Innovation in extension and advisory services

Transcription

1 Independent Impact Assessment Report: Innovation in extension and advisory services CTA Annual International Conference November 2011, Nairobi, Kenya Ruth Mwikali and John Fox December 2013 intermediaries in development

2 2 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 3 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services The Extension Conference was a torch to finding out what I want to do. It has changed my way of thinking. A participant from Malawi About CTA s Independent Evaluation and Impact Assessment Reports CTA regularly commissions independent evaluations and impact assessments along thematic, programmatic or cross-cutting lines. The major evaluations are carried out using the OECD DAC criteria, while impact assessments draw on the conceptual framework formulated by the Learning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (LME) with various impact indicators for CTA s interventions. CTA is committed to disseminating these reports widely, with a view to promoting knowledge sharing and organisational learning. CTA, 2015 Abbreviations AAILD AFAAS AGRA ANAFE CAADP CABI CTA EIARD FAO FARA FORAGRO GFAR GFRAS ICRA ICRAF ICT IFAD KARI MIS MoA NEPAD Agency NGO UoN USP UWI YPARD Association pour l'appui aux Initiatives Locales de Développement (Association for Support of Local Initiatives) African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation European Initiative on Agricultural Research for Development The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Forum for the Americas on Agricultural Research and Technology Development Global Forum on Agricultural Research Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (World Agroforestry Centre) Information and Communication Technology International Fund for Agricultural Development Kenya Agricultural Research Institute Management Information System Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya New Partnership for Africa s Development Planning and Coordinating Agency Non-Governmental Organisation University of Nairobi University of the South Pacific University of the West Indies Young Professionals in Agricultural Research for Development

3 4 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 5 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Contents Executive Summary Executive Summary 5 CTA Responses Introduction Background Conference objectives Objectives of the impact 16 assessment 1.4. Methodology Profile of the respondents Region of work Organisation Gender Age Categories of delegates Impacts on individual 25 participants 3.1. Skills development Networking Knowledge management Impacts at institutional 34 level 4.1. Visibility Networking and 35 information sharing 4.3. Organisational 36 development 4.4. Policy The Nairobi Declaration Impacts on professional 44 communities 5.1. International institutions Extension and advisory 47 services communities 5.3. Academic and research 47 institutions 6. Conclusions and 49 recommendations 6.1 Effects of the conference Recommendations 51 Annexes Annex 1: Questionnaire 56 Annex 2: Further Analysis of 62 Respondents Disaggregation of organisation 64 by country Footnotes 66 List of Figures Figure 1: Breakdown of 20 responding delegates by region Figure 2: Breakdown of 21 responding delegates by institutional affiliation Figure 3: Breakdown of 22 esponding delegates by gender Figure 4: Breakdown of 23 responding delegates by age Figure 5: Breakdown of 23 conference delegates by sponsorship Figure 6: Breakdown of 24 conference delegates by sponsoring agency Figure 7: Breakdown of 24 respondents by proportion that maintained contact with sponsor Figure 8: Thematic interest 26 Figure 9: Number of people 29 that delegates have remained in contact with Figure 10: The main purpose 30 for maintained contact Figure 11: Delegates with the 38 Nairobi Declaration by institution Figure 12: Delegates with the 38 Nairobi Declaration by sponsorship Figure 13: Period when last 39 consulted the Nairobi Declaration List of Tables Table 1: Overview of the 14 Extension Conference 2011 Delegates Table 2: Outcomes and 18 indicators for the impact assessment Table 3: Post-conference 29 evaluation responses on networking The conference was called Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Linking Knowledge to Policy and Action for Food and Livelihoods. It was organised by CTA in partnership with 17 other institutions. It was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from November It was attended by 453 participants drawn from 85 different countries and representing universities, research institutions, ministries and NGOs 1. Many of the participants could be called policy makers with regard to agricultural extension and advisory services in their own institutions and in their own countries. Objectives The main objective was: to take stock of current policies, thinking and practice, successes and failures of on-going and past reforms in extension and advisory services and build a coalition moving forward to specifically address meeting the future needs of small-holder farmers, marginalized communities, women and youth, in a sustainable and cost effective manner. 2 Expected results and outcome Develop a shared understanding and enhanced profile of the vital role of extension and advisory services in agricultural value chains and wider innovation systems, within the context of the present environment for agricultural and rural development. Clear define, endorse and widely disseminate good practice and policy options for improving the future delivery and effectiveness of extension and advisory services. Endorse mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating extension and advisory services to provide lessons for policy and practice. Identify priorities for research, capacity development and investments that enhance the impact of extension and advisory services on agricultural productivity, food security, sustainable livelihoods and natural resource management. Elaborate strategies for addressing these priorities. The expected outcome was renewed interest in extension and advisory services and increased commitment by key stakeholders in implementing policy and adopting practices for effective delivery, greater impact and enhanced sustainability of agricultural extension services and advisory services.

4 6 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 7 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Conference activities included a pre-conference call for papers, e-discussions, social media and a media competition on the four sub-themes, as well as in-conference plenary and parallel thematic sessions, an open market place for exhibition booths and interaction among participants, an exhibition of posters, tools, materials and products, live streaming and a conference blog, and field trips to 11 sites to demonstrate extension in action. Post-conference activities to date have included production of CTA policy pointers (completed), production of the conference proceedings (in print), hosting of expert consultations, providing updates, and sharing new publications with delegates using an established e-list. The outputs were taken forward in a Nairobi Declaration which called on all stakeholders to: Develop clear policies and strategies for extension and advisory services in a participatory manner and put coordination and quality assurance mechanisms in place. Advocate for increased funding within national budgets; develop and implement public, private and donor funding mechanisms that ensure sustainability, risk-sharing and efficient use of funds to provide highquality demand-led services. Promote and facilitate continuous capacity building, learning and foresighting as well as greater use of ICTs and the media, taking into account culture and gender in the provision of advisory and extension services so that millions of smallholder farmers can move up the value chain. Develop and implement participatory processes for monitoring, evaluation and impact assessments, and for conducting research on extension to facilitate learning, accountability, efficiency and empowerment. Eighteen months later, an impact assessment has been carried out in order to determine the extent to which these objectives have been reached. The impact study The aims of the study were to analyse the effects of the conference on the participants and the organisations they represented, to assess progress in implementing the Nairobi Declaration and to offer recommendations towards its fuller implementation. An online questionnaire was completed by 70 (21%) of the surveyed participants. Interviews (face-to-face and on Skype) were also conducted with members of both the international and local organising committees. And a scan of internet and social media sites was made in order to determine the range of references that have been made to the conference, its themes and, specifically, the Nairobi Declaration. Impact has been assessed in terms of the following outcomes: the level to which the conference stimulated policy-making dialogue; increase in investments in agricultural extension and advisory services; the extent to which participants have maintained contact and interacted; enhanced knowledge and skills and changed attitudes; stimulation of debate and research; increased take-up of participatory extension methods; utilisation of innovative approaches and tools; establishment of knowledgesharing platforms; and value added by participants to their organisations. Impacts on individuals When asked about the most important things gained at the conference, most participants identified becoming more aware of new ICT tools and approaches. Many others mentioned the need for greater collaboration in research particularly on issues affecting extension in developing countries. Overall, it is clear that the conference did rekindle an interest in extension. In the responses, there are many references to the conference s influence on the delivery of extension services, training of extension workers, and new areas of research. There are a number of reports of how participants have begun to use innovative communication technologies, have reviewed training content and approaches, are using more participatory approaches in planning and delivering of extension, and are focusing more on value chain aspects in their advisory work for farmers. Since the conference there has been a surprisingly high level of sustained interaction between participants; most of them have made and maintained contact with at least 10 fellow participants. In relation to the Nairobi Declaration s call for collaboration to further its aims, many participants have joined existing forums on extension or have established new ones. Some respondents have claimed that their participation in the conference has led to their being invited to various other conferences and meetings on extension. When analysing the responses concerning follow-up activities and continuing information sharing, it can be concluded that participants who were sponsored have benefited more than those who were not. Another observation is the relatively low response rates to the impact assessment questionnaire by female delegates; of the 70 who responded, 14 were female. Recommendations 1. Self-sponsored participants should be targeted in terms of information sharing, to keep them abreast of any changes and new developments in extension and advisory services. Impacts on organisations A number of participating organisations reported that, informed by the Nairobi Declaration, they are more empowered to influence debates about policy options at the national level, in reviewing existing policies, re-shaping extension strategies, and setting up extension advisory services particularly in countries such as Sudan and South Sudan, where policy formulation is on-going. Another example is the host country, Kenya, where it was reported that the conference gave impetus to the launch of its e-extension services. As to the impact within organisations, the universities and research institutions reported that the lessons from the conference have enriched curricula and better informed research. For implementing NGOs, there is now a greater emphasis on participatory planning, delivery and monitoring methods, and a greater awareness of new information technologies. Also, across the categories of organisations, there was a marked appreciation of how the conference has enhanced their visibility and influence through a great variety of media reports. 2. To keep up the momentum, CTA could commission thematic case studies on best practices in various countries that had representation at the conference and share the outcomes with all delegates.

5 8 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 9 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Impacts on professional communities When organisations and individuals come together in sharing ideas or taking collaborative actions, they become a community of professionals. It can be seen that the conference has furthered this sense of community. The internet search has shown that there has been a continuing debate about the themes explored at the conference particularly on what is meant by the New Extensionist and the implications for revised training curricula and delivery methods. And, in sustaining this debate, there has been an increase in the formation of national and regional forums, which are particularly advantaged when they are linked to the forums of the GFRAS. 3. CTA and the conference organisers could follow up on these emerging national and regional forums to help them align and harmonise better within the existing coordination frameworks. They could then effectively contribute to shaping the discourse around extension and advisory services, and to the broader vision. Acting on the Nairobi Declaration Whether participants were familiar with the wording of the Declaration or not, it can be concluded that its clauses are being acted on: extension policies are being reformulated, capacity building of extension actors is being strengthened, participatory processes are being set in train in the planning and delivery of advisory services, and there is a greater use of ICTs in the delivery of extension messages and in receiving feedback. 4. In addition to posting the Declaration on the website, the visibility of the Declaration as an action point for the conference could be given prominence by sending it out directly to all the delegates. This would be a way of maintaining a good contact list as well as updating delegates that are still active in the sector. 5. As highlighted in the suggestions by the delegates who responded to the survey, a range of methods and formats (newsletters, posters, blogs, Twitter, Facebook) could be used to further disseminate the Declaration, send reminders, follow up and regularly update on progress by different countries for purposes of learning and encouraging others to take action. 6. In terms of knowledge management, the provision of extension material or pointers to where these could be found would be an important way to support implementation of the Nairobi Declaration. These are available from various sources, and perhaps CTA could take specific action in collating these sources and posting them on the CTA website or disseminating to various online learning and knowledge management platforms such as the Eldis, the Pelican Initiative (Platform for Evidence-based Learning & Communication for Social Change) or Capacity.org. 7. During the conference, each thematic area contained in the Declaration had a focal point CTA led on policy, GFRAS on capacity building, FARA on tools and approaches and ICRA led on learning. Some of the partners such as FAO, FARA and GFAR already had major on-going initiatives to support extension. Delegates should be encouraged to rally around the specific thematic areas, after the conference, for purposes of information sharing, knowledge management, technical support and monitoring, and sending or posting updates to the thematic area focal points. Commitments on action could be made with clear milestones and targets that each actor involved in agricultural extension and rural advisory services would be working towards. 8. Funding was mentioned as having been a restriction on taking effective action, for scaling up, research, training or adopting new approaches. CTA could provide information, where relevant, about funding opportunities that are related to specific thematic areas of the Nairobi Declaration. 9. For countries undertaking a policy formulation process or developing extension strategies and structures, delegates should be made aware of where to direct their requests for technical support so that they are able to address issues contained in the Nairobi Declaration. FAO has been providing support in policy formulation before and after the conference. Several suggestions by the delegates point to support in preparation and monitoring implementation of policy action plans, organising meetings with various incountry leaders to move forward the Nairobi Declaration, and support in setting up national extension systems. Recommendations for future impact assessments 10. To provide a baseline for future assessments, it is recommended that pre-and post-conference surveys should be conducted and a good system for storing information on delegates who respond should be developed. 11. In anticipation of an impact assessment, software could be used to monitor the number of visits to the conference website, the number of times a document has been downloaded, hosting of conference outputs, and references to conference themes on institutional websites and online media (including social media), both before and after the conference. 12. Although the impact assessment did not have a translated version of the questionnaire and there was no observable impediment in the responses of French speaking delegates consideration should be given to having translated versions of the questionnaire in relevant languages. 13. The social media sites should continue to be used post-conference, as part of a CTA communication strategy. Since they have not been very active since early 2012, the immediate action could be to re-activate them. It is challenging for staff to manage social media sites on a part-time basis, especially one of the magnitude of the Extension Conference in CTA should consider engaging an individual to specifically concentrate on communication, including the use of social media, for the conferences. This would involve collecting and disseminating information from delegates that would enrich the site and contribute to the learning, monitoring and evaluation.

