Agriculture Extension Services

This post is intended to give you a little better understanding about Agriculture Extension Services in Ghana. It is by no means comprehensive, but hopefully it is mostly correct. Then again, it’s based on the observations of somebody who up until 43 days ago, knew practically nothing about agriculture. Nevertheless …

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The concept of Agricultural Extension Services was originally conceived as a method to “extend” research-based knowledge to rural sector, which would not typically have access to this information. This knowledge could include things such as technology transfer, business and agro-marketing skills, non-formal education, or development projects - anything to improve the livelihood of agriculturally-based communities.

Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) form the heart of MoFA’s Extension Program. The AEA is link between MoFA, its research, programs, and technologies and the farmer. Some of the responsibilities of the AEA include:

Administration of subsidy programs (e.g. distributing and tracking fertilizer subsidy coupons), coordination of demonstration farms block farms and farmer field schools
Dissemination of technology and messages from MoFA to farmers
Monitoring and reporting of environmental conditions in their regions
Monitoring and reporting of farmer’s successes, challenges and failures
Facilitation of relationships between farmers and farmers groups, and helping them to develop market linkages
Working directly with farmers to help them to find the appropriate solutions and resources to overcome any potential challenges and maximize opportunity for growth and improved livelihoods.

Farmer Field Schools (FFS) exist to give communities of farmers the opportunity to come together regularly, receive important information, and ideally, share the challenges they are facing and learn from each other.

Communities of farmers meet with their AEA on a regular basis in a community location. Their field school location is often near a demo or group plot on which they can practice techniques learned. Field schools also serve as a forum for experts or visitors to come in and share specific messages with the farmers. For example, during August, FFSs were held in the Lawra District on proper application of fertilizers and energy saving farming techniques. Farmers were reminded of how to use fertilizer backpack sprayers, proper maintenance of equipment, appropriate concentrations (dilute by volume, not by taste) and the importance of using personal protective equipment. Each school was provided with some more equipment (a couple of pairs of Wellingtons, and another backpack sprayer) to be shared in their community. This session also spent time discussing energy saving farming techniques. During the farming season, and in particular, during weeding time, the regional food supply is at its lowest. The instructor was teaching them different stroke techniques, how to get the weeds out without massive labor to conserve energy, reminding them of the ease of using full length handles, instead of just short hoes (which require you to be continually bent over), and the importance of removing the dirt from the roots, so that they will dry up and not replant themselves. While I see the importance of these messages, I was surprised that these were the types of messages that had to be shared formally, and that there was some even skepticism regarding some of them. I don’t even really know what an appropriate comment or speculation might be. I spent a summer clearing my parents’ acreage by hand, and quickly figured out and adopted energy saving and labor-reducing techniques. I can’t even imagine diluting fertilizer solutions by taste. Why these messages need to be shared? Lack of education? No motivation to improve techniques because their livelihoods seem to never change? This one puzzles me.

AEAs, as they are the government employee that has the closest relationship with the rural community, are also often tasked with sharing information on “cross-cutting” themes, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and water and sanitation. These factors have a large impact on agricultural productivity, and so are often included as part of extension messages.

As previously noted, farmer field schools sometimes (ideally) have a small piece of land with their “school” location. This land can be used to address questions, or design crop experiments, based on challenges that they may be experiencing in the area. The role of the AEA here is to help encourage the farmers to come up with the right questions, and right experiments to design.

Demonstration Plots are coordinated by AEAs to help share a new crop or technique with a community. The land for a demonstration plot is donated by a farmer who the AEA has chosen to be one of the community “contact farmers”. In choosing who to work with AEAs typically look for someone who has shown independent innovation and initiative in improving their own farm. The contact farmer should also be someone who is respected within the community, someone community members would turn to for advice. The plot should typically be in a location that will be noticed by others (near a road, common pathway, etc.) not in the farthest, most distant corner of the land the farmer owns.

The ideas for demo plots come 1) centrally from MoFA, 2) from partnerships with NGO projects and sometimes, 3) from the community or AEAs themselves. The AEA will work with the contact farmer to get the demo plot set up, and then the farmers will incorporate the management of the plot into their regular activities. The AEA may bring members of his FFSs to see the plot, with the hopes that they will in turn, talk to the contact farmer about it to learn more from their peer, or actually just go ahead and adopt the practices themselves.

