The quality of rural extension and advisory services is a crucial element in fostering innovation and rural development. This article aims to clarify the concept of quality of rural extension and to develop a preliminary theoretical framework. An ample literature review was conducted in search of articles on service quality and quality of rural extension and advisory services. The first part presents the main results of the literature search on quality of extension services. The definition of quality is not universal.
This paper discusses issues related to support for capacity strengthening for agricultural research for development (ARD) by member countries of the European Initiative for Agricultural Research for Development. It summarises the findings of an analysis of the policies, programmes and projects in capacity strengthening for ARD of fourteen European countries. These policies, programmes and projects were previously examined in relation to a common set of criteria covering aspects of needs identification, design, implementation, assessment, documentation and sharing of information.
The Action Planning is a tool that formalizes commitments and plots the route to their implementation. An action plan is intended for the use of the core actors, who will have been identified beforehand in the visioning phase. It determines who does what and when, and is therefore essential to ensuring that things get done and that the goals and visions set out in the capacity development strategy are achieved.
This tool was designed to assess innovation capacities, identify strengths and weaknesses and monitor capacity changes over time. The scoring tool makes it clear which functional capacities are going to be needed to promote, lead or successfully participate in innovation processes. The tool evaluates capacities on the basis of 21 indicators (each of which is graded on a scale from 0 (low capacity) to 3 (high capacity), and build on the key innovation capacities identified in the capacity needs assessment.
Social Network Analysis is a practical and useful tool that looks at the linkages present in an innovation network and monitors their development over time. It maps the relationships between the stakeholders in the network and highlights the changes between them.
The visioning process brings together representatives of actor groups within the agricultural innovation systems (AIS) to build on their common understanding of AIS and the need for a coordinated approach. The process involves a wide spectrum of interested parties including ministries, legislative bodies and representatives of the private sector plus development partners and civil society.
The design of capacity development interventions is a crucial phase in the capacity development (CD) for agricultural innovation systems (AIS) cycle of the TAP Common Framework. Intervention planning follows from and builds on the visioning exercises and needs assessments carried out beforehand. Options for CD interventions will depend on the country context, ongoing programmes and funding opportunities. Prioritization should also include identification of activities that can take off immediately.
CDAIS is a global partnership that aims to strengthen the capacity of countries and key stakeholders to innovate in the context of complex agricultural systems, to improve rural livelihoods. The goal of the Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems (CDAIS) project is to promote innovation that meets the needs of small farmers, small and medium-sized agribusiness, and consumers.
La extensión rural constituye un factor clave en la mejora de la calidad de vida de los pequeños productores. Se llevó a cabo un estudio cualitativo de la problemática de extensión rural en Paraguay, con particular énfasis en el departamento de Caazapá. Para esto se realizaron entrevistas a pequeños productores, extensionistas y referentes institucionales, las cuales fueron desgrabadas y su contenido categorizado.
Resulta indispensable discutir los contenidos y las metodologías utilizadas para formar extensionistas, muchas veces focalizadas exclusivamente en conocimientos técnicos e implementadas según una lógica transferencista. Así, en este trabajo, a través de la realización de entrevistas, se analizan las necesidades formativas de los extensionistas rurales paraguayos indagando su función, los problemas a los que se enfrentan en su práctica y sus propios intereses formativos.