A decision guide for rural advisory methods

In today’s fast-changing world, agricultural producers need support to innovate as well as reliable sources of information, knowledge, skills and technologies along the entire value chain in farming, livestock and fish production. One of the core functions of extension and rural advisory services is to facilitate the access of farmers, their organizations and other market actors to knowledge, information and technologies/practices. To carry out these multi-faceted functions, extension professionals and their organizations need to utilize a broad range of methods and approaches. While nearly every extension and rural advisory service program and project has developed guidelines on how to use and evaluate extension methods and approaches, there is a lack of detailed information and guidance on what factors need to be considered when selecting extension/advisory methods and approaches which are most suited for which purpose and content. The inappropriate selection and use of extension methods may limit the effectiveness of service provision, resulting in diminished impact and a failure to meet clients’ needs and demands. This decision guide is intended to help extension professionals and their organizations make informed decisions about which extension method and approach to use for providing information, technologies and services to rural producers and to facilitate interactions and knowledge flow. Expected users include field-based rural advisors, extension managers and programme planners.