6 10 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 11 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services CTA Responses Summary of CTA s Response to the Recommendations of the Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Linking Knowledge to Policy and Action for Food and Livelihoods Conference in November 2011, Nairobi Report This conference was the first of the new series of annual international conferences that CTA initiated in 2011 in collaboration with a broad spectrum of global, regional and national partners. The consultants made 14 recommendations grouped around the following issues: Women and gender issues: Greater marketing towards women professionals and self-sponsored participants as they seem to be the group that takes the highest number of action. Maintaining momentum: To maintain the momentum, CTA could commission thematic case studies on best practices in various countries that had representation at the conference, and share the outcomes with all delegates For future impact assessments: To provide a baseline for future assessments, it is recommended that pre-and post-conference surveys should be conducted and a good system for storing information on responding delegates should be developed. CTA has addressed the first group of issues in the subsequent conferences and has also changed its pre and post conference data collection system to ensure digitization and safekeeping of baseline information. In addition, CTA has recently revised its policy on annual conferences taking into account evaluation feedback since 2011, other lessons learnt, as well as an in-house strategic meeting organised in January 2015.

7 12 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 13 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 1. Introduction 1.1. Background 1.2. Conference objectives The CTA International Conference on Agricultural Extension and Rural Advisory Services Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Linking Knowledge to Policy and Action for Food and Livelihoods ( Extension Conference 2011 ) was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from November people (317 male; 136 female) attended the conference. 3 They were from 85 countries 4, representing public, private and non-governmental organisations, policy-makers, the research and development community, academia, donor agencies, financial institutions and the media (see table 1). The majority of the world s poor live in rural areas and are smallholder farmers dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Though agriculture has the potential to reduce hunger and malnutrition, it has been undermined by persistent underinvestment and low visibility of agricultural extension and rural advisory services. The objective of the conference was to take stock of current policies, thinking and practice, successes and failures of on-going and past reforms in extension and advisory services and build a coalition moving forward to specifically address meeting the future needs of small-holder farmers, marginalized communities, women and youth, in a sustainable and cost effective manner. 6 This was the first conference since the adoption of the CTA Strategic Plan for the period In this strategy, the CTA Annual Seminars were modified into International Conferences. A significant shift in the organisation of the conferences was the inclusion of other development partners and agencies in funding, planning and implementation. The Extension Conference was jointly funded and jointly organised by CTA in partnership with 17 other organisations 5. An international steering committee led by CTA, and a local organising committee led by KARI, were made up of representatives from these organisations. Focusing on four themes policy, capacity development, tools and approaches and learning networks four immediate result areas were pursued: Shared understanding of the role of extension and advisory services in agricultural and rural development. Definition, endorsement and dissemination of good practices and policy options for improving the effectiveness and delivery of extension and advisory services. Definition, endorsement and dissemination of mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating extension and advisory services. Identification and elaboration of priorities and strategies for research, capacity development and investments that enhance the impact of extension and advisory services on agricultural productivity, food security, sustainable livelihoods and natural resource management. The expected outcome of the conference was renewed interest in extension and advisory services and increased commitment by key stakeholders in implementing policy and adopting practices for effective delivery, greater impact and enhanced sustainability of agricultural extension services and advisory services. To take this forward, an end-of-conference statement, the Nairobi Declaration, 7 was agreed among all delegates. It called on all key stakeholders to work together to: Develop clear policies and strategies for extension and advisory services in a participatory manner and put coordination and quality assurance mechanisms in place. Advocate for increased funding within national budgets; develop and implement public, private and donor funding mechanisms that ensure sustainability, risk-sharing and efficient use of funds to provide high-quality demand-led services. Promote and facilitate continuous capacity building, learning and foresighting as well as greater use of ICTs and the media, which take into account culture and gender in the provision of advisory and extension services, so that millions of smallholder farmers can move up the value chain. Develop and implement participatory processes for monitoring, evaluation and impact assessments and for conducting research on extension, to facilitate learning, accountability, efficiency and empowerment. The participants further called upon the conference organisers to continue to provide platforms at different levels for extension professionals and researchers and farmers to meet, exchange and improve their capacity to mobilise smallholders knowledge, labour, land, water and genetic resources for global food security. 8

8 14 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 15 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Table 1: Overview of the Extension Conference 2011 Delegates No. of Delegates By region Africa % By organisation Europe 72 17% Asia & Middle East 28 6% South America & the Caribbean 28 6% North America 11 2% Australia & the Pacific 11 2% Percentage Total % Other % Public Sector 81 18% NGO 67 15% University 58 13% Research Organisation 52 11% International Organisation 43 9% Private Sector 37 8% Total % By sponsor CTA % GFRAS 62 14% FARA 46 10% FAO 28 6% AGRA 12 3% GFAR 8 2% CABI 7 2% Practical Action 6 1% FORAGRO 6 1% ICRAF 6 1% NEPAD 5 1% IFAD 3 1% YPARD 2 0% Self-sponsored % Total % Pre-conference activities included a call for papers, e-discussions, social media engagement and a media competition on the four sub-themes. During the conference, there were plenary and parallel thematic sessions, an open market place for exhibition booths and for facilitating interaction among participants, an exhibition of posters, tools, materials and products, live streaming and a conference blog, and field trips to 11 sites to demonstrate extension in action. The conference outputs presentations, the Nairobi Declaration, and reports of e-dialogue, were posted and are still available on the conference website. 9 Post-conference activities to date have included: the production of CTA policy pointers (completed) and the conference proceedings (in print), various expert consultations and meetings organised by partners and the provision of updates and the sharing of new publications with delegates using an established e-list. During the 3rd GFRAS Annual Meeting held on September 2012, an overview was given of activities that GFRAS had carried out or planned since the Extension Conference and the 2nd GFRAS Annual Meeting, which had been organised to coincide with the conference. 10 GFRAS has produced materials for the Rio+20 conference held in June 2012, initiated a side event on policy development at the 3rd GFRAS Annual Meeting in September 2012, produced a document on the New Extensionist that was presented at the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) in November 2012, and organised an advocacy training at the regional level with the Latin America Network for Rural Extension Services (RELASER). With regard to participatory processes for monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessments, GFRAS completed its evaluation guide and launched the evaluation initiative as well as the Global Good Practices initiative, held the Latin American evaluation meeting, launched the World Wide Extension Study database 11, and produced a directory of extension providers 12 and a roster of extension experts 13. In support of the development of evidence-based approaches and policies for improving the effectiveness of rural advisory services, GFRAS established the working group Gender Equality in RAS. The FAO, CGIAR and AFAAS have been participants in many of these activities through presentation of key papers and organisation of the events. NB: 55 from Francophone countries; self-sponsored 126 (28%), sponsored 327 (72%)

9 16 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 17 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 1.3. Objectives of the impact assessment 1.4. Methodology Almost 18 months after the conference was held, CTA, in consultation with GFRAS, was eager to find out what impact the conference had had in renewing interest in extension and taking a positive step toward the revitalisation of extension and advisory services. This impact assessment was therefore commissioned to look at the extent to which the short and medium term outcomes implied from the conference objectives and the Nairobi Declaration had been realised. As stated in the terms of reference (ToR), the objectives of the study are to: Analyse the effects of the conference (whether anticipated or unanticipated, positive or negative) on the direct and indirect beneficiaries. The data used in this impact assessment is generated from both primary and secondary sources. These were: a survey, interviews, an internet search and a desk study of documents provided by CTA and other conference organisers. The main method used to gather primary data was an online survey which was administered using the web-based Survey Monkey programme. The survey was only available in English and contained a set of 27 questions, which included an optional last question on personal information. It is worth noting that, despite only being in English, the survey did not limit French-speaking delegates, who contributed actively, as will be seen in the next sections. In addition, the responses and examples given are a representative sample of the kinds of impacts realised. Assess the state of progress with implementation of the Nairobi Declaration. The Nairobi Declaration, agreed by all participants, is the key document that gives a way forward on the implementation of issues arising out of the conference. Provide concrete recommendations that would facilitate the full implementation of the Nairobi Declaration. The emphasis of the impact assessment was on actions that participants and organisers had undertaken as a result of attending the conference and changes that had taken place either as a direct or indirect result of these actions related to agricultural extension and rural advisory services. The majority of questions in the survey were closed questions, but they provided an option for qualifying the response or giving additional comments. The first seven questions were expected to obtain a profile of the respondents. Eight open-ended questions gave the respondents a chance to articulate their opinions and will provide qualitative information and stories for the survey. The online survey remained active for four weeks. An offline version of the questionnaire (in Ms Word) was made available for those who wished to fill it in offline. The responses were then entered manually in the online data collector for analysis. The questionnaire is available in Annex 1. A pre-conference survey was not held, but an onsite post-conference survey was carried out using a printed questionnaire. 162 (36%) of the conference participants responded to this survey 14. While it would have been a better strategy to follow up with delegates who had completed the post-conference survey, information about the 162 that had completed this survey was not available. On 26 August 2013 an invitation was sent to the conference delegates whose details were available from the compiled List of Participants. Of the 319 (70% of the total conference participants) invitations sent, 18 bounced back and 3 had previously opted out. Two reminders were sent on 3 September and by 10 September 2013, a total of 70 survey forms had been completed. This represented a response rate of 21%. It was concluded that this is a representative sample of the conference participants. Five in-depth interviews were carried out face-to-face in Kenya and using Skype with those in other locations. The Evaluation Team also attempted to set up meetings with 21 other delegates in Kenya without success; they had either left the organisation with no forwarding address, did not respond to our calls, had no time to meet or their numbers were no longer in use. The 11 interviewed included members of the international organising committee (2), local organising committee (2), CTA staff (2) and some individual participants (5). A scan of the internet and social media sites (websites, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube) for an overview of references to the conference and conference themes yielded varied results. The key words used in the search were: the formal and informal name of the conference: Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Linking Knowledge to Policy and Action for Food and Livelihoods ; Extension Conference 2011, the Nairobi Declaration on Agricultural Extension and Rural Advisory Services. Data analysis for the online survey was carried out using both the Survey Monkey online analysis and the statistical analysis software SSPS. The interpretation mainly uses descriptive statistics, which include frequencies and cross tabulations. Figures have been produced using Ms Excel as well as an analysis of online search. An analysis of the open-ended questions involved highlighting key issues arising. This was used to triangulate the findings of the quantitative data. Stories were constructed around the interviews with some of the participants and issues raised in the open-ended questions. The conceptual framework for analysing the impacts draws on the impact indicators for CTA products developed in and services, and links this to the end-of-conference survey. These have informed the distinction between short and medium term outcomes 16 at individual level, organisation levels, and between direct and indirect beneficiaries. 17

