The quality of rural extension and advisory services is a crucial element in fostering innovation and rural development. This article aims to clarify the concept of quality of rural extension and to develop a preliminary theoretical framework. An ample literature review was conducted in search of articles on service quality and quality of rural extension and advisory services. The first part presents the main results of the literature search on quality of extension services. The definition of quality is not universal.
The building of sustainable innovation capabilities in Africa requires an innovation system capable of producing, disseminating and using new knowledge. This paper assesses the process of constructing the National Innovation System (NIS) in Rwanda. It is posited that consensus on and acceptance of the concept of NIS among stakeholders is crucial in the early process of constructing an efficient and dynamic innovation system. Primary empirical data are presented for the case of Rwanda and analyzed in a regional context.
This paper calls for a better integration of place-based, evidence-based and inclusive dimensions in the implementation of the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) plans and industrial policies in sub-Saharan Africa. To this end, the analysis contrasts with and takes inspiration from the recent and ongoing international experiences in the elaboration of Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (S3).
Participatory research can improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and scope of research processes, and foster social inclusion, empowerment, and sustainability. Yet despite four decades of agricultural research institutions exploring and developing methods for participatory research, it has never become mainstream in the agricultural technology development cycle. Citizen science promises an innovative approach to participation in research, using the unique facilities of new digital technologies, but its potential in agricultural research participation has not been systematically probed.
The well-being of the rural population globally has been associated with the performance and resilience of the agriculture sector. The sector continually requires new needs-based knowledge and technologies. It has become necessary to empower the rural communities through a wider bottom-up system that directly addresses their needs. This paper explores the application of little-used Participatory Livelihood Analysis for the adoption and up-scaling of its use in the assessment of agricultural-extension-needs for disadvantaged rural communities.
Private sector actors bring expertise, resources, and new perspectives to agricultural development, but the tendency to short-term approaches and market-based orientation has been unable to drive a systemic change in the development agenda. We explore how multi-stakeholder dialogues can capitalize on and trickle systemic change through private sector involvement. Analysis from the farmer-led irrigation development multi-stakeholder dialogue space (FLI-MDS) in Ghana shows the need for a physical and institutional space to cater for and merge different stakeholder interests.
With support from The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), through a call for proposal, Hello Tractor an agriculture technology social enterprise has been selected to implement ICT-enabled smallholder mechanisation services with the objective to create jobs for youth across Nigeria and Kenya over a one-year period. Hello Tractor has a bold vision to create sustainable value for tractor owners and to radically transform how the smallholder agricultural ecosystem interacts with and derives value from technology.
La présente étude porte sur l’analyse de la chaîne de valeur de la pomme de terre dans les régions de Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima (TTH) et Casablanca-Settat (CS). Notre point de départ est une analyse descriptive des données récoltées sur le terrain et de la revue bibliographique. Puis, à travers une analyse fonctionnelle, nous identifions les acteurs de la chaîne, leurs fonctions et formes d’organisation, et les flux d’échange tout au long de celle-ci.
L’An deux mille vingt du 15 au 16 décembre 2020 s’est tenu à Bobo Dioulasso au Centre Agricole Polyvalent de Matourkou un séminaire académique sur le thème : Rôles des services de vulgarisation agro-sylvo-pastorales dans la mise à échelle des Pratiques climatointelligentes. Ce séminaire est Co-organisé par l’Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature (UICN), l’Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), World Agroforestry (ICRAF) et le Centre Agricole Polyvalent de Matourkou (CAP). La rencontre s’est tenue dans l’amphithéâtre 540 du CAP Matourkou.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of International Earth Day on April 22 2020, UNDP launched a new way of helping farmers: Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration for Systemic Change: A New Approach to Strengthening Farmer Support Systems, a guidance note which encourages and guides governments to develop new partnerships, enable innovation and strengt