Agricultural extension in sub-Saharan Africa has often been criticised for its focus on linear knowledge transfer, and limited attention to systemic approaches to service delivery. Currently, the region is experiencing a new-ICT revolution and there are high expectations of new-ICTs to enhance interaction and information exchange in extension service delivery. Using an innovation systems perspective, we distinguish the roles demand-articulation, matching demand and supply, and innovation process management for innovation-intermediaries. The study explores literature on how new-ICT may support these roles, with specific interest in the possibilities of environmental monitoring and new forms of organisation enabled by enhanced connectivity. In order to contribute to the understanding of this area, the paper reports on a comparative study of two new-ICT platforms embedded in Ghanaian public and private extension organisations respectively. The study assess the roles that these platforms (aim to) support, and document achievements and constraints based on interviews with extension staff and farmers
The objective of the study was to identify a viable trade-off between low data requirements and useful household-specific prioritizations of advisory messages. At three sites in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania independently, we collected experimental preference rankings from smallholder farmers for receiving...
In this paper, was analyzed farmers' preferences for high-input maize production supported by site-specific nutrient management recommendations provided by an ICT-based extension tool that is being developed for extension services in the maize belt of Nigeria. Was used a choice experiment to...
Agricultural extension in the Global South can benefit greatly from the use of modern information and communication technologies (ICT). Yet, despite two decades of promising experiences, this potential is not fully realized. Here, it is reviewed the relevant research literature...
This paper draws on data collected during 12 months of fieldwork in Northern Ghana. The fieldwork researched two communities in two districts of Northern Ghana and three Agricultural Development Agencies (ADA); Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA)...
This study, evaluates the intervening influence of extension services on livelihood impacts of drought tolerant maize adoption and the potential mechanisms through which extension can enhance or reduce impact of drought tolerant maize using cross-sectional household level data from smallholder...