10 18 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 19 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Table 2: Outcomes and indicators for the impact assessment Category of impact Political capital Material wealth/wealth creation Dimensions of impact Policy Advocacy on resource mobilisation Outcome Level to which conference has stimulated policy making, dialogue and awareness about importance of agricultural extension and rural advisory services Increased coherence and representation related to agricultural extension and rural advisory services Indicator Policy changes, sectoral reforms, using conference outcomes Increase in funding, investments in agricultural extension and rural advisory services by government and other development partners Category of impact Human capital /technical empowerment Dimensions of impact Skills development Change in professional discourse Outcome Enhanced knowledge, skills and attitudes on agricultural extension and rural advisory services Extent to which conference themes have stimulated debate and new research Indicator Increase in number of beneficiaries with new skills and combination of skills Amount of training opportunities in agricultural extension and advisory services Type of extension training methods promoted Increase in focus of organisations on conference themes Social capital Networking Extent to which participants and organisations have increased or maintained contact, interacted and communicated Visibility Influential relationships Increase in information sharing and links with new networks Amount of collaboration in project formulation or implementation of research Increased recognition in the sector Increase in number of organisations/beneficiaries that have become important actors/partners Platforms for knowledge management/ information sharing Increased interest in participatory extension methodologies Extent of documentation/ dissemination/ utilisation of innovative tools and approaches in agricultural extension and advisory services Extent of availability of knowledge sharing platforms Focus of other organisations changed, new terminology/ concept adopted by others Level of discussions and interaction about agricultural extension and rural advisory services Level of sharing new learning and engaging in exchanges within their organisation and outside Availability of information on agricultural extension and rural advisory services for practitioners Level of distribution of relevant newsletters and publications Organisational development Value added by participants to their organisation, Use of knowledge, materials, contacts gained from conference, requests for information, advice and support by conference organisers

11 20 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 21 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 2. Profile of the respondents 2.2. Organisation Most responses were from delegates working in universities, followed by the public sector, NGOs and research organisations (Figure 2). This corresponds to the conference Figure 2: Breakdown of responding delegates by institutional affiliation representation where the four institutions had highest representation at 13%, 18%, 15% and 11% respectively (see Table 1) Region of work The responding delegates represented a total of 34 countries, eight of which are French speaking and 21 from Africa. It is not surprising therefore that over 70% of the respondents were from Africa, particularly from eastern (37%) and western African countries (19%). This reflects the conference participation, which also had a large proportion from African countries (67%) of which 22% (101) were from Kenya. There were no responses from delegates in North America. Details of specific representation by country are available in Annex 2. Public Sector 17% NGO 16% University 33% Figure 1: Breakdown of responding delegates by region Research organization 13% Africa 72.9% Farmer organization 9% Europe 8.6% Media 3% International organization 6% South America & the Caribbean 8.6% Private Sector 3% Asia/Middle East 5.7% Other 1% Donor 0% Asia & the Pacific 4.3% Continental Network 0% n = 70 n = 70 0% 10% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

12 22 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 23 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Almost all the responding delegates from the public sector (NGOs, farmer organisations and the media) are from Africa. A follow-up question asked for the respondents position in their organisation. Most respondents were in decision-making positions, either as: policy makers; presidents, chief executive officers or founders of the organisation; directors and deputy directors of departments; or programme/project coordinators and officers. About twenty were academics, including lecturers and professors some heading departments or coordinating programmes. About six indicated that they were researchers, some as PhD candidates, research assistants or students. Five were involved in knowledge management as reporters, communications specialists and librarians. It can be concluded that most delegates were in positions where they could influence change. Figure 4: Breakdown of responding delegates by age 35% 29% 30% 25% 25% 25% 20% 15% 10% 4% 17% n = 48 5% 2.3. Gender The proportion of female respondents was low. Many of them were from NGOs, research institutions and universities. It is worth noting that this was not raised as a concern. Only one research organisation in Kenya mentioned that deliberate efforts were being made to include more women in such meetings. We have ensured that about 40% of our participants at these workshops are women. 0% Categories of delegates Figure 5 shows that most (86%) of the delegates responding to the survey were sponsored either as individual participants or as presenters. Only 12% of those who responded were self-sponsored. The other sponsors were Biogreen Investments East Africa Limited and Norges Vel. Figure 3: Breakdown of responding delegates by gender Male 79% Figure 5: Breakdown of conference delegates by sponsorship 70% 60% n = 70 Female 21% 60% n = 67 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 50% 40% 30% 26% 2.4. Age Of the responding delegates that gave information about their age, the majority (67%) were above 40 years of age, implying that most delegates were established professionals in their fields of work. As shown in Figure 4, 29% were between 30 and 39 years and only 4% were below 29 years. A crosstabulation of the age by position shows that all those below 29 years were working with NGOs and almost all between 60 and 69 are professors or lecturers in universities. 20% 10% 0% Sponsored participant Sponsored presenter 11% Self-sponsored participant Of those participants who had been sponsored, over half indicated that their sponsoring agency was CTA. 1% 1% Self-sponsored presenter Other The FAO and GFRAS were the two other main sponsors.

13 24 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 25 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Figure 6: Breakdown of conference delegates by sponsoring agency Other 3% GFAR 5% FARA 5% AGRA 5% GFRAS 13% 3. Impacts on individual participants FAO 13% CTA 55% n = 60 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Most (78%) indicated that they had maintained contact with their sponsors for a variety of reasons. The nature of contact with the conference organisers is discussed in the next chapters. Figure 7: Breakdown of respondents by proportion that maintained contact with sponsor 30% 25% 20% 15% 27 n = 60 Two categories of impacts have been considered in analysing short term impacts for individual participants social capital and human capital/ technical empowerment. The dimensions of impact explored include networking, competency development (knowledge, skills, attitudes) and platforms for information sharing. In order to assess short-term impacts, it was necessary to know how the conference had benefited the delegates. To assess medium-term impacts on changes realized in behaviour, practice and decision-making, the delegates were then asked whether they had done anything differently as a result of attending the conference and what had happened as a result. Of the 63 that responded to this question, 51 (81%) had taken action; 47 (75%) were sponsored delegates. The most impacts can be said to have been realised at the human capital/technical empowerment level, on networking, information and knowledge management. Of the 12 (21%) responding delegates who indicated that they did not implement any actions, five gave a range of responses for their inaction. One felt there was nothing new that the conference was producing or were already aware of the rationale for promoting agricultural extension. One was of the view that their position was not to implement but to offer technical advice, and the most they could do was to share and advise policy makers on formulating agricultural extension policies. One felt that the conference organisers were more interested in working with government extension institutions than with farmer organisations, and one thought no real discernible change in the extension systems was possible through the public sector institutions and therefore there was a need for greater use of some private platforms. Weaknesses in funding, communication and related infrastructure were also cited as reasons for inaction. 10% % % CTA GFRAS FAO GFAR AGRA FARA Other

14 26 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 27 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 3.1. Skills development Figure 8: Thematic interest Learning networks 4.18 Capacity development 4.16 Tools and approaches 4.31 Policy 3.98 As indicated earlier, the conference results were pursued in four thematic areas policy, capacity, tools and approaches, and learning networks. When asked on a scale of 1 (low interest) to 5 (high interest), what themes were of most interest, overall, there was high interest in all the A question was asked about the most important things gained from the conference. New knowledge on tools and approaches had the most mentions, particularly the use of a variety of information and communication technologies (ICT) in delivering extension services. This was mentioned by delegates across all types of institutions (highlighted in Figure 2) and it is consistent with topics but the highest rated was tools and approaches. This is a different response from the post-conference evaluation which rated the policy theme highest at 38%, followed by tools and approaches, capacity development and learning networks at 32.1%, 32% and 27% respectively. n = the high ranking of thematic interest on tools and approaches (in Figure 7). Other new knowledge specified was on learning networks, particularly the need for researchers and practitioners to collaborate, policy issues that are affecting extension in developing countries, and various approaches in capacity development. New knowledge on extension approaches, as it was reported from Ghana, use of mobile phones to reach farmers with market information and new technologies. (Delegate from Tanzania working with an NGO) I was struck by the absolute need for collaboration among research and extension that should NOT be de-linked. There is a need for sound iterative relations between those who generate knowledge and innovation (including farmers) and those who disseminate them. (Delegate from Italy working with an international organisation) On learning networks a presentation on building a voice and alliances for women from Papua New Guinea, it was made by Maria Linibi whereby I learnt how women can be supported by contracting to women service providers engaged in agriculture services. (NGO Project Manager, Malawi NGO) The need to strengthen agricultural policy and support for pluralistic and market-driven extension. (Delegate from the private sector in Papua New Guinea) Interesting to see strong interest in capacity building area, and be able to discuss the needs and policy commitment needed to develop capacity building in agriculture (Ph.D candidate, France) There was also a clear change of attitudes towards agricultural extension and rural advisory services amongst all categories of delegates regardless of their institutional affiliation. Renewed interest in extension... was mentioned at least 12 times. I now more than ever appreciate the role extension plays in getting farmers at the grassroots to engage in better farming approaches availed through extension services. (Delegate from Kenya working in the media) The highest impact the conference had at the individual level was in skills development. Many were able to use the knowledge gained from the various thematic sessions, interactions and material provided to change or influence their own practices related to delivery of extension services, in training extension workers, and in their own research. Challenges that affected the realisation of results were related to limited funding, infrastructural problems, and the difficulty of changing attitudes among staff to start using new methods and approaches. Many delegates have incorporated ICTs in the delivery of agricultural extension and rural advisory services. I promoted the use of ICT to be an integral part of our extension efforts not just a 'one off' activity or specific activities as before. Apart from our experience in Mali, with our MIS, after the conference, I led the development of MIS Ghana; my organisation joined AAILD. (NGO worker, Burkina Faso) We have integrated ICTs in our Farm Radio Programming. We have embarked on in-station training approach to build the capacity of broadcasters. I have also been writing news stories on our website to publicise our approach (NGO worker, Malawi)

