A presentation given at the MEAS Private-Public Extension Event during the 2015 MEAS Symposium, by Miguel Gomez, Benjamin Mueller, and Mary Kate Wheeler

1. Examining
Privately-­‐led
Extension
Approaches
Targe9ng
Smallholder
Farmers
in
Developing
Countries:
Preliminary
Findings*
Miguel
I.
Gómez,
Cornell
University
Benjamin
Mueller,
University
of
Illinois
Mary
Kate
Wheeler,
Cornell
University
A
Modernizing
Extension
and
Advisory
Services
Event
Washington
D.C.,
June
2
2015
*
The
authors
are
grateful
to
Romane
Viennet,
Maria
Jones,
Oliver
Ferguson,
Cayla
Mar>n,
Andrea
Bohn,
and
Paul
McNamara
for
their
valuable
contribu>on
to
this
work.

2. Outline
1. Context and justification
2. Research Approach
3. Preliminary results
4. Key takeaways and questions

3. • Rapid transformation in agri-food industries has generated
global supply chains capable of linking small farmers in to
high value markets (Reardon et al. 2009)
• Declining role of public programs to support small farmers
through research and extension (Anderson and Feder 2004)
• Public, private and civil society actors share an interest in
understanding how global changes in food value chains and
public services affect smallholder farmers (Gomez et al. 2011)
Context

4. Context: Dynamic forces shape the provision of extension
services:
New extension
arrangements,
delivery modes
and services
New agri-food
supply chains
can link small
farmers to high
value markets
Reduced funding
and political
have weakened
public extension
systems
Evolving
definition of
“extension and
advisory
services"
Rising consumer
demand for food
safety, quality
and traceability

5. Motivation
• Over 400 million farmers operate on less that 2 hectares of land
(Nagayets 2005)
• Almost 75% of the world's poor are subsistence farmers (Huivo,
Kola and Lundström 2005)
• Smallholder agricultural systems are increasingly managed by
women (Saito et al. 1994)
• Agriculture is "a driver of growth and poverty reduction” in rural
areas (World Bank 2007)
• Modern value chains offer opportunities to meet consumer demand
while addressing development goals (Reardon et al. 2009)

6. Critical Questions
§ Can private sector activities in developing countries reduce
poverty and food insecurity by improving conditions for small
farmers?
§ How do new arrangements involving the private sector influence
provision of information and advisory services to small farmers?
§ How might partnerships among public, private and civil society
actors support private sector engagement with small farmers
while ensuring that development objectives are realized for all?

7. 1. Characterize emerging extension models led by
private organizations, including their objectives,
strategies, tactics, and outcomes.
2. Use the findings to identify important features of
successful extension programs that involve both
private sector actors and small farmers.
Research Objectives

8. Contribution
Previous conceptual work has focused on:
• Extension as a public vs. private good
• Changing role of government in supporting extension
• Private company motivations to engage with small
farmers
Case studies document successes/challenges to privately-
led extension programs
Our empirical approach complements previous work by
comparing private sector extension models across regions
and sectors

9. Methodology
Survey Design
Implementation
• Contacted over 400 organizations
by email
• Posted announcements on MEAS
and GFRAS websites
• Analysis based on 78 completed
surveys
• Received 101 completed surveys to
date
Survey Components:
1. Organizational structure
2. Partnership arrangements
3. Extension activities
4. Extension educator training
5. Objectives & outcomes
6. Open-ended questions:
• Mission statement
• Keys to success
• Barriers to success
• Future opportunities
• Financial sustainability
• Scaling up

10. Results: Organizational Characteristics
45%
37%
7%
5%
5%
1%
Organiza9onal
Type
Private
Business
Non-­‐profit
Organiza9on
Farmer
Based
Organiza9on
Social
Enterprise
Research
Ins9tu9on
Public
Organiza9on
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Africa
Asia
&
Pacific
Islands
La9n
America
&
Caribbean
Organiza9onal
Type
by
Region

