Abstract:
Agriculture is generally referred to as the mainstay of African economy, the real driver of economic growth.
Agricultural extension plays a critical role in African development by bringing the farming community information
on new technologies, which they can adopt to increase productivity, incomes and standards of living. Therefore,
extension staffs are key players in the development process. However, extension systems in Africa face numerous
challenges, which, in turn limit their effectiveness in promoting smallholder farmers’ productivity. This study by an
emerging Africa Extension Reform Group (AERG) was carried out to determine issues and challenges facing
extension personnel in Africa. The researchers interviewed 393 extension staffs at the district, sub-district and grass
root levels in nine countries, namely, Ghana, Botswana, Tanzania, Cameroon, Senegal, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda,
and Nigeria. Although the study is not generalizable to Africa or even the countries of study, it does help identify
critical issues and challenges facing extension in Africa. The study looked at issues, such as job satisfaction; use of
Information and Communication Technologies, types of extension methods practiced; and communication and other
training needs. The researchers found that the challenges of extension were similar across countries, suggesting that
a common solution was possible. In particular, the study found that in addition to their training in agriculture
extension agents need training in development and communication to help them cope with the increasing
sophistication of development in programming. The findings call for re-thinking the reformation of extension at two
levels: a) re-examining extension training at the university level; and b) re-positioning extension in the field such
that it serves as a neutral facilitator of development across sectors. At the moment, extension systems are so married
with agriculture that other sectors do not see them as un-biased knowledge facilitators.
