I am Archie Cameron, a long time farmer, now semi-retired in Australia and an active member of my local State farmer organisation. 

This is a very important topic and in this submission I will make some broad comments:

The general thrust of this exercise is similar, whether, smaller farms in terms of the Asian and African areas mainly or the smaller farms in "western/European" terms. Even in the better developed agricultural communities of the "west", there is still a big gap between participators and those who go their own way some successfully with good acumen and knowledge and some who don't. If we get up to 40% of farmers attending information sessions/field days etc. and being active in seeking more information/advice, we think we are doing well. Just because some aren't obviously actively involved, doesn't mean they aren't actively seeking and acting on available information. There are those who attend and glean information however they can, those who see what their neighbours do and do similar things if the neighbours' practices are successful.  

In dealing with farmers and seeking to get to them the latest information and advice, it is really the small and medium sized farmers/farms that are the main (should be) the main area of activity (the larger ones wherever they are, go their own way, if successful they stay in business, if not someone else steps in, that's not to say they aren't actively seeking information and advice). 

There are various ways of getting the message over and this is the field of challenge. The marrying up of Research and Extension and presenting it in a timely manner and assisting farmers to avail themselves of what is on offer and successfully use it:- field days, get togethers in the local community, independent advice from government agricultural agencies, advice from suppliers of farm inputs, radio and TV where available. In the case of places like India, much of Asia and Africa, especially, community-based activities and assistance in the towns/villages to gather farmers together and produce information, is probably the top priority and will have been an ongoing activity in many places over time.

Archie Cameron
43 Camerons Road
Matheson
NSW 2370 
Australia
61267336759  
e-mail: kalanga (at) activ8.net.au

[To contribute to this conference, send your message to [log in to unmask] For further information, see http://www.fao.org/nr/research-extension-systems/res-home/news/detail/en/c/264776/   

########################################################################

To unsubscribe from the RAS-L list, click the following link:
https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=RAS-L&A=1