Expanding extension
How to improve agricultural extension work in sub-Saharan African countries at a time when public sector support has shrunk is the common concern of several donors and other institutions. Grouped together in the Neuchâtel Initiative, CTA, NEDA, the European Union, FAO, GTZ, DANIDA, DFID, IFAD, SIDA, USAID, French Development Cooperation and the World Bank seek new approaches to the delivery of extension services. One related line of action with African partners and agricultural organisations strengthening producers' organisations was the topic of a workshop hosted by the World Bank, with the collaboration of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers. It was held in Washington from 28 to 30 June 1999. Among the issues covered in the workshop were partnerships and how they could be developed between formal, usually statal, agricultural service institutions and producers' organisations. The workshop highlighted two revealing trends in key thinking about cooperation between stakeholders in agriculture. In the first trend towards 'mainstreaming' of partnerships with producers, the focus is extended beyond farmers to a wider set of actors in rural development, including producers in other sectors (livestock and fisheries) and processors of agricultural products (on the farm or in rural areas, such as women's cottage industries). The second trend concerns transparency and accountability: in addition to the usual top-down talk of expecting these from grassroots organisations, the workshop examined the other side of the coin. In the words of one paper: 'Partnership implies promoting the accountability of those who provide service, so what are the necessary institutional reforms for agricultural services to be accountable to producers' organisations?' Rural Capacity Building, The World Bank Room S8-141 1818 H Street NW Washington DC 20433 Fax: +1 202 473 8229 Email: producer_organization@worldbank.org Website: www-esd.worldbank.org/extension
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| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
1999
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/48507 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99584 |
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