15 28 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 29 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Engaged in covering ICT related extension approaches on behalf of modern day farmers (Reporter, Kenya) I have integrated the use of ICTs in extension services (NGO worker, Uganda) Those engaged in training of extension workers have integrated new methods and content gained from the conference extension training. Enriching teaching content and conducting more research on farmerto-farmer extension approaches (University lecturer, Uganda) I have revised our training resources to incorporate new lessons learnt from the conference (Worker with research organisation, Kenya) I improved on training methods of staff handling Sustainable Livelihoods Project of Cadbury Cocoa Partnership in my municipality. This has contributed to the realization of project outcomes, in that communities were able to access the Cadbury Challenge Fund and they are on the verge of accessing a Fairtrade label. (Public sector, Ghana) include new knowledge on teaching and learning process as well as in research and outreach programs (University lecturer, Ethiopia) I started to really consider the needs of small farmers in developing my work plan. This has resulted in increased participation of producers because they share in the technology (Public sector, Togo) By using volunteer farmers to disseminate the proven technology on-farm, which I did not use before (Researcher, Tanzania) Intensified stakeholder sessions with farmers for understanding and buy in before implementation of projects (University lecturer, Kenya) Have changed my approach to delivering extension services to farmers with regard to incorporating a value chain approach to linking farmers to markets (Public sector, Malawi) Analysing services in terms of cost/ benefit with input of new knowledge acquired (Public sector, Mauritius) Those delegates engaged in research, either as students, lecturers, or through their work in research institutions, have been able to use the concepts learnt and products from the conference to inform and strengthen their own research. One graduate student used the agricultural innovation systems as a theoretical framework for her thesis. Many lecturers said they had improved the content of their lectures on extension Networking Increased networking and establishment of new forums is one of the impacts that can be directly attributed to the conference. The majority of the responding delegates (92%) affirmed that they had maintained contact with at least 10 people they met at the conference. This is in line with the post-conference evaluation report, where more than 90% indicated that they had established new contacts and 97% rated the usefulness Table 3: Post-conference evaluation responses on networking Number of contacts Number of contacts useful in future of contacts made as good to very good. In the post-conference survey, most delegates indicated that they had made or strengthened contacts with at least 10 people met at the conference. One participant stated, I look forward to following up on the many contacts I made, for more sharing and learning. It appears that this was realised, based on the responses from the impact assessment survey. Number of contacts already had but strengthened N % N % 0 1 1% 16 11% 1 to % % 11 to % 13 9% 21 to % 6 4% 31 to % 1 1% 41 to % 4 3% 51 and above 6 4% 3 2% Source: Nang ole and Franzel % % Figure 9: Number of people that delegates have remained in contact with 40% 30.6% n = % Participatory approaches, new extension methods learned from the conference, and value chain approaches have been promoted. There is increased use of farmers in extension work, leading to better outreach to more farmers and increased ownership of processes by the farmers. Some reported an increase in yields and income due to better access to markets as a result of incorporating a valuechain approach. 30% 20% 10% 0% 6.1% % 10.2% Over less than 5

16 30 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 31 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Comments by delegates responding to the impact assessment questionnaire indicated that the conference had provided opportunities for networking and information management with other professionals in extension, and for exchange of ideas between regions, and supported the establishment of new global extension networks and opportunities for partnerships between the public and private sectors, including civil society organisations. Figure 10: The main purpose for maintained contact Other 2% Join an existing partnership 14% Develop a joint project proposal 9% Implement a project jointly 2% I think the massive number of people, the size and diversity of the participants, made it possible to at least connect and have long term connections. The arrangements created the arena for networking (NGO delegate, Burkina Faso) Based on the interaction with various participants and presenters, I widened my networks and also got ideas on new areas of research, especially given the developments in our research organisation, where a department of outreach and partnership has been established. (Director of a research institute in Kenya) Exchange information 44% Create new partnership 29% n = 46 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% As Figure 10 shows, the main reason for maintaining contact was to exchange information. This is a popular response stated by a majority of those who maintained contact with their sponsors. Some have created new partnerships, joined an existing partnership, or collaborated in the implementation of new initiatives such as training products and production of case studies, or in advocacy, projects, and development of extension networks. Collaboration in a project on food security (CTA-sponsored University professor, Faculty of Food and Agriculture, UWI, Trinidad and Tobago) Collaboration in order to develop a new extension network which can serve extension clients (CTAsponsored lecturer at University of West Indies and Member of the Extension Conference International Steering Committee) We have held joint activities touching on policy, training workshops and conferences (CTA-sponsored delegate, The Scinnovent Centre) Write/Workshop on Extension, August 2013, Policy Brief Country Cases Book (CTAsponsored retired professor, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany) Case studies publication, support in conducting new case studies, collaboration in advocacy (CTA-sponsored lecturer and Coordinator for Graduate Programs, Makerere University) Support in project development for rural development (FAO-sponsored delegate, Department of Agriculture Rural Development and Land Administration, South Africa) For a few, the contact maintained with sponsors had specifically involved skills development. Training in web 2.0 and participation in GFRAS activities (CTA-sponsored Professor of Extension at North West University, Mafikeng campus, South Africa) Le renforcement des capacités sur la vulgarisation des services de conseil agricole et rural; le soutien au développement des outils et la collaboration en matière de plaidoyer et de réforme à l'innovation dans le service de vulgarisation et de conseil (Capacity building on the popularization of agricultural and rural advisory services; support for the development of tools and collaboration on advocacy and reform innovation in the service of extension and of Council) (CTAsponsored delegate, NGO, Congo) Many responding delegates said that, as a result of the conference, they started to seek to network and form extension networks. In Uganda, the Uganda Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services was established. In Ghana, there has been an attempt to form the Ghana chapter of GFRAS-AFAAS. With support from GFRAS, India formed a new regional network of RAS and a lecturer from a university is acting as a focal point. Another lecturer mobilised extension professionals in India to establish an Extension Forum at regional and national level. Togo initiated a national network for agricultural extension services. I understand the concept of the country fora and doing work differently in the way of approaching partners and giving weight to the networking process at the national level in Egypt. A discussion is being held about the formation of fora. There is a realization that such fora are important to legitimize extension efforts that are not government. (NGO worker, Egypt)

17 32 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 33 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 3.3. Knowledge management For the majority of the participants that have maintained contact with their sponsors, the nature of contact has mainly been involved with knowledge management and information sharing related to the conference proceedings, newsletters and publications from CTA, through the conference mailing list or from the conference website. Others have participated in new, related initiatives and some have been utilising outputs from the conference for their own activities. Following their activities on their website. Making use of their information and tools for advocacy. (AGRA-sponsored NGO in Burkina Faso) Continuous readership of CTA publications. Receiving any new information from sponsor Submission of media competition script on upcoming Conference ICT4ag in Kigali, Rwanda. I have been nominated for on-line course Web 2.0 and Social Media for Development September 9 to November 8, (CTA sponsored government official from Ghana) Submitted Conference Report. I also receive updates regarding Agricultural Research. (GFARsponsored development organisation from Belize) I have been receiving the quarterly CTA Knowledge newsletter as well as updates on the publication of the paper I presented at the conference. (CTA sponsored government official from Malawi) I contribute agriculture and climate change stories from around Africa to their flagship publication Spore Magazine since early I have contributed to every issue since I was taken on board. (CTA-sponsored delegate, winner of the regional extension competition in East Africa, Freelance Journalist and Reporter on Climate Change and Agriculture, Kenya) I was recently invited to participate in the CTA Planning Meeting Policy Learning for Improving Effectiveness of Extension and Advisory Services at Wageningen, on the August 2013 (CTA-sponsored delegate, Pacific Agri-Systems Limited, Papua New Guinea) As a result of the conference many delegates have been able to identify opportunities for knowledge management; many ideas have been taken up and a number of products have been realised. Knowledge materials such as training modules have been produced, translated and disseminated. Diffused our 3 Vol. Handbook on Extension, finalized Vol 3. As a result there has been a high demand for the books. (University lecturer, Germany) Engaged in more collaborative research for a continental research on extension in Africa; participated in an ICT radio-based extension project. As a result a publication is underway and there has been increased networking with others. (University lecturer, Uganda) Better manage my research library, improve my knowledge hub. Users of the library are satisfied and the library is easy to access. (Research organisation, Ghana) I translated the New Extensionist into Arabic and posted it on GFRAS site. Many extensionists in Egypt became aware of the new trend of extensionists (University lecturer, Egypt) Development of an Information and Communication Management (ICM) Strategy for better knowledge management, leading to better service delivery to farmers and other stakeholders. (CTA-sponsored participant working for an NGO, Uganda) The Extension Conference was my torch I was doing MSc in Rural Development and Agricultural Extension at the University of Malawi, Bunda College of Agriculture, when I stumbled across the concept of innovation systems. The Extension Conference provided much more literature for my theoretical framework, particularly on how innovation systems can influence value chains in extension services. No student in the department has ever taken the time to research on innovation systems. There were also many papers presented that are so good. One of the major resources for me at the conference was the room which had many different documents. There was also the launch of a source book on agricultural systems which I have used for my course. I was honoured to have met a guy who has written on innovations systems, whose literature I was studying. Inspired by the conference, I prepared a case study titled An assessment of the processes and pathways to achieve innovation in conservation agriculture in Malawi: A Case Study of Machinga Agricultural Development Division which was presented at the RUFORUM Conference held in Entebbe, Uganda in A lot is happening is Malawi and I have seen a big stride in extension at the national level. On 8-9 May 2013, the Malawi Forum for Agriculture Advisory Services (MaFAAS) held an extension conference, funded by the FAO, in which one of the main issues under discussion was how to coordinate the various people who provide different extension services in the country. People are starting to realize that there is a lot of duplication. Farm Radio was chairing this forum. The facebook page for MaFASS is com/malawiforumfor agriculturaladvisoryservices. The organisation I work with, Farm Radio, is a knowledge broker and a key player in radio-based extension. As the technical person on value chain and innovation systems, my role is to ensure partnership with radio stations to produce relevant content, to link farmers with other technical experts and to work with the government department of agriculture and other actors. I have amassed a lot of knowledge and skills since the conference in 2011 to help me in this role. Since there has been no follow up since the conference, I did not pay attention to the Nairobi Declaration as I did not know where to get it. But I believe that working through the national extension system is the best approach because they have the most number of people, although they lack the necessary capacity. Universities would also be key to strengthen the profession to introduce these systems and support policy making. I have tried to keep contact and follow up with a few people, particularly one person who is an agricultural communication expert. As an organisation, the contacts established at the conference have led to the development of a project with MEAS. The Extension Conference was a torch to finding out what I want to do. It has changed my way of thinking. Much as there has been no communication from the organisers since the conference, I will attend the CTA conference every year. Catherine Mloza Banda is an Agricultural Value Chain Officer with Farm Radio, Malawi

