There is renewed attention on the importance of advisory services and extension in rural development processes. This paper, based on the publication ‘Mobilizing the potential of rural and agricultural extension', focuses on five opportunities to mobilise the potential of extension and advisory services. The five areas are: (1) focusing on best-fit approaches; (2) embracing pluralism; (3) using participatory approaches; (4) developing capacity; and (5) ensuring long-term institutional support.
Institutional innovations are critical for effective performance of agricultural research centres in natural resource management projects that often include multiple and diverse stakeholders with contrasting objectives and activities. This report shows how institutional histories of projects can be used as...
Agriculture and food supply face a repositioning in the context of challenges associated with the Millennium Development Goals. From a development perspective it is of central importance to identify the role that the sector should perform in the fight against...
This briefing considers the status, systems, instruments and institutions underpinning agricultural innovation and research for development (ARD) globally and in the ACP countires. It puts a strong emphasis on lessons learnt and opportunities for successful agricultural innovation, based on broad...
Innovation is largely held to be unlikely in rural regions. This reflects the current emphasis on regional innovations systems that are driven by large expenditures on formal science based activity that results in patentable outcomes. From this metric the observation...
Wealth creation through integrated development of potato production brings together a wide range of positive livelihood changes for potato farmers in the highlands of Ethiopia (Nairobi, Kenya) The Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) released evaluation reports on a CFC-funded and...