Regional Consultation Helps Shape Ethiopia’s Agricultural Extension System

Participants from the Oromia region meeting in Adama (photo: Policy LINK).

Policy LINK’s Champions for Food Security (C4FS) Activity in Ethiopia, working with the country’s Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI), facilitated and provided technical and financial support to three multi-stakeholder workshops aimed at validating a draft national proclamation establishing a pluralistic agricultural extension system, a key component of the government’s agriculture and rural development policy. The validation workshops were conducted from March 13-15, 2023 in Amhara, from March 21-22, 2023 in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), and from April 22-24 in Oromia.

The draft proclamation lays out the future direction of the country’s agricultural extension system to shift from a public-led system to a more pluralistic and demand-driven one. Agricultural extensions systems play a key part in enhancing agricultural development by bringing behavioral changes through informal education directed toward the rural population. 

Dr. Belay Demissie, Policy LINK Ethiopia Country Lead, opened the first workshop in Bahir Dar, Amhara Region. In his remarks, Dr. Belay said that the current extension system was formulated through a top-down approach, and the time has come to review the proclamations with the participation of different actors. “Such an approach is crucial for the development of [an] agriculture extension system that meets the demands of the beneficiaries,” he added.

The draft national proclamation, which was presented at the workshops, is the first of its kind in Ethiopia, as it seeks to put into law a multi-stakeholder approach to agricultural extension services. 

Drafting a national proclamation is a step forward to commence the implementation of pluralistic extension system in the country, it was presented during the workshops. The draft national proclamation, which was presented at the workshops, is the first of its kind in Ethiopia, as it seeks to put into law a multi-stakeholder approach to agricultural extension services. 

Yenenesh Egu, Lead Executive for Crops and Horticulture Extension at the MoA, said that these kinds of workshops are imperative in examining whether the pluralistic agriculture extension system is workable and if it can resolve the past and existing challenges of Ethiopia’s agricultural extension services. Some of these challenges include weak coordination and linkage among actors in the research and extension system, limited logistics for frontline extension workers, limited use of digital extension and advisory services, minimum involvement of the private sector, and limited harmonization and alignment on the development of extension packages.

Although the government had been the only extension provider, the new draft proclamation includes a range of actors in the provision of agricultural extension services—from the public to research institutions, agriculture training colleges and universities, professional associations, private limited companies, non-governmental organizations, agriculture development companies, and kebele­- and woreda-level agricultural offices.

More than 300 participants drawn from these various groups offered substantial technical inputs to the MoA on the draft proclamation.

More than 300 participants drawn from these various groups offered substantial technical inputs to the MoA on the draft proclamation. Participants suggested including basic climate, agro-ecology, and landscape data into the proclamation. Participants also stressed the need to pilot this pluralistic extension practice in some woredas before a broader country-wide roll out.

Others also asked whether the government has a plan to design a policy to respond to stakeholders’ financial needs, adding that the draft proclamation did not consider farmers, who have indigenous knowledge which could be shared with others, as service providers. The participants also questioned the capability of the existing regulatory body to properly shoulder responsibility for the new extension system. 

A technical working group drawn from MoA, universities, research institutions, civil society organizations and international NGOs, and ATI drafted the pluralistic agricultural extension proclamation. A national discussion to finalize inputs into the plan is expected to be held by the end of May 2023. With the validation process complete, the MoA will submit the plan to the parliament through the Council of Ministers for endorsement and official placement.

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Read more about Policy LINK’s Champions for Food Security Activity in Ethiopia.