Download Remarks on Demand-driven, Participatory Agricultural Extension

Remarks on
Demand-driven, Participatory
Agricultural Extension Services for
Cambodia
William Bradley, Agriculture Officer
USAID/Cambodia
Agricultural Extension Services
 Agricultural extension has to do with educating farmers– teaching farmers
how to grow crops, raise livestock, or market farm produce.
 Extension services are essential to modernize agriculture– farmers need
education to adopt new practices like improved rice or corn, new breed of
livestock, or new ways of marketing their produce.
 Extension is effective when:
- Farmers receive research-based information or recommendation
- Farmers increase their production efficiency
- Farmers adopt new and improved practices that are sustainable
Agricultural Extension Services
 A good extension service requires:
- Well trained extension professionals– so quality agricultural training is
important
- Recommendation on new technology from Agricultural Research Service
- Timely supply of high quality inputs from the private sector – e.g., seed,
fertilizer, pesticides, etc.
 Extension is effective when farmers have access to:
- Farm-to-Market roads, irrigation/drainage facilities
- Timely market information – so they get the best price for their produce
- Education & training on production, processing, nutrition, marketing, etc.
Agricultural Extension is Changing!
 From publicly-funded to public-private partnership (PPP)
 From supply driven system to demand-driven system
 From top-down structure to decentralized system managed at district level
 From centrally directed system to participatory system
 From single extension service provider to pluralistic service providers (NGOs,
PVOs, CO, etc.)
 Serving primarily the male farmers to both male and female farmers
Agriculture in Cambodia
 Agriculture accounts about 1/3rd (34%) of national GDP
 Agriculture sector employs almost 80% of the workforce
 Rice is the main crop. Livestock is an important component of the farm.
Aquaculture & fishery are equally important for food security and nutrition.
 Agriculture is characterized as subsistence-based agriculture
 Low agricultural productivity
 It is classified as one of the food insecure countries
USAID’s Support to Food Security
 Cambodia HARVEST -- a five-year integrated food security and climate
change program supported by the American people.
 The project also aims at increasing the capacity of the public and private
sectors and civil society to support agricultural competitiveness.
 Specific objectives include:
 Increase incomes for 70,000 rural households;
 Accrue economic benefits for 140,000 people;
 Develop income-generating activities for 7,000 "extreme poor" households;
 Diversify cropping systems for 31,500 households; and
 Generate $28 million in incremental new agricultural sales.
USAID/Cambodia's Feed the Future:
Cambodia HARVEST
 It targets four provinces around the Tonle Sap Great Lake:
 Battambang, Pursat, Siem Reap, and Kampong Thom
 According to findings from the baseline survey:
 Over 90% of households are rice producers
 Average yield of paddy rice is about 2000Kg/Ha (national average:3000Kg/Ha)
 Vegetable is grown in a small piece of land, i.e., 0.09 Ha
 Only few farmers raise fish in the ponds
 There is a need for strong agricultural extension service in the area. I believe
it is equally important in other provinces.
Key Interventions of
Cambodia HARVEST
 Disseminate modern agricultural technologies and management practices.
 Enhance national capacity for adaptive research
 Increase crop diversification
 Promote efficiency improvements across value chains
 Improve market awareness and connectivity to production outputs.
 Promote women's economic empowerment
 Increase access to credit to support producer
 Improve quality assurance on inputs.
 Enhance the policy, legal, business and regulatory framework
 Establish new models for agricultural extension services to help farmers with
technology adoption. The essence of this workshop!
USAID/Cambodia's Feed the Future:
Cambodia HARVEST
 In addition to several intervention described earlier, Cambodia HARVEST
supports:
 Policy formulation (in agriculture and natural resources management areas)
 National dialog/workshop to strengthen extension management
 Innovative ways to strengthen education and training institutions
 Ways to strengthen linkages between agricultural research and extension
 Ways to promote partnership between the public and the private sector
 I hope this workshop will contributes to these goals! I wish you will have a
productive discussion on extension.
 Thank you.