18 34 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 35 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 4. Impacts at institutional level 4.1. Visibility All the categories of impact were assessed at the level of the organisation political capital, human capital, social capital and material wealth/ wealth creation. The dimensions of impact focused on policy, advocacy, tools and equipment, visibility, and organisation development. Institutional level here refers to organisations that delegates were representing, governments and networks. In assessing impacts at the organisational level, the question was asked whether the conference had influenced the work undertaken in the organisation related to agricultural extension and rural advisory services. The majority (74%) of those who responded to this question (57) were positive that there had been an impact. Many felt that there had been increased visibility of their organisation; for some, networking had become an important Through contacts made at the conference, one organisation has been able to access funds to document its work and has been invited to showcase its work in international fora. Farm Radio was granted funds by Modernised Extension Advisory Services (MEAS) to do a case study of radio-based extension and advisory services, and the aspect of the organisation strategy; for others, extension approaches had been reviewed and planned systematically. Frontline extension officers were being re-trained to incorporate new methods and there was increased involvement of beneficiaries, new programmes targeted at farmer groups, and deliberate efforts to involve women. Fewer people (53%) were aware of any way that the conference had influenced agricultural extension and rural advisory services in their country. Those that had knowledge reported policy development processes, attempts to improve coordination and collaboration, and the way extension is organised; governments were increasingly involving other partners, particularly the private sector, and there were more partners interested in supporting national extension services. head of the organisation has attended a conference in Washington to showcase the role of radio programming. The organisation is increasingly involved in training more broadcasters in farmradio broadcasting Networking and information sharing Access Agriculture came to Malawi to launch a DVD on combating striga; they involved us and the Department of Agricultural and Extension Services of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, whereby the Department of Extension would like to be using the farmer-to-farmer training by video. The use of ICTs in agriculture is also another tool that the government would like to be using in their radio programmes. So our organisation will work together on integrating ICTs in the radio programming, which for a long time has been traditional, using letters for feedback instead of innovative tools. (Farm Radio, Malawi) The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) is also of the view that as a result of the conference and actions it has undertaken as a follow up to the conference, there has been increased visibility of its technology at the national level, and within the media, based on increased requests Many organisations have increasingly been networking and collaborating with other organisations in an effort to be more efficient and effective. Conference organisers have also supported some in their efforts towards this. A number of organisations have also participated in the development of relevant tools for extension. to produce TV and radio programmes. There has also been an increase in the number of partners from the private and public sectors and international community to partner or fund extension related activities. Yes, it has influenced me greatly in that my work has expanded from 54 group farmers to 113 now, and tomorrow all are coming to attend an agricultural workshop organised by Pro Focus in Kampala. All praises go to you organisers of the past extension conference that took place in Nairobi in (Farmer organisation, Uganda)..the university is continuously drawing the attention of the people and farmers. (Pakistan) It has given prominence to the organisation as an advocate for pluralistic and marketoriented extension. (Private sector organisation, Papua New Guinea) There is more work with organisations which use farmerto-farmer extension approaches. (University, Uganda) I obtained more than usual extension support from my university colleagues. I have worked with GFRAS in order to support new networking activity. (University, Trinidad and Tobago) We network and collaborate with other organisations in an effort to be more efficient and effective. (Belize)

19 36 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 37 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 4.3. Organisational development The nature of our contact/ interaction with our sponsor has been support in the development of tools, collaboration in advocacy for reform, and youth involvement in the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) (FARA-sponsored farmers organisation in Mali) There is better, more systematic planning of projects for capacity development of extension staff, and greater recognition of the need to strengthen and involve farmer organisations as well. We are taking participatory extension approach seriously in developing our programs. Developing an extension strategic plan was participatory. (Ministry of Agriculture, South Sudan The frontline extension officers are able to look at extension and rural advisory services with much more critical thought and apply indigenous knowledge to solve farmers' challenges. The need for Extension Officers to be engaged in social science studies. We may have high technical skills, but the organisation skills for the farming communities, problem identification, surveys and analyzing results, is something that needs to be strengthened. (Agriculture Department, Fiji) Our organisation translates English books released by CTA and/or partners into Kiswahili for reaching rural small farmers who do not read English books/booklets. We translated and published three AGRODOKS into Kiswahili editions from the English editions and as a result more people are reading the published guidebooks. (CTA-sponsored NGO in Tanzania) Most project proposals include field and outreach work for sustainability of project outcomes. (University, Kenya) Farmers are being consulted and it is no more a one way flow of information; indicators are being introduced and farmers responses are captured and analysed for improvements. (Public sector, Mauritius) At project level, the manner or approach I apply in the organisation of my work and the innovation I bring it is, to a large extent, due to the participation in the conference. Approaches like working with retired journalists, former extension experts and cooperative officers, are all lessons I gathered from the exchange with participants that I cannot identify today. My input in project and proposal writing when it comes to extension related issues is richer and deeper than before. (NGO, Burkina Faso) 4.4. Policy In a number of countries, a main outcome from the conference has been the formulation of extension policies, or the commencement of policy formation processes. There has been support at institutional level in policy making. The delegates from the governments of Sudan and South Sudan indicated that FAO has supported them in the formulation of extension policies. For South Sudan, the National Agriculture and Livestock policy (NALEP) is complete and soon will be enacted by parliament. In Uganda, a process has started of policy reform in agricultural extension, and in South Africa the delegate indicated that he was participating in the extension policy formulation process. In Fiji, it was reported that, after two major agriculture conferences since 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock had agreed to formulate a new agriculture extension policy. This process is on-going, together with the training of extension staff. In India, a new agricultural initiative was taken up by the agro-advisory services for marginal and small farmers. In Pakistan, a GFRAS-sponsored delegate from a university stated that there has been support in policy development, and he had collaborated in raising awareness of recent issues in agriculture extension. Kenya has continued the implementation of demand-driven extension work which had already started at the time of the conference. There has been emphasis on private sector participation in order to offer better extension support services to farmers and access to ICTs. In May 2013, the Kenya Ministry of Agriculture launched a national e-extension project which would give extension messages to farmers in all the 47 counties. This is in line with the e-extension policy which recognises the paradigm in extension delivery is evolving and the need for plurality in the delivery of services. In a press article on the launch, the Nairobi Declaration emphasis on the use of ICT and the media to reach more small scale farmers was quoted. Other organisations have collaborated with sponsoring agencies in policy advocacy, such as in Egypt, Ethiopia and Mauritius. However, due to political turmoil, the delegate from Egypt indicated that agriculture and extension are not areas of focus or priority. In Tanzania, advocacy efforts are focusing on increasing the agricultural budget (currently at 6%) to reach 10% of the total budget. There have been more linkages and a coordination of extension approaches in the country. In Malawi, an extension advisory body was established to take further the recommendations of the Nairobi Declaration. The delegate from Mali stated: The Extension Conference in 2011 has influenced the agricultural extension and rural advisory services in my country by the involvement and participation of rural communities, women and youth, the creation of a national framework on extension.

20 38 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 39 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 4.5. The Nairobi Declaration The Nairobi Declaration was a key output of the conference, having been adopted by participants. By adopting it, all delegates had committed to advocating and implementing the contents therein. The Declaration was posted on the conference website and circulated widely to participants in English 18, French 19 and Spanish using the conference mailing list and through existing networks and forums. A specific question was asked on whether the responding delegates had a copy of the Nairobi Declaration. Of the 57 that responded to this question, 74% (42) had a copy of the Nairobi Declaration while 70% (40) indicated that they had consulted it postconference. 90% were sponsored and 36% from universities. Nine delegates that provided reasons for not having a copy of the Declaration said that they either had not received it by , did not know where to get it, that it was not circulated at the end of the conference and that there had been official communication regarding the Declaration. This prompted some to recommend to the conference organisers to send relevant published documents on a regular basis. Of the 40 that had consulted the Declaration, most had consulted it over six months previously. From the total number (57) that had the Declaration, 42 (75%) were of the view that the Declaration was addressed to Figure 13: Period when last consulted the Nairobi Declaration 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 30% 28% 18% them. Four of those who felt that the Declaration was not addressed to them stated that it was relevant to policy makers, national governments and institutions, and donors. 14% 11% n = 57 Figure 11: Delegates with the Nairobi Declaration by institution Figure 12: Delegates with the Nairobi Declaration by sponsorship 10% 5% 26% 10% Sponsored participant Sponsored presenter Self-sponsored participant Self-sponsored presenter 64% 7% 7% 5% 17% 5% 2% 2% University Public sector NGO Research organization 19% 36% International organization Private sector Farmer organization 0% Never About 1-5 months ago About 6-10 months ago When asked whether they have implemented any actions related to the Nairobi Declaration, about half (53%) of those who answered this question (57) responded positively; very few (14%) said that they had received support of any kind in the implementation of the Declaration. The specified actions related to capacity building, involving stakeholders at project inception, creating awareness among policy makers, development of participatory methods for disseminating extension services, and making presentations in follow-up conferences advocating the need for clear policy and strategies. In Mali, a framework for national dialogue on agricultural extension had been established. A Kenya research organisation had included extension actors in its training workshops on policy and exposed them to tools and strategies for influencing agricultural/ About months ago About months ago extension policies. A university in India had developed and deployed a new ICT mobile application tool; in Papua New Guinea, a farmers organisation had mobilised women to be service providers in running resource centres; and in Uganda, a private sector institution had put in place policy to ensure gender mainstreaming in extension services. In Ethiopia, there had been advocacy for rural advisory services to be more pluralistic. In Sudan there had been endorsement of the national extension policy and formulation of an extension law that involved the extension value chain. South Sudan was developing an extension coordination mechanism for farmer field schools, and many were continuing to expand contacts with partners.

21 40 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 41 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Develop some strategies for dissemination of rural advisory services in a participatory manner, as well as quality service providing mechanisms, by involving local service providers and also develop a co-financing strategy/ system by involving private sector organisations, donor and rural communities organisations, that ensure sustainability and efficient use of funds. (International organisation, Bangladesh) I made a presentation on the need to build the capacity of broadcasters in farm radio programming and ICTs to complement the inadequate extension services provided by the government. This year we have been training broadcasters in quality impact programming, but these are broadcasters who are participating in our projects. For sustainability purposes, we have used the In- Station Training Approach which is cost-effective because you do the training right in their stations. If resources are enough I would like to train more even beyond our projects and beyond our border. (NGO, Malawi) On how these activities were taking account of gender and culture, many highlighted that gender issues were significant considerations in all activities, with a specific focus on women s participation. One organisation in Ghana said that it had become more sensitive to gender and culture. Reasons for not implementing any actions related to the Nairobi Declaration were largely attributed to not having a copy of the Declaration. One delegate noted that, The final report on conference proceedings was never communicated; yet it was important, to form a basis for actions to be implemented. Another one had tried without success to contact the organisers. A few acknowledged failure on their part to take any actions. Procrastination one pointed out. Several who considered the Nairobi Declaration to be directed at policy makers thought it was not their responsibility to take any action. For others, it was a matter of identifying what to focus on. Political instability and not enough time to support networks, we were only able to focus on the idea of a country fora but now that I think of it we should have focused on the Declaration as a discussion/ entry point. Suggestions on how the conference organisers could provide support in the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration include: Maintaining communication Keep communicating and updating with up-to-date developments. (Uganda) Regular updating of agricultural extension developments around the globe and how other countries have progressed in implementing the Nairobi Declaration. (Uganda) Sending correspondences via frequently for support in the field of capacity development. (South Africa) Sharing information on best practices and doing linkages for technical and financial support. (Uganda) Strategic focus Assign champions with clear tasks. (Egypt) Capacity development Mentorship, coaching and monitoring. (Malawi) The support would be in the form of capacity building and field extension staff technical reference materials, featuring current trends in agriculture extension and advisory services. (Zambia) Technical support To assist all Pacific countries to develop dynamic extension policies and strategies. Papua New Guinea Establishing a country fora - might require some practical workshop conference and sponsorship would be welcome. Egypt doesn t have many local innovations - neither access to many Arabic materials, therefore a regional MENA region would bring very interesting results and spin-off effects. (Egypt) Funding Perhaps more encouragement to country governments to apply, and perhaps donors to support more substantially (financially) the outcomes. (Kenya) The challenge is the lack of finance to reach more broadcasters. If for example CTA would provide us with a grant, we would appreciate. Our objective is to ensure that the farm radio programmes meet the needs of farmers. So if organisers helped us in linking with potential sponsors in capacity building for broadcasters. (Malawi) Varied formats Occasionally send the Declaration in another format e.g. a mini poster or flier that I could print and stick up on a wall to remind me. Can t do this with a document. (Trinidad and Tobago) Translating the Declaration s concrete tools and distributing to us; breaking down the Declaration into manageable portions; for example 'Develop clear policies and strategies for extension and advisory services in a participatory manner and put coordination and quality assurance mechanisms in place ; how to go about doing these recommendations, etc.? (Burkina Faso) Policy and systems support Assistance for the implementation of the National Rural Advisory Services Network, the establishment of systems: monitoring and evaluation and quality assurance methods in advisory services. (Togo) By providing additional materials and support for training and institutional development of extension and advisory services in the young country. (South Sudan) Evaluation of the current extension policy and provide suggestion to improve it or modify. (Ethiopia)

