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DISCUSSION No. 141 • FSN Forum digest No. 1301
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What role can agricultural extension and advisory services play in realizing gender equality and improved nutrition?
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until 09 July 2017
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Dear Members,
Today we would like to share with you the latest contributions to the online discussion
What role can agricultural extension and advisory services play in realizing gender equality and improved nutrition? You can find them summarized below.
Participants reflect on what is keeping those providing agricultural extension and advisory services (AEAS) from taking
up a stronger role in facilitating improved nutrition and gender equality in the communities they serve.
Issues such as lack of training and time, as well as the need for extension workers to create strong bonds within their
communities are mentioned. Other participants focus on the benefits of establishing partnerships with private investors. In addition, we learn about the experience made in the Medak district of the South Indian state of Telangan.
Please refer to the FSN Forum webpage to see all comments received so far and to read the full introduction to the topic
in
English,
French or
Spanish.
To take part, you can send your comments to
[log in to unmask] or post them online upon
registration to the FSN Forum.
We look forward to keep receiving your input!
Your FSN Forum team
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CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED
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Mahesh
Chander, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, India
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Mahesh shares two further comments. In the first he mentions that AEAS can effectively promote gender equality by enhancing
their role in producer organizations.
Read
the contribution
In his second comment Mahesh focuses on the constraints that youth face in becoming a driving force on agricultural matters
and how AEAS can help mitigate some of them. AEAS should put more effort into actively reaching out to young people and facilitate their direct involvement into agricultural practices.
Read
the contribution
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Paul
Rigterink, Potomac Technical Advisors, USA
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Paul argues that AEAS needs to develop new ideas that will help poor rural women as they often have no funds to invest
in new production techniques and rarely have the time to wait for the returns to their investments made. He shares the example of vocational videos on pig rearing that give practical advice on how to simply and quickly improve this practice.
Read
the contribution
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Lucy
Quainoo, MEL Consulting Ltd, Ghana
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Lucy suggests that AEAS providers should be local people, skilled in community engagement strategies, that serve as animators
of the community for the whole development sector going beyond agriculture and nutrition issues.
Read
the contribution
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Carlos
Granado Fernandez, Universidad Politécnica de las Fuerzas Armadas, Venezuela
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Carlos feels that in order to be able to give meaningful advice that is accepted by the community, extension workers
will need to live among the community itself.
Read
the contribution
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Richard
Leo, University of Guyana
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Richard tells us that the access to basic material and information is often lacking in developing countries. Establishing
partnerships with private investors might help close this gap allowing communities to access finance, planting material, training, agricultural inputs and markets in order to develop a sustainable supply chain.
Read
the contribution
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Mahtab
S.Bamji, Dangoria Charitable Trust, India
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Mahtab argues that current training programmes of extension workers rarely contemplate a role beyond facilitating access
to knowledge, information and technologies. Added to the already high workload, this ends up preventing their deeper engagement in gender and nutrition. Mahtab therefore suggest working on curriculum development so that future extensionists are trained in
the inclusion of broader development issues in their work.
He also shares an example from the Medak district of the South Indian state of Telangana. Here active efforts have been made to involve women by explicitly inviting them to meetings together with their children.
Read
the contribution
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Aklilui
Nigussie, Ethiopian Institutes of Agricultural Research, Ethiopia
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Aklilui feels that AEAS needs to support agricultural innovation and support farmers in developing mechanisms for sustainable
adoption of technologies. Regarding gender equality he sees the problem that women, albeit interested in technology, might not have the time due to their many tasks in the household.
Read
the contribution
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