture sector include the Ministry of Forest, Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock, and the Ministry of Forest and Environment. The main challenge to the sector is the rapidly increasing land degradation due to depletion of soil and water resources. This requires major focus on safety and quality of the resources.

In Bangladesh, agricultural research and extension is the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture which organizes an annual workshop on research and extension. Both public and private sector are involved in research and extension. The CGIAR initiative and the Farming System Research Intervention (FSRI) are also involved in research and extension. The NARS system in Bangladesh is served by different Ministries dealing with agriculture. Various national-level projects are helping enhance institutional capacities.

The National Agriculture Technology Programme (NATP) is crucial for enhancing the research-extension and farmer linkage to promote farmer-to-farmer information exchange and is maintained through National Coordinating committees. The R-E (Research-Extension) development of supply chain component includes strengthening farmers-market linkage and enhancing institutional efficiency.

“There are, however, some constraints to planning, monitoring and evaluation activities, including lack of operational mechanisms and inadequate resources,” Dr. Kabir concluded. Overall, the country is shifting towards climate-smart agriculture and there is urgent need for capacity-building at national level in various agricultural sectors.

Prepared by Suraj Pandey, Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT), India

Taking fruits of research to farmers crucial for Asia Pacific food and nutrition security

The Expert consultation “Strengthening Linkages between Research and Extension to Promote Food and Nutrition Security” was launched this morning at the Sukusol Hotel in Bangkok. The meeting had to be relocated at the last minute from the United Nations building due to the ongoing political rally outside the United Nations Conference Centre.

Hunger and malnutrition affect an estimated about 533 million people in the region and food and nutrition security, therefore, ranks high on the Asia-Pacific development agenda.

The Consultation opened with key statements by Mr. Shun-ichi Murata, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Mr. Hiroyuki Konuma, Assistant-Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) and Mr. Raj Paroda, Executive Secretary of the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI).

The speakers highlighted the need to reverse the decades-long decline in investment in agriculture. “We urgently need to rebalance our investment priorities and policies in order to give more attention to the development of agriculture and the rural sector,” Mr. Murata, stressed.

A reason for the decline in investment in agriculture was the mistaken belief, induced by the Green Revolution-driven farm abundance, that agriculture production had become easy. However, the food price crisis of 2008 was a wake-up call to the world, reminding it of the importance of investing in the sector.

Asia and the Pacific must not only increase food production to feed a growing population but also meet the growing demand for food quality and safety. This requires addressing challenges posed by climate change impacts, a declining natural resource base, the greying and feminization of agriculture, urbanization and the global economic crisis. With only marginal lands available to expand production, there is need to boost yields as well as step up investment in food storage and processing to reduce losses

“The sustainable intensification of production for crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry needs to be supported by more effective and efficient research - extension service within the shortest possible time to face these challenges,” said Mr. Konuma.

The Expert Consultation is taking stock of the current state of agricultural research and extension systems in Asia and the Pacific and will develop an Action Framework to make research-extension more efficient and relevant to the food security and nutritional needs of the region.

“Agricultural research is for innovation, not just for publication. We need to share experiences and develop a roadmap on what we can do,” Dr. Paroda said.

Prepared by Takashi Takahatake, Program Officer, CAPSA