22 42 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 43 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Linking research and extension The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) chaired the Local Organising Committee for the conference represented by the Director of the Department of Outreach and Partnerships. KARI is not an extension and advisory services institution. Its role is to catalyse the adoption of new technology. The Department of Outreach and Partnerships focuses on taking out KARI products to those involved in extension. Being a newly established department (September 2010), the conference helped to shape how KARI could link better with extension. Clearer linkages were established with a range of key actors in extension and rural advisory services, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture. The Extension Conference rekindled a greater interest in extension, particularly how KARI technology could be adopted. KARI has since developed a proposal for a project that will sharpen its focus on advisory services. KARI has now charted its path in extension. For KARI, the Nairobi Declaration has provided a basis for strategic thinking and actions undertaken by KARI related to policy and strategy development, fostering partnerships, using innovation systems, in capacity building and greater use of ICTS and the media. And papers presented during the conference have been used to inform policy. In particular, KARI has focused on strengthening partnerships using innovation systems to get all actors involved in a value chain to identify gaps and propose solutions in order to make the value chain efficient. Discussions have been held on how to engage the private sector to be innovators in order to strengthen KARI s agricultural product value chain. We got drawn into innovation and since no one partner has embraced innovation systems we have taken it up. With funding from the Australian Government, KARI has published a book in 2013 on innovation platforms titled Operational Field Guide for Developing and Managing Local Agricultural Innovation Platforms. A committee has been set up to discuss innovation systems. To strengthen related policies, KARI is very keen on evidence-based policies. The MAF is collecting evidence on what is constraining value chains, for example, which will be used by KARI. On training, KARI is now moving into different counties as the extension function has been devolved to the county level. It is expected that devolution might improve extension because there will be a smaller area of impact. This will involve looking at the value chains to make them more efficient, sensitisation and sharing on innovation platforms. KARI has been using more technology than before... There is greater use of ICTs, internet, mobile phone for taking out technology. The challenge is that it is expensive, especially the infrastructure and there is need to develop skills to using new technologies. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture now have cut back on frontline extension staff and embraced e-extension services. Various public, private and international institutions have been engaged to support this endeavour: the World Bank has been supporting KARI to fully go into using ICT and discussions have been held with HP and Dell to use technology as a business enabler. The media has also been engaged to advertise KARI technology. A number of programmes are aired on national television at no cost Citizen, the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) and the Kenya Television Network (KTN) on different days of the week. But to increase this coverage would be costly. Starting to think about impact, KARI has become a voice in agriculture. There are increased partnerships for KARI with the public, private actors and the media. There is increased visibility for KARI and more interest by the media on KARI than before.

23 44 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 45 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 5. Impacts on professional communities This section explores the question as to whether the conference brought about any changes related to international discourse on the role of agricultural extension and rural advisory services. The focus is on professional or intra-professional communities. In answering this question, the evaluation team used the concept of communities of practice to highlight key criteria that would help in the information search. According to Wenger 1998, Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. 20 This involves: knowledge building and sharing among practitioners on information they need, creating connections between and across organisations and geographic boundaries. These include: learning networks, thematic groups, associations with global and local members interacting on face-to-face forums, and online discussions, using a variety of resources. One delegate observed the way the emerging regional and global networks are rigorously promoting renewed support for smallholder agriculture in the developing world These networks have continued to meet postconference, taking up specific themes of the conference. The response to this question is mainly provided by assessing online references to the Nairobi Declaration on extension and advisory services in the period before and after the conference on institutional websites, on blogs, on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and a few interviews with representatives of different professional communities. In the short term, the evaluation explored the popularity of the conference and the Nairobi Declaration on the internet. A Google search on the formal name of the conference Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Linking Knowledge to Policy and Action for Food and Livelihoods yielded fewer results at 208,000 than when split into two. Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services yielded 441,000 results and Linking Knowledge to Policy and Action for Food and Livelihoods yielded 6,720,000 results. The short name of the conference Extension Conference 2011 yielded 93,700,000 results, although, of course, not all these references are directly related to this particular conference. A Google search for The Nairobi Declaration on Extension and Rural Advisory Services showed few results at 39,300 but indicated that there was increased visibility of the Declaration after February 2012, when many organisations hosted it on their website. A search using Facebook (which uses Bing search engine) yielded 32,800 results. A web search was also carried out for each of the organisations represented at the conference by country, using the key search words Nairobi Declaration on extension and rural advisory services and Extension and advisory services. One of the limitations in conducting this search was the language barrier, where the websites are mainly in French, Spanish, Portuguese or Arabic, or where it was not possible to establish which year the postings were made. Generally, CTA, GFRAS and the global extension networks websites seemed to come up towards the top of Google search. Technology, ICT, women and youth seemed to come up in particular. The social media sites set up by the conference have had reduced activity since the conference. The conference Facebook page with the name: Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services International Conference was opened in June 2011 and has only 286 likes. But it is the only one that has most recent activity, with a post having been made in June The Twitter account (@extension2011), opened in July 2011, had the last post on January It has 227 followers, is following 795 people, and has made 795 tweets, most of which are in French. The most recent tweet was in January 2011 and on the blog site is February However, the number of results yielded could easily be disregarded because of references to other conferences with similar names. But a look at the specific institutional sites of the conference organisers shows much more activity postconference. Most of the conference organisers and funding agencies have hosted the Nairobi Declaration on their website. The CTA policy brief, Policy Pointers produced in early 2012, was dedicated to the conference, and titled: A Time for Change: Linking knowledge to policy and action for food and livelihoods 21. The New Extensionist : Roles, Strategies, and Capacities to Strengthen Extension and Advisory Services, produced in 2012, is a direct outcome of the conference, which builds on the capacity building session led by GFRAS 22. As highlighted by one delegate from Egypt, because of its popularity, it has since been translated into Arabic and is also available on the GFRAS website. In the post-conference period, discourse on agricultural extension and rural advisory services has been shaped around the themes of the conference, which are enshrined in the Nairobi Declaration in the form of an action point. From the in-depth interviews conducted and responses on actions taken, the prominent discussion is around the use of ICTs in extension services, about the new role of the extension worker, which comes with changes in the set of competencies required and how to develop these competencies. The greater recognition that extension is no longer a public sector activity per se, and the need for multiple actors to work together to ensure that they are helping the farmers, have led to an increased need among actors to form networks or forums that will make the value chain efficient. New concepts around innovation systems and value chain approaches are emerging and, in the light of these, new research opportunities have emerged. Some examples include: institutional changes in KARI in Kenya 23 ; case studies by Farm Radio in Malawi; publication by The Scinnovent Centre, Kenya 24 ; the launch of the Kenya ICT Extension Strategy; processes of reviewing curriculum for extension education in colleges and universities across Africa in light of debates regarding the changing role of the extension worker; and formulation or review of extension policies and strategies in Uganda, Liberia, South Sudan and Sudan.

24 46 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 47 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 5.1. International institutions Being the first conference since the adoption of the CTA strategic plan, the conference has impacted strongly on the position of CTA as an international institution whose mandate calls for partnerships with a wide range of national and regional bodies, public and private sector bodies, as well as international organisations in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions, the European Union (EU), and around the world. The shift to hosting the conference in partnership with other communities of practice is an important step towards actualising the call for greater coordination among development actors engaged in extension and advisory services, in order to have a stronger voice when articulating and advocating for the extension and advisory services that help farmers and communities improve their productivity. To advance the conference objectives and the Nairobi Declaration, CTA has taken up issues on policy and ICTs after the conference. In addition to the policy brief produced after the conference, CTA has posted the conference outputs on the website, including all the presentations and reports of e-discussions and field trips. These were also shared with members of the Google group who appreciated the variety of formats being used to disseminate information. CTA has also collaborated with co-organisers on thematic areas, such as with GFRAS on the use of ICT in extension. In April 2012, CTA in collaboration with FARA, IFS, ANAFE and RUFORUM, AGRA and NPCA, launched a science competition for women and young professionals. Building on the knowledge gained from the conference, in August 2013, CTA organised a writers workshop with experts on extension and advisory services from ACP, EU and the United States. The purpose was to review six case studies commissioned by CTA on extension and advisory services in Benin, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Papua New Guinea. CTA is in the process of producing a CD of the conference proceedings, which will be made available once it is complete. For the FAO, agricultural extension and rural advisory services are a principal focus of its global work. As a long-standing international partner, it provides technical support to governments on request, particularly on policy and strategy formulation, planning and knowledge management. While the FAO had many such requests before and after the conference, the conference has been seen to have contributed to reinforcing on-going policy formulation processes. In countries where policy processes had started, such as in South Sudan and Sudan, representatives of the respective ministries were sponsored to attend the conference. Although there have been many opportunities for exchange before the conference, in which the FAO has been a key actor, the Extension Conference was the first of its kind in many years to bring together all the stakeholders that have a role in extension and their different perspectives. The FAO has continued to publish and present papers in conferences; it participates in the GFRAS working group on capacity building a direct outcome of the conference that is also advancing the Nairobi Declaration Extension and advisory services communities 5.3. Academic and research institutions The global forum, GFRAS, and its networks at regional and national levels are within this category. GFRAS was established in 2010 and convened its second meeting in 2011 which was aligned to the Extension Conference. GFRAS comprises 13 regional and sub-regional networks in ACP-EU countries, Latin America, Asia and North America. It provides a platform for dialogue amongst its members. Based on the survey findings in the previous chapters, the evaluation team is of the view that this professional community has been strongly influenced by the conference. This could be attributed to the increased call for better coordination among actors, which was also a direct call from the conference and enshrined in the Nairobi Declaration. At least six countries established or started discussions about establishing extension networks which would be chapters of the GFRAS regional networks. GFRAS has a vibrant website which provides a range of resources based on its thematic areas Building on the conference and following a discussion on the New Extensionist, in 2013, a GFRAS Consortium on Extension Education and Training was established. It is a platform for academia in universities and other training institutions, researchers in the field of extension, and/or service providers to various clientele along the agriculture value chain and in need of forms of support in rural livelihoods and wellbeing. 25 The ANAFE network is a key stakeholder in this initiative. It was set up in 2007 to work with African colleges and universities that are teaching agriculture and natural resources sciences, to facilitate integration of education programmes related to agriculture, forestry, environment and natural resources in these institutions. of focus. The websites of network members also host resources from the GFRAS website and other contextually relevant material. They also publicise up-coming seminars and conferences related to extension and advisory services, as well as opportunities for training, research and funding. The Nairobi Declaration was available on the website along with other outputs from the conference, such as the CTA Policy Paper. For GFRAS, the conference helped to clarify its mandate and sharpen its focus. All its members were represented at this conference. Following the conference, GFRAS has taken forward the capacity building theme, based on the concept of the New Extensionist. Working groups on capacity building, policy and an ICT interest group have been underscored as having been outcomes of the Extension Conference. GFRAS is working closely with CTA on the ICT theme. With a membership of 137 colleges and universities across 37 countries in Africa, the expected outcome is that member institutions can produce graduates that are capable of developing and disseminating practices suitable for African farmers. A new curriculum is being developed and has been pioneered at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. The curriculum emphasises a lot of experiential learning, but the challenge for most institutions is the large number of students, which makes it difficult to implement truly experiential learning. Another challenge is to get students more interested in agriculture. There is a perception that a career in agriculture is a last option, and the idea of working in rural areas for most young people is