11. Results: Organizational Characteristics
28%
47%
25%
Organiza9onal
Scope
Sub-­‐na9onal
Na9onal
Interna9onal
0
5
10
15
20
25
Africa
Asia
&
Pacific
Islands
La9n
America
&
Caribbean
Organiza9onal
Scope
by
Region

12. Results: Organizational Characteristics
0
5
10
15
20
25
Africa
Asia
&
Pacific
Islands
La9n
America
&
Caribbean
Value
Chain
Role
by
Region
13%
21%
30%
36%
Value
Chain
Role
Upstream:
supplier
to
farmers
Downstream:
buyer
of
farm
products
Both
upstream
and
downstream
Suport:
provider
of
other
services

13. Results: Partnership Arrangements
Yes
69%
No
31%
Public
Private
Partnership
(PPP)
0
10
20
30
40
50
Africa
Asia
&
Pacific
Islands
La9n
America
&
Caribbean
PPP
by
Region
Yes
No

14. Public
NGO
FBO
Private
(For Profit)
2
3 11
20
2 4
1 8
42 1
Results: Partnership Arrangements
Institutional Arrangements for Implementation
§ No examples of shared
public-private
implementation without
NGO or FBO
involvement.
§ High representation of
private-only
implementation
strategies
§ High heterogeneity in
implementation
strategies

15. Results: Partnership Arrangements
Institutional Arrangements for Funding
Public
NGO
FBO or
Farmer
Fees
Private
(For Profit)
5
3
9
12
2 8
7 6
122 3
3
§ More public-
private
collaboration on
funding compared
to implementation
§ About half of
partnerships are
completely
funded by private
sector

16. Results: Extension Activities
-­‐
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
Africa
La9n
America
&
Caribbean
Asia
&
Pacific
Islands
#
Farmers
Total
Extension
Reach

17. Results: Extension Activities

18. Results: Extension Activities

19. Results: Extension Activities

20. Results: Extension Activities

21. Results: Extension Activities

22. Results: Extension Activities

23. Results: Extension Activities
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
printed
handouts
moble
phones
(tex9ng,
apps)
radio
print
media
(newspaper,
magazine)
internet
(blogs,
websites)
email
television
social
media
Prevalence
of
Communica9on
Technologies

24. Results: Extension Educator Training
Educa-on
Level
1
=
Primary
School
2
=
Secondary
School
3
=
Technical/Voca9onal
4
=
College
5
=
Graduate
School
1
2
3
4
5
Africa
Asia
&
Pacific
Islands
La9n
America
&
Caribbean
Educa-on
Level
Average
Educa9on
Level
by
Region

25. Results: Extension Educator Training
Training
Frequency
1
=
Rarely
2
=
Annually
3
=
Monthly
4
=
Biweekly
5
=
Weekly
1
2
3
4
5
Africa
Asia
&
Pacific
Islands
La9n
America
&
Caribbean
Training
Frequency
Average
Training
Frequency
by
Region

26. Results: Extension Educator Training
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
agronomy
&
produc9on
communica9on
and
adult
educa9on
sustainable
agriculture
&
natural
resource
management
community
organizing
business
management
&
entrepreneurism
working
with
marginalized
groups
research
skills
Average
Importance
of
Extension
Educator
Skills
1
=
low;
2
=
medium;
3
=
high

27. Results: Evaluation & Outcomes
45%
44%
5%
6%
Internal
vs
External
Evalua-on
programs
are
evaluated
internally
both
internal
and
external
programs
are
evaluated
externally
other
29%
21%
50%
Evalua-on
Process
formal
evalua9on
process
informal
evalua9on
process
both
formal
and
informal
92%
of
respondents
indicate
that
evalua9on
includes
farmer
feedback

28. Results: Evaluation & Outcomes

29. Results: Evaluation & Outcomes
1
2
3
4
5
increase
produc9vity
reliable
supply
of
agricultural
product
increase
product
quality
increase
market
access
for
farmers
promote
technology
adop9on
improve
quality
of
life
for
farmers
improve
farm
business
management
improvements
for
marginalized
groups
reduce
poverty
Average
Performance
Scores
by
Region
1
=
poor;
5
=
excellent
Africa
Asia
&
Pacific
Islands
La9n
America
&
Caribbean

