Senegal: In-depth Assessment of Extension and Advisory Services. Developing Local Extension Capacity Project

Abstract

Extension and advisory services (EAS) are the activities that provide the information and services needed and demanded by farmers and other actors in rural settings to assist them in developing their own technical, organizational and managerial skills and practices so as to improve their well-being. This report reviews existing documentation on EAS in Senegal to recommend areas for potential investment by the Government of Senegal, donors and other stakeholders including the private sector to strengthen the system and better serve smallholder farmers’ needs. In Annex 1, it provides an assessment of the Feed the Future Naatal Mbay project’s EAS strategy and makes recommendations for strengthening it. This report also addresses cross-cutting EAS issues, such as women and youth engagement, climate change resilience, food and nutrition security, and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Some key findings include the following: •The lack of a guiding comprehensive national extension policy, resulting in a low profile, limited funding, and weak coordination of extension •The presence of producer organizations (POs) and federations of POs, which show promise for sustainability and scaling of EAS approaches •A low use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), especially compared to other countries assessed under DLEC Recommendations include •Develop an extension policy and strengthen coordination of providers •Organize a national meeting for extension and advisory services providers on the role of farmer trainers in extension •Increase the testing and use of ICT methods in extension and support existing programs •Increase the number of female farmer trainers, by providing gender training to those selecting farmer trainers, targeting women’s groups, promoting couples to take on the position of farmer trainers instead of just the man, and ensuring that work and training conditions are conducive to female participation Finally, with regard to Naatal Mbay, the report recommends further documenting the achievements of Naatal Mbay’s extension and capacity strengthening approaches and (a) assess key factors contributing to project achievements thus far, (b) analyze remaining challenges, (c) propose ways to improve performance in meeting project goals and (d) determine pathway to sustainability so that extension and capacity strengthening mechanisms can continue to help producer networks, organizations and rural households to continue accruing benefits after the close of the project