25 48 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 49 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services not appealing. However, a number of good case studies have been registered in Ghana and Senegal, where the universities are working directly with communities for their practice sessions. New areas of research were highlighted by many of the participants as being impacts of the conference. An online List of Final Year Projects (2012/2013) from the School of Agriculture, University of West Indies, showed two topics that could be directly attributed to the Extension Conferenc 26 : i) A review of the Nairobi Declaration on Extension and Advisory Services and ii) Pluralism as a model for extension work based on the a new model for extension and advisory services which advocates the role for many different agencies to conduct extension services within a community. The University of West Indies also hosted a Caribbean regional networking meeting and agreed to the establishment of a regional network. In October 2013, the Caribbean Agricultural Extension Providers Network (CAEPNet) was launched. It is collaboration between the University of the West Indies and extension service providers in CARICOM Conclusions and recommendations Based on the preceding sections, it can be concluded that the conference has contributed to reviving interest in agricultural extension and rural advisory services at individual and organisational levels and among professional communities. An underlying concern for CTA and the conference organisers is whether the returns on investment can be justified. This would also be a concern of those organisations that have sent delegates, in justifying their own expenditures and the value of sending delegates to related conferences. It can be concluded that the Extension Conference 2011 was more than a fiveday event. It has influenced individual stakeholders involved in extension and advisory services as well as the organisations they represent. There is visible change in the short term and medium term with regard to changing attitudes, enhancing knowledge and skills, influencing practice and policy, which has put in place mechanisms that will lead to long term change. While CTA could not guarantee action on the part of the delegates, the contents, outputs and processes of the conference (immediate results) have led the delegates to take action on commitments made during the conference. The conference built a coalition of actors to address the extension needs of smallholder farmers who, through the Nairobi Declaration, re-affirmed their commitment to advocating for and implementing effective extension and advisory services. The conference organisers, for their part, have provided platforms in various ways to facilitate the process and keep the commitment moving forward. The post-conference knowledge sharing, networking and collaborating actions as well as the policies and strategies being drafted and implemented have contributed to reaching other professionals not present in the conference and thousands of smallholder farmers. Based on the number of respondents who indicated that they were now involving farmers in provision of extension services, that they were consulting farmers before preparing plans, that they were increasingly using ICTs to reach more farmers, the findings show that as a result of actions taken by conference delegates, there is potential for having wider effects on smallholder farmers as the primary stakeholders.

26 50 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 51 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 6.1. Effects of the conference At individual level Many delegates gained new knowledge, skills and changed their views about extension and advisory services. The incorporation of a variety of ICTs in extension services was a popular action taken by many delegates who responded to the survey. Review of training content and approaches, the use of participatory methods in planning and delivery of extension, farmer to-farmer extension approaches and value chain approaches and use of innovative platforms were also highly mentioned. There is a strong connection between new learning by an individual delegate from the conference and the action they took, whether as an individual or in their organisation, as well as whether they were in a position to influence that change. Many delegates took action on areas where they indicated they had gained the most, and were able to apply that in their own workplace. This shows that action or inaction will depend on the interest and value that a delegate places on the topic, and their influencing power. A few who did not take action on issues they thought were important felt that it was the responsibility of someone else to take action, while those who felt that they did not learn something new did not take any action. Since the conference, the interaction, communication and collaboration between individual delegates has been sustained. A comparison between the post-conference survey and the results of the impact assessment show that most participants had made and maintained contact with up to at least 10 people. Given the Nairobi Declaration call for all key stakeholders to work together for effective delivery of extension services, there have been concerted efforts by delegates to be part of a network that is addressing the same. Where such forums do not exist, there have been efforts at establishing them and linking to existing forums. Some delegates were of the view that their status in the sector had changed and they had become important actors, from the invitations they were now receiving to participate in meetings that would contribute to improving extension and advisory services. Based on the response rate, it can be concluded that those participants who were sponsored continued to benefit more from support, information and participation in other forums than those who were not sponsored. There would be more motivation to implement any follow-up actions. There was a noticeably low female participation in the survey, although it could be argued that numbers are not necessarily an indicator of quality representation. While efforts are clearly being made to address gender issues with a focus on women, as indicated by the delegates who responded to the survey, having more females as champions in extension and rural advisory services would be an added advantage and their increased participation in conferences such as the Extension Conference 2011 would be of great benefit to not only themselves, but to their organisations Recommendations 1. Self-sponsored participants should be targeted in terms of information sharing to keep them abreast of any changes and new developments. 2. The conference organisers should deliberately target female participants to offer them sponsorship to attend the conference. At organisation level Impacts at organisational level can be related to actions taken by individual participants within their own organisations in terms of how they have used opportunities arising from knowledge gained, materials gathered and contacts made from the conference. Direct impacts within organisations in ACP and non-acp countries are high in varied ways that will contribute to longer-term impacts. For national governments, the conference and the Nairobi Declaration have formed the basis for the formulation or review of policies, shaping extension strategies, introducing new extension initiatives or defining national extension frameworks and setting up extension advisory bodies. Conference organisers have also contributed to facilitating these processes, especially where a policy formulation process is on-going such as with the FAO in Sudan and South Sudan. In Kenya, which had already started the policy formulation process, the conference gave visibility to the launch of e-extension services by referencing the Nairobi Declaration, which gives emphasis to greater use of ICTs. Impacts have also been realised within other organisations represented at the conference research, academic and NGOs. The conference has influenced planning and implementation processes, with a greater focus on participatory processes, making them more contextual, taking into account farmers needs and using farmers as implementers. For one research organisation, the conference outputs and interaction with other delegates has helped to structure opportunities for having a greater role in extension services. In a number of universities, lessons learnt from the conference around the changing role of the extension worker popularly referred to as the New Extensionist requiring additional/new sets of skills, have contributed to the review and enrichment of teaching content and methods. In a number of NGOs, the use of ICTs in extension has been integrated strongly; contacts made at the conference have led to funding opportunities for one NGO. Organisations reported increased visibility through the recognition they were receiving in the sector. There has been more interest and coverage of their activities in various media and increased invitation to participate and or contribute, in leadership roles, to government-led initiatives and policy making activities. 3. To maintain the momentum, CTA could commission thematic case studies on best practices in various countries that had representation at the conference, and share the outcomes with all delegates. On professional communities A significant impact of the Extension Conference was on professional discourse and professional communities. There are more discussions around innovative approaches, particularly the use of ICTs in provision of extension services and what this means for the extension worker. The concept of the New Extensionist has led to a review of curriculum and methodologies for preparing front-line extension workers in academic institutions that are members of the ANAFE network, and best practices are already emerging in some countries where the new curriculum is being piloted.

27 52 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 53 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Feedback on the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration Professional communities that have had visible impact are the extension and advisory communities and academic and research institutions. Based on the internet search of websites that had references to the conference and the Nairobi Declaration, regional extension forums have particularly grown in significance as being the hosts of debates and information and knowledge management on extension and advisory services. As a spin off, more countries and regions are seeing the opportunities that these forums present in strengthening the voice of extension, based on the call for better collaboration among the various actors in the sector. The effect has been an Many of the impacts realised at the individual and organisational levels, and within the professional discourse, could be directly linked to the articles in the Nairobi Declaration. As such, the Nairobi Declaration served as a summary of issues arising from the conference themes that needed action, although the Declaration in itself has not been such a visible document in guiding action. It can therefore be concluded that there has been good progress in the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration. Extension policies are being formulated, reviewed and implemented, capacity building is on-going, including use of ICTs, and participatory processes are being incorporated in practice. But there is little advocacy action around increasing funding for the sector. increase in formation of national and regional level forums that are linked to existing forums that are members of GFRAS. Several of them have been supported in becoming established, but some, such as in Egypt, recognise the need for technical support in defining their agenda and structures. 4. CTA and the conference organisers could follow up on these emerging national and regional forums to help them align and harmonise better within the existing coordination frameworks, so that they can effectively contribute to shaping the discourse around extension and advisory services and to the broader vision. The commonly stated reasons for inaction on the Nairobi Declaration was lack of information about the document or where they could access it. Nevertheless, most who said that they did not take specific action on the Declaration had taken actions on thematic areas that are contained in Declaration. 5. In addition to posting the Declaration on the website, the visibility of the Declaration as an action point for the conference could be given prominence by sending it out directly to all the delegates. This would be a way of maintaining a good contact list as well as updating delegates that are still active in the sector. 6. As highlighted in the suggestions by the delegates who responded to the survey, a range of methods and formats (newsletters, posters, blog, Twitter, Facebook) could be used to disseminate the Declaration, send reminders, follow up and regularly update on progress by different countries for purposes of learning and encouraging others to take action. 7. In terms of knowledge management, provision of extension material or pointers to where these could be found would be an important way to support implementation of the Nairobi Declaration. These are available from various sources and perhaps CTA could take specific action in collating these sources and posting them on the CTA website or disseminate them to various online learning and knowledge management platforms such as the Eldis, the Pelican Initiative (Platform for Evidence-based Learning & Communication for Social Change) or Capacity.org. 8. Each thematic area contained in the Declaration should have a champion or focal point, who would also be known to the delegates, for purposes of information sharing, knowledge management, technical support and monitoring. Delegates would then be encouraged to rally around the specific thematic areas and send or post updates to the designated focal points. Commitments on action could be made, with clear milestones and targets that each actor involved in agricultural extension and rural advisory services would be working towards. 9. Funding was mentioned as having been a restriction to taking effective action for scaling up, research, training or adopting new approaches. CTA could provide information, where relevant, about funding opportunities that are related to specific thematic areas of the Nairobi Declaration. 10. Technical support is recommended for those countries undertaking a policy formulation process or developing extension strategies and structures, to ensure that they address all the issues contained in the Nairobi Declaration. Several suggestions by the delegates point to support in preparation and monitoring the implementation of policy action plans, organising meetings with various in-country leaders to move forward the Nairobi Declaration, and support in setting up national extension systems.

