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