EVOLUTION OF AFAAS

Dr. Silim M. Nahdy

Chair, AFAAS Board

Presentation to AFAAS third Symposium and

GA, 2011Alisa Hotel , Accra

GhanaSymposium & GA

OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION

• Challenges facing African AAS

• The formation of AFAAS

• Comparative advantage of AFAAS

• AFAAS guiding principles

• Lessons from AAS

Climate change & soil degradation

Poverty in Africa

Low agricultural productivity

Low level of education

Poor market orientation

Unsupportive Policies

Inappropriate AAS delivery approaches

Inappropriate funding

approachesLow organisational & Institutional

Capacities

Farmers who are not empowered

Widening scope of AAS

Inability to target poverty and

gender

Ineffective demand for AAS

Environmental degradation and climate change

Poor Market Orientation ?!

Challenges Facing African Agricultural Advisory Services (AAS)

THE PROBLEMS AT THE CENTRE

• No continent-wide framework for supporting No continent-wide framework for supporting institutional development of AASinstitutional development of AAS– Agriculture largely neglected as investment

priority– Uncoordinated funding schemes– No common framework for multi-stakeholder

collaboration

THE PROBLEMS AT THE CENTRE (continued)

• Lack of mechanisms to develop synergies Lack of mechanisms to develop synergies between countriesbetween countries– The potential of experts in specialized fields are

not fully utilized• Participatory approaches• Multi-stakeholder approaches• Value chain experts

– Supporting services to (such as micro-credit, rural infrastructure) are poor or not fully engaged

THE PROBLEMS AT THE CENTRE (continued)

• Information exchange not adequateInformation exchange not adequate– Low level of information sharing regarding

advisory service approaches– Best practices of AAS approaches for specific

domains are lacking (high value/stable crops; domestic/export market; public/private AAS)

THE PROBLEMS AT THE CENTRE (continued)

• Low capacity of AAS to address current challengesLow capacity of AAS to address current challenges– Traditionally no proactive but passive role to deliver

researcher-generated knowledge to farmers (top-down approach);

– Focus rather on productivity (supply driven) than on market demand (demand driven);

– Blanket recommendation instead of consideration of recommendation domains

THE PROBLEMS AT THE CENTRE (continued)

• Low level of networking and partnershipLow level of networking and partnership– No coordinated linkages between various AAS

providers within countries (public and private AAS)

– No international linkages between AAS (unlike research)

– Unconducive policies

What is needed?

The question was addressed by:• Sub-Saharan African Network on Agricultural Advisory

Services (SSANAAS), Kampala, 2004 (7 African Countries)

• AAS Innovations and Networking Second Symposium, Kampala, 2006 (14 African countries), formalisation through

stakeholder endorsement of; African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS)

What is required?

• Information Sharing• Continental focus• Quality assurance of agricultural extension• Accountability• Partnerships• Efficiency and effectiveness• Innovativeness • Market orientation/ commercialisation• Promoting participation of private sector, civil society and

farmers • Subsidiarity • Separation of Advisory Services from input delivery

Alisa Hotel

AFAAS Principles

AFAAS - CAADP Context

CAADP provides a framework that can enable the attainment of AFAAS objectives within the context of:

• Lessons learnt from previous experience

• Challenges to AAS in Africa

• Widening scope of agricultural advisory services

• A New Relationship between Research and Advisory Services

• Immerging issues - climate change, gender

• Emergence of the Market Oriented Agricultural Services paradigm

• Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and threats

AFAAS - CAADP Context

AFAAS - CAADP Context

• Policy and advocacy• AAS require a supportive policy framework • Diversifying Delivery and funding approaches• Flexibly and use of different approaches- blend public and

private delivery. • Institutional and organisational capacity• Low institutional and organisational capacities. • Participation and Empowerment• Innovativeness in design and piloting of interventions

Lessons

14

Groundnuts

Lessons

Networking, GFRAS,RIMIS and AFAAS – Chile

AFAAS at a glimpse

Thank You