28 54 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 55 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services On approaches and methods for future impact assessments Information from the post-conference survey was useful in identifying a trend or changes to responses. The impact indicators developed by CTA to guide evaluation of its products and services were also very instrumental in shaping the analysis of the report. An important source of baseline information would have been a pre-conference survey together with a list of delegates that responded to the initial surveys. 11. To provide a baseline for future assessments, it is recommended that pre-and post-conference surveys should be conducted and a good system for storing information on responding delegates should be developed. 12. In anticipation of an impact assessment, software could be developed for monitoring the number of visits to the conference website, the number of times a document has been downloaded, hosting of conference outputs and references to conference themes on institutional websites, and online media (including social media), both pre- and post-conference. 13. Although, the impact assessment did not have a translated version of the questionnaire and there was no observable impediment in the responses of French speaking delegates in future impact assessments for other conferences, consideration should be given to having translated versions of the questionnaire into relevant languages. The social media sites set up during the conference could serve as good channels of communication and for keeping contact with all the delegates, as well as monitoring changes on discourse within the sector. They could also all be linked to the conference website, Twitter, blog and Google group. 14. The social media sites should continue to be used post-conference, as part of a CTA communication strategy. Since they have not been very active since early 2012, the immediate action would be to re-activate them. It is challenging for staff to manage social media sites on a part-time basis, especially one of the magnitude of the Extension Conference CTA should consider engaging an individual to specifically concentrate on communication, including social media, for its conferences. This would involve collecting and disseminating information from delegates that would enrich the site and contribute to learning, monitoring and evaluation. Annexes

29 56 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 57 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Annex 1: Questionnaire Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension and Rural Advisory Services held in November 15-18, 2011, Nairobi, Kenya Participants' Survey *6. Have you maintained contact with your sponsor? (Select one) Yes No Not applicable *7. What has been the nature of your contact/interaction with your sponsor? (Please specify. For example, support in tools development, collaboration in advocacy in policy reform, etc) *9. Can you recall the most important things you gained from attending the Extension Conference 2011? (Please provide some examples. E.g. new knowledge on extension approaches, renewed interest in extension, new areas of research...) *1. In which country are you located? *4. In what capacity did you attend the Extension Conference in 2011? (Select one) Other (please specify) *2. Place of work What is the name of your organisation? 2.2. What is your position in the organisation? *3. Which of the following best describes your organisation? (Select one) Public sector Private sector NGO Research organisation University Continental network International organisation Farmer organisation Donor Media Other (Please specify) Self-sponsored participant Self-sponsored presenter Sponsored participant Sponsored presenter Other (please specify) *5. If you were sponsored, who was your sponsor? (Select one) AGRA Friday-Panel CABI GFAR CTA GFRAS FAO ICRAF FAO-OEKR IFAD FAO-SADP NEPAD FAO-SPCRP Practical Action FAO-ZA YPARD FARA- Not applicable FORAGRO Other (please specify) *8. Thinking back to the Extension Conference in November 2011, which conference themes were you most interested in? (Select all that apply) Policy Tools and approaches Capacity development Learning networks 1 Low interest High interest *10. Have you done anything differently in your work as a result of attending the Extension Conference in 2011? (At individual level) Yes (go to question 11) No (go to question 12) *11. If yes to question a What have you done differently? (Please give examples) 11.b What happened as a result of what you did? (Please explain) 11.c Was it what you expected to happen? Yes, No

30 58 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 59 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services *12. If no, what reason(s) would you give of why you were not able to do anything differently? (This will help to identify areas for support) *14. Are you aware of any way the Extension Conference in 2011 has influenced agricultural extension and rural advisory services in your country? (At national level) Yes No If yes, please explain *17. Do you think the Nairobi Declaration applies to you/is addressed to you? (Select one) Yes No If no, who do you think it is addressed to? *21. Do you have examples of products/ outputs from actions that you have undertaken (such as policies, strategies, tools, research papers)? (Select one) Yes No *13. Has the Extension Conference 2011 directly influenced any of the work undertaken in your organisation related to agricultural extension and rural advisory services? (At organisational level) Yes No Please explain *15. The Nairobi Declaration was adopted at the Extension Conference as a result of participants' request. Do you have the Nairobi Declaration? (Select one) Yes No If no, why not? *18. Have you implemented any actions related to the Nairobi Declaration? (Select one) Yes (go to question 19) No (go to question 20) *19. If yes, Please give example of actions you have implemented To what extent have these taken into account culture and gender as indicated in the Declaration *22. Are you willing to share with the Conference organisers these products or where these can be found? (Select one) Yes No Not Applicable If yes, please provide information on where this can be obtained... *20. If no, why have you not been able to implement any action? *16. When have you last consulted the Nairobi Declaration? (Select one) About 1-5 months ago About 6-10 months ago About months ago About months ago Never If never, why? (please specify)

31 60 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 61 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services *23. Have the conference organisers provided support to you or your organisation in implementing the Nairobi Declaration? Yes No Don't know If yes, how have they supported your actions *26. Approximately how many? (Select one) less than over 20 Not applicable *27. To do what? (Select all that apply) Exchange information Create new partnership Join an existing partnership Develop a joint project proposal Implement a project jointly Other Not applicable Other (please specify) *24. Thinking ahead, in what ways could the conference organisers provide (additional) support to you or your organisation in implementing the Nairobi Declaration? *25. Have you kept contact with people you met at the Extension Conference 2011? (Select one) Yes No 28. And lastly... Kindly confirm the following information First name: Second name: Address: Telephone (e.g ) Gender (female; male) Year of birth: Thank you for the time you have taken to respond. That is the end of the survey! Once the process is complete, we will send you information about where you can access the results of this assessment.

32 62 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 63 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Annex 2: Further Analysis of Respondents Disaggregation by country by continent and region Continent Region Country Frequency Percent Count Africa Central Africa Cameroon Congo Democratic Republic of Congo Central Africa Total Eastern Africa Ethiopia Kenya Malawi Mauritius South Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zambia Eastern Africa Total Northern Africa Egypt Sudan Northern Africa Total Southern Africa Botswana South Africa Southern Africa Total Disaggregation by country by continent and region Continent Region Country Frequency Percent Count Africa Western Africa Benin Burkina Faso Ghana Mali Nigeria Togo Western Africa Total Africa Total Asia/Middle East Southern Asia Bangladesh India Pakistan Asia/Middle East Total Australia & the Pacific Melanesia Fiji Islands Papua New Guinea Melanesia Total Australia & the Pacific Total Europe Northern Europe Denmark Western Europe France Germany Italy The Netherlands Western Europe Total Europe Total Central, South America & the Caribbean Central America Belize Jamaica Trinidad and Tobago Caribbean Total Central, South America & the Caribbean Total

33 64 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 65 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Disaggregation of organisation by country Country Bangladesh Belize Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Cameroon Congo Democratic Republic of Congo Denmark Egypt Ethiopia Fiji Islands France Germany Ghana India Italy Organisation HELVETAS Swiss Interco-operation Toledo Development Corporation University Botswana College Of Agriculture Smallstock Breeders Association of Botswana Editions Sidwaya ROPPA TREE AID University Institute of the Dioceses of Buea (UIDB) Action Jeunesse pour le Développement Solidarite pour l'encadrement des vieillards et développement durable Danish institute for international studies Cairo University Nawaya Nile Center Bahir Dar University Haramaya University Ministry of Finance and Economic Development Ministry of Agriculture CIRAD University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart FARA Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ministry of Food and Agriculture Central Agricultural University Centre for Research on Innovation and Science Policy Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) Jamaica Kenya Malawi Mali Mauritius Nigeria Pakistan Papua New Guinea South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania The Netherlands Togo Trinidad and Tobago Uganda Zambia The University of the West Indies/ HEART-NTA Freelance Journalist International Livestock Research Institute IRC Kenya Agricultural Research Institute The Scinnovent Centre University of Nairobi Farm Radio Trust Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Management Agricultural Chamber of Mali National Federation of Young Farmers in Mali (FENAJER) Nyeta Conseils Agricultural Policy Analysis Unit Department of Animal Science, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services, Ahmadu Bello University PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan Pacific Agri-Systems Limited Papua New Guinea Women in Agriculture Development Foundation Department of Agriculture Rural Development and Land Administration Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations North West University Mafikeng Campus Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Resources and Fisheries, Cooperatives and Rural Development Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Cooperatives Nyarumbugu Outgrowers Projects Rural Urban Development Initiatives Wageningen University Institut de Conseil et d'appui Technique Faculty of Food and Agriculture UWI University of the West Indies University of the West Indies, Saint Augustine Campus Biogreen Investments East Africa Limited Friends Of The Needy In Uganda Makerere University Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries Rural Empowerment Network (REN) Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock

34 66 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services 67 Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension & Rural Advisory Services Footnotes 1. CTA Terms of Reference (Draft 1.0): Impact Assessment of the International Conference on Agricultural Extension and Rural Advisory Services, November , Nairobi, Kenya 2. CTA Concept Note: Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services International Conference, , Nairobi, Kenya, concept-note 3. CTA Complete List of Delegates 4. ibid 5. Other funders and organisers included: CTA, FARA, GFRAS, IFAD, FAO, AGRA, AFAAS, NEPAD Agency, ICRA, ICRAF. Other national, regional and international partners included: ANAFE, FORAGRO Biovision, KARI, MoA-Kenya, EIARD, UoN, UWI, USP 6. CTA Programme: Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services 2011, pp.2 extensionconference2011.cta.int/ 7. Nairobi Declaration on Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services, sites/default/files/nairobideclaration pdf 8. Ibid, pp Kristin, D GFRAS activities since Nairobi, presentation at the 3rd GFRAS Annual Meeting held in Manila on September userslist/gfras%20roster%20of%20experts?itemid= Nang ole, E. and Franzel S. (2011) Participants Evaluation of the International Conference on Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Linking Knowledge to Policy and Action for Food and Livelihoods, Learning Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation 15. CTA Guidance note for the Implementation of the Capacity-centred Impact Pathway Analysis Model (CcIPA), Learning,Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, Wageningen) 16. Short term impacts involve changes in skills, knowledge and attitudes; medium-term impacts are changes in behaviour, practice, and decision-making 17. Direct beneficiaries are conference organisers and conference participants; indirect beneficiaries are organisations where the conference participants come from or represents the wider society, extension workers, etc. (CTA 2013) files/nairobideclaration pdf files/nairobideclarationfrench.pdf Wenger, E Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity, Cambridge University Press downloads/1689_pdf.pdf file/126-the-new-extensionist-position-paper?start= See earlier story on KARI, Linking research and extension 24. Odongo, D Information and Communication Technologies for Agricultural Knowledge Acquisition: What are the bottlenecks for Kenyan smallholders? The Scinnovent Centre, Working Paper No. 2 of GFRAS Introduction: Universities Consortium on Extension and Advisory Services. org/images/activities/universities_consortium/gfras_ universities_consortium.pdf 26. University of West Indies, List Of Final Year Projects , Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension School of Agriculture, infoforstudents.asp cwa-launches-regional-network-for-agriculture/

35 The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is a joint international institution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU). Its mission is to advance food and nutritional security, increase prosperity and encourage sound natural resource management in ACP countries. It provides access to information and knowledge, facilitates policy dialogue and strengthens the capacity of agricultural and rural development institutions and communities. CTA operates under the framework of the Cotonou Agreement and is funded by the EU. For more information on CTA visit, Contact us CTA PO Box AJ Wageningen The Netherlands Tel: Fax: [email protected]