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The Million Farmers School (MFS) is an innovative extension program initiated by the Department of Agriculture in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, in 2017. Twice in a year, the department deploys its entire extension machinery to organize nearly 15,000 training programs for about a million farmers across all districts of the state. Unlike traditional extension services, MFS integrates various facets of agricultural knowledge into a packaged product and delivers through village-level trainings where printed material on the topics of training are also distributed among participants. This study presents early findings of a process evaluation, involving assessments of program design, implementation strategies, and estimation of benefits from program participation. In addition to consultation with public officials and community organizations, a state-level representative survey was conducted on a sample of both participating and non-participating households. The early results based on matching and instrumental variable methods—suggest that knowledge outcomes are significantly better among participants vis-à-vis non-participants. The results are robust to different model specifications. The study also qualitatively assesses various aspects of the program’s design and implementation, highlighting the constraints and challenges it faces and offers implementation advice for greater efficacy in its future course.
Agricultural transformation and development are critical to the livelihoods of more than a billion small-scale farmers and other rural people in developing countries. Extension and advisory services play an important role in such transformation and can assist farmers with advice and information, brokering and facilitating innovations and relationships, and dealing with risks and disasters. Agricultural Extension: Global Status and Performance in Selected Countries provides a global overview of agricultural extension and advisory services, assesses and compares extension systems at the national and regional levels, examines the performance of extension approaches in a selected set of country cases, and shares lessons and policy insights. Drawing on both primary and secondary data, the book contributes to the literature on extension by applying a common and comprehensive framework — the “best-fit” approach — to assessments of extension systems, which allows for comparison across cases and geographies. Insights from the research support reforms — in governance, capacity, management, and advisory methods — to improve outcomes, enhance financial sustainability, and achieve greater scale. Agricultural Extension should be a valuable resource for policymakers, extension practitioners, and others concerned with agricultural development.
Most studies of doing business at the "bottom of the economic pyramid" focus on viewing the poor as consumers, as micro-entrepreneurs, or as potential employees of local companies. Almost no analysis focuses on the poor as primary producers of agricultural commodities a striking omission given that primary producers are by far the largest segment of the working-age population in developing economies. Making Markets More Inclusive bridges the management literature with original research on agricultural value chains in developing and emerging economies. This exciting work is the first to delve into the skills, capabilities, strategies and approaches needed for inclusive value chain development. McKague shows how NGOs and companies can connect poor producers in developing economies with the right markets to better create social and economic impact. He also analyzes one of the leading agricultural value chain initiatives in the world, which is being replicated by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in several different value chains in Malawi, Tanzania, Ghana, India, and Mali. Want more? Check out these compelling videos, which provide a glimpse into the stories and examples used throughout the book. Video Trailer for Making Markets More Inclusive. Farmer Training. Kallani Rani increased the productivity of her cows, become a cattle feed seller in her village (Chapter 6), and opened a fresh milk canteen in her local market (Chapter 7). She now trains other women farmers and works to improve opportunities for women in her community (Chapter 5). Animal Health Care Services. Asma Husna trained to be an animal health worker with CARE to provide important animal health services and education to local farmers on a fee-for-service basis (Chapter 6). Cattle Feed Shops. Fulera Akter started a business as a cattle feed seller after demand for nutritional animal feed grew due to farmers' improved knowledge of nutrition (Chapter 6). Savings Groups. Coauthor Muhammad Siddiquee, the Coordinator of Agriculture and Value Chain Programs at CARE Bangladesh, discusses the value of farmer savings groups (Chapter 6). Milk Collection. Sarothi Rani became a milk collector to earn an improved income for her family and provide an important service to other dairy farmers in her community (Chapter 7). Digital Fat Testing. Introducing digital fat testing machines into the dairy value chain helped reward farmers for making investments in producing higher quality milk, as well as ensuring transparent and timely payments (Chapter 7). Microfranchising. Supporting agricultural input shop owners with training, relationships to suppliers, common branding, and standardized customer services improves the productivity of smallholder farmers and the profitability of shops (Chapter 12). Bangladesh Dairy Value Chain Learning. Reflections from some of the 40 CARE staff from 17 countries who came to Bangladesh to learn from the experience of the dairy value chain project (Chapter 15).
This publication is a product of the experiences and lessons learned while implementing agroenterprise projects in eastern and southern Africa. A Market Facilitator's Guide is based on a resource-to-consumption framework, which is the central theme of the "enabling rural innovation" approach for rural development. This approach seeks to empower farmer groups with the necessary skills to make informed decisions for their economic development, based on an analysis of their surroundings, assets and skills. The methodology also aims for outcomes that are equitable, gender focused and participatory.