Year 2022, Volume 7, Issue 1

Year : 2022
Volume : 7
Issue : 1
   
Authors : Hamid EL BILALI, Lawali DAMBO, Imaël Henri Nestor BASSOLE, Jacques NANEMA
Title : AGRICULTURE EXTENSION AND ADVISORY SERVICES IN BURKINA FASO AND NIGER
Abstract : Agriculture still plays an important socio-economic role in Burkina Faso and Niger. However, the agriculture sector faces several difficulties and both countries still suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop the agricultural sector. Extension and advisory services are widely recognised as an essential instrument for agriculture development. Therefore, the present review analyses the state of research on extension and advisory services in Burkina Faso and Niger. It draws upon a search performed in June 2021 on the Web of Science. The analysis of the scholarly literature suggests a gap in the research field. The modernisation of the extension system implied the co-existence of different extension approaches, from the public training and visit (T&V) extension program to various participatory advisory approaches such as Farmer Field Schools (FFS), with different levels of involvement of the private sector and NGOs. Modern advisory services stress the centrality of farmers’ participation and experiential and social learning. A prominent feature of modern advisory services is their focus on innovation development rather than the linear transfer of knowledge and technologies. The modernisation of extension services has implied an increase in ICT use. Proposals to improve advisory services performance include building extension staff’s capacity, increasing funding, creating an enabling institutional environment and fostering farmers’ participation. Strengthening the extension system is essential to foster the sustainable development of agriculture in Burkina Faso and Niger in the face of climate change, which, in turn, is vital to achieving sustainable food and nutrition security.
For citation : El Bilali, H., Dambo, L., Bassole, I. H. N., Nanema, J. (2022). Agriculture extension and advisory services in Burkina Faso and Niger. AGROFOR International Journal, Volume 7. Issue No. 1. pp. 5-15. DOI:10.7251/AGRENG2201005E
Keywords : agriculture, rural development, extension services, training & visit, farmer field school, West Africa
   
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