Agriculture remains a key and sensitive economic sector in Egypt. Given contemporary geo-political concerns that limit access to international markets, it continues to remain responsible for the production of food and
fiber needed for a growing population. Efficacy in agricultural Extension Services (AES), within the broader scope of an agricultural innovation system, has the potential to assist in the government’s mandate, and
particularly so given historical levels of high public investment and attention to this institution. The focus of this study is on current limitations in both access to, and delivery of, effective public extension services; as well as on opportunities for enhancing the delivery of more pluralistic and equitable extension services through public private partnerships (PPPs). The methodological framework is largely qualitative, guided by a review of both historical and contemporary literature. Recommendations for reviving efficacy in public provision of AES in Egypt include: (i) establishment of non-parastatal CSOs, or representative farmers’ and producers’ NGOs and associations, (ii) recruitment of new village extension workers (VEWs) as an urgent requirement to fill the gap resulting from retirement of an aged population of extension agents, and (iii) enhancing organizational and institutional arrangements required to facilitate better linkages between researchers and end users of knowledge generated
The present case study investigated a policy-induced agricultural innovation network in Brandenburg. It focussed on three major questions: 1) What are features of the network that enhanced farmers’ ability to innovate in cooperation with other actors?; 2) What influencing factors encouraged the farmers’...
Fidèle à sa tradition d’exploration des principales questions émergentes, Nature & Faune a choisi de consacrer cette édition à l’examen de cette urbanisation rapide et de ses conséquences pour les denrées urbaines et la sécurité alimentaire, mettant en exergue les...
Les conventions locales peuvent être définies comme des accords légitimes négociés entre plusieurs parties prenantes (stakeholders) dans une perspective de régulation des ressources naturelles – en termes de contrôle, d’accès, d’appropriation, d’usage et d’exploitation – et de l’environnement. Au Sahel,...
In order to realize the potential of agricultural innovation in family farming, national priorities of sustainably increasing food production and productivity, and reducing hunger and poverty, require rural knowledge institutions to be stronger and communication processes to be improved. This...
According to the authors of this paper, actual methods of scaling are rather empirical and based on the premise of ‘find out what works in one place and do more of the same, in another place’. These methods thus would...