target was perceived disconnected from the reality on the ground, thus hampering ownership. Sector and district technicians were of the view that the bottom-up approach in planning for the land to be consolidated in a particular season was the best way to go, despite the likelihood of understated targets. Nevertheless, the use of private service providers of extension services has had benefits in the long run. It has been expected that in the long run the Agriculture Board would discontinue paying for the service and leave it to the farmers to take charge of the cost of hiring a village extension agent once the farmers would have internalized the benefit of employing one. As a matter of fact, this transition had started working in livestock sector where, in 2011, artificial inseminations were being done at 30% by private service providers hired by farmers on a business basis. Secondly, extension services were provided by farmers associations to their members. It was recognized that the of extension by farmers’ Associations is a source of efficiency “appropriation and sustainability” (MINAGRI 2004b:21). The network of grassroots farmer organizations such as IMBARAGA and INGABO were among the famous ones. Thirdly, there were other informal and formal mechanisms of proximity, such as the community role models, and the Farmer Field Schools. The Farmer Field School is extension approach “an based on participation of farmers’ communities who are involved in solving agricultural problems and experiencing the different innovations before their adoption and/or rejection. In this approach, it is avoided to go for a top down system but it is participatory where farmers are asked to give their contribution in (i) identification of the problems and eventual opportunities, (ii) testing and validating options and soulutions, and (iii) adopting them in their own fields. The FFS approach gives a suitable platform for developing interactions between extension, research and farmers to farmers” (Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources 2011: 5). Through the FFS, role model farmers had played an important role in seed multiplication, in demonstration (facilitate study tours for fellow farmers in the neighborhood and from other Districts), among other things. Improving post harvest handling was another privileged strategy of the crop intensification program. A special Task Force was created within the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources to closely monitor and supervise this component. The task force had set out to improve
target was perceived disconnected from the reality on the ground, thus hampering ownership. Sector and district technicians were of the view that the bottom-up approach in planning for the land to be consolidated in a particular season was the best way to go, despite the likelihood of understated targets. Nevertheless, the use of private service providers of extension services has had benefits in the long run. It has been expected that in the long run the Agriculture Board would discontinue paying for the service and leave it to the farmers to take charge of the cost of hiring a village extension agent once the farmers would have internalized the benefit of employing one. As a matter of fact, this transition had started working in livestock sector where, in 2011, artificial inseminations were being done at 30% by private service providers hired by farmers on a business basis. Secondly, extension services were provided by farmers associations to their members. It was recognized that the “appropriation of extension by farmers’ Associations is a source of efficiency and sustainability” (MINAGRI 2004b:21). The network of grassroots farmer organizations such as IMBARAGA and INGABO were among the famous ones. Thirdly, there were other informal and formal mechanisms of proximity, such as the community role models, and the Farmer Field Schools. The Farmer Field School is “an extension approach based on participation of farmers’ communities who are involved in solving agricultural problems and experiencing the different innovations before their adoption and/or rejection. In this approach, it is avoided to go for a top down system but it is participatory where farmers are asked to give their contribution in (i) identification of the problems and eventual opportunities, (ii) testing and validating options and soulutions, and (iii) adopting them in their own fields. The FFS approach gives a suitable platform for developing interactions between extension, research and farmers to farmers” (Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources 2011: 5). Through the FFS, role model farmers had played an important role in seed multiplication, in demonstration (facilitate study tours for fellow farmers in the neighborhood and from other Districts), among other things. Improving post harvest handling was another privileged strategy of the crop intensification program. A special Task Force was created within the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources to closely monitor and supervise this component. The task force had set out to improve
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