The purposes of this course are to review the major reforms being considered internationally that aim to change the policy and institutional structure and operations of public sector agricultural extension systems, and to examine the advantages and disadvantages of each of these reforms as illustrated by the selected case studies. Aside from the introductory chapter, the course is organized into nine modules, which are conceived as part of a larger framework.
Grants for agricultural innovation are common but grant funds specifically targeted to smallholder farmers remain relatively rare. Nevertheless, they are receiving increasing recognition as a promising venue for agricultural innovation. They stimulate smallholders to experiment with improved practices, to become proactive and to engage with research and extension providers. The systematic review covered three modalities of disbursing these grants to smallholder farmers and their organisations: vouchers, competitive grants and farmer-led innovation support funds.
This publication contains twelve modules which cover a selection of major reform measures in agricultural extension being promulgated and implemented internationally, such as linking farmers to markets, making advisory services more demand-driven, promoting pluralistic advisory systems, and enhancing the role of advisory services within agricultural innovation systems.
Katalyst has identified that Bangladesh’s craft sector possesses a vast potential to contribute to women’s economic empowerment (WEE). . The ‘Empowering Women in Craft’ publication shows how an innovative partnership between Katalyst and BRAC-Aarong provides new perspectives for independent producers and women artisans in the craft industry.
This booklet describes some recent, stand-out innovations and achievements that are the fruits of this future-oriented partnership, fully supported by the Katalyst project. As Katalyst is in its third phase of operations, some of the milestone achievements of the project are reviewed. The project expects to expand on these successful models to be implemented throughout Bangladesh.
The ‘Licensing Fish Brood Import’ mini case study shows how Katalyst facilitated the linkage between local hatcheries and international brood sources and together with the Department of Fisheries established a standard operational procedure for brood import
Innovation is one of the driving forces in development. However, innovation can be expensive and at times risky, which oſten prevents or delays the emergence of important new ideas. That is why Katalyst project has launched the Innovation Fund initiative, a grant delivery mechanism to spur and encourage innovations in Bangladesh’s agri-business sector that ultimately benefit poor farmers across Bangladesh.
This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion in the scientific literature on the advantages and disadvantages of privatization of extension and advisory services and the shift from thinking in terms of the traditional Agricultural Knowledge System towards a broader Agricultural Innovation System.
Multi-actors networks are increasingly used by farmers to link between them and to be interactively connected with other partners, such as advisory organizations, local governments, universities, and non-farm organizations. Given the importance assigned to the agricultural innovation by EU resorting to the networking between the research chain actors and the farmers, a strong focus on enhancing the creation of learning and innovation networks is expected.
The report synthesises the research conducted under the PRO AKIS project for the topic "Designing, implementing and maintaining agricultural/rural networks to enhance farmers’ ability to innovate in cooperation with other rural actors".