I’ve seen many demo plots while I’ve been here: specific varieties, no-tillage, varied fertilizer application, use of compost, etc. One highlight was when we visited a composting demo. The differences in the control crops and those that had compost added to the soil were amazing. Moreover, the contact farmer informed us that he had then gone and added compost to the rest of his crops, and everything was doing amazing. Adoption in action! On the other end of the spectrum, we were visiting a farmer in another area who had a groundnut demo of some sort (I don’t really remember what it was about). He took us on a 20 minute hike, winding back further and further from houses, roads and crops. He never got around to planting the demo, and so ran out of land. Furthermore, only half of it was planted to specification, the half looked like seed was just haphazardly thrown to the ground.

MoFA also currently uses “Block Farms” as a loan mechanism to help farmers access the necessary inputs. The community must first find land to use for the block farm. A block farm is typically 20 -40 acres, and the land is usually donated by one of the profitable farmers in the community. Members of the block farm are chosen by the community. In order to be part of this farming activity, the member must commit to contributing equally to the plot of land. It is important that participation is decided upon by the community, as opposed to the AEA choosing who should participate. This way, if there are any problems with member not contributing adequately, it is something that the block farm members must deal with on their own. Once the area and members have been established, if required, MoFA will lend their tractors to till the land. Seeds, and as needed, pesticides and fertilizers, are then “loaned” to the farm. At the end of the season, the cost of these inputs must be then paid back to MoFA out of the crop yields.

There are two approaches to the management of the farm area. Each individual will be solely responsible for their own 1-2 acre parcel. They will sow, weed and harvest their own area and is will receive the profits only from their parcel. Alternatively, the community can come together and work the entire block farm. The yield and profits will then be divided up accordingly. Irrespective of which method is used, the ideal approach is that everyone will be working in the field at approximately the same time. As a block farm is essentially one large farm, of a homogenous crop, it is important that fertilizers and pesticides are applied uniformly across the entire area.

I feel that I have only provided a small glimpse into what agricultural extension services are about in Northern Ghana, based on what I have observed over my first month working here. While I am still seeking to understand extension more fully, many challenges that are faced by MoFA staff have become very evident. There are many messages and potential technologies/techniques that need to be disseminated. While some of these are decided on at the district or regional level, based on need, many still are passed on from Accra. With limited time and resources, it is often necessary to choose what is relevant and appropriate. Sometimes the right messages make it to the farmers, and sometimes, well, their relevance may be lost on the farmers, not necessarily because of ignorance, but because they are simply wrong for that particular community. I have also seen that literacy is a problem for some areas of extension. Labels on inputs are in English; many farmers cannot read English. There is always a translator available for FFSs, but what happens when you leave the farmer’s with a bottle of fertilizer and they forget what they learned? They dilute to taste. Beyond that, some can’t even read their local language, and this creates other problems. I was with some officers when we were delivering fertilizer in exchange for some crop as payment. They wrote down what they had delivered, and taken, but had to have the farmer manually count at each bag and bottle and help him understand where the numbers were on the record of transaction. They spent some time doing this, and I’m not entirely sure he got it, or even cared that there was a record. However, I was told that this record was important, because quite often they will come back and say the right quantities were not delivered, when they fail to have the expected outputs at the end of the season.

If you ask an AEA what his biggest challenge is, he (or she, I’ve met a couple of awesome female AEAs too) will say time, fuel and motos. Often they want to go out to a particular area for a follow-up visit, or to help specific activities, but don’t have enough allowance to cover the needed fuel, their moto is in poor repair, or their area is too large to cover. There are some complaints (and substantiating stories) that AEAs are not motivated, and only do the minimum. However, all the AEAs I’ve had the opportunity to work with are clearly here because they love their job, community and agriculture.

“I come from a long line of farmers so you could say farming is in my blood. That’s why I love working at MoFA. I was lucky to be able to go to Agric College, and so I want to share my knowledge with others. I love going out into the community and talking to the farmers and learning their challenges and trying to figure out ways to help them. I can’t fix all their problems, but I can try and help as much as I can. I also like trying to get farmers talking to each other and working together. ” – One of my favorite AEAs, (and therefore I’ll keep him anonymous), Lawra District, Upper West Region