30. Results: Evaluation & Outcomes
1
2
3
4
5
increase
produc9vity
reliable
supply
of
agricultural
product
increase
product
quality
increase
market
access
for
farmers
promote
technology
adop9on
improve
quality
of
life
for
farmers
improve
farm
business
management
improvements
for
marginalized
groups
reduce
poverty
Average
Performance
Scores
by
Organiza-onal
Type
(1
=
poor;
5
=
excellent)
Private
Business
or
Social
Enterprise
NGO
or
FBO

31. Results: Preliminary Observations from Econometric Models
Associa9on
between
Extensions
Tac9cs
and
Outcomes
Type
of
Outcome
Extension
Tac-cs
Increased
produc9vity
Financial
services
(++);
farmer-­‐to-­‐buyer
networking
(+)
Improved
product
quality
Financial
services
(++);
farmer-­‐to-­‐buyer
networking
(+
+);
business
development
(+);
informa9on
and
communica9on
technologies
(+)
Increased
market
access
Financial
services
(++);
strengthen
producer
groups
(+)
Improved
livelihoods
?
Alleviate
poverty
Farmer
field
schools
(+)
Improve
env.
management
Demonstra9on
plots
(+);
farmer
field
schools
(+)
Build
management
capacity
Lead
farmer
approach
(+)

32. Results: Extension Mission
Common Elements:
• Market access: commercialization, farm business management
• Productivity: technical assistance, traditional extension approaches
• Social objectives: health & safety, food security & nutrition, prevent child
labor
• Environmental objectives: sustainable natural resource management
• Innovation: technology transfer, applied research, ICTs
• Collaboration: PPPs, organizational development, farmer cooperatives

33. Results: Extension Mission
Common Elements:
• Market access: commercialization, farm business management
• Productivity: technical assistance, traditional extension approaches
• Social objectives: health & safety, food security & nutrition, prevent child
labor
• Environmental objectives: sustainable natural resource management
• Innovation: technology transfer, applied research, ICTs
• Collaboration: PPPs, organizational development, farmer cooperatives
Most extension efforts have multiple, overlapping objectives

34. Results: Keys to Success
#1: Participatory & Contextual Approach
• Builds trust and long-term relationships with farmers
• Responsive to local conditions and farmer concerns
• Develops long-term institutional partnerships
• Emphasizes local staffing
• Encourages two-way knowledge sharing

35. Results: Keys to Success
#1: Participatory & Contextual Approach
• Builds trust and long-term relationships with farmers
• Responsive to local conditions and farmer concerns
• Develops long-term institutional partnerships
• Emphasizes local staffing
• Encourages two-way knowledge sharing
“There is not any extension model that we can transfer from somewhere
else. We should develop the model according to the social, institutional,
technical, economic, infrastructure, etc. situation of the region. We should
try to use resources of the region as much as possible but in an effective
way. Participation, transparency at all levels.”

36. Results: Other Keys to Success
• Technical assistance is embedded in the structure of the
supply chain
• Extension activities use existing nodes of connection and
communication channels to reach farmers
• Extension arrangements go beyond a single cash crop to
support holistic farm management and opportunities for
diversified production
• Integrated extension activities address challenges along the
entire value chain
• Consistent metrics and methods for evaluating success are
shared across organizations, sectors and industries

37. Results: Barriers to Success
Top 3 Reported Barriers
1. Lack of financial resources
2. Inadequate extension coverage
3. Low literacy and education levels among farmers

38. Results: Barriers to Success
Top 3 Reported Barriers
1. Lack of financial resources
2. Inadequate extension coverage
3. Low literacy and education levels among farmers
“We in the past had support from various international donors, but
these programs only run for about three years, and then it stops. And
that is the main challenge that we have. You cannot switch
development on and off like a switch. So we need longer-term
partnerships and financial support from other role players.”

39. Results: Other Barriers to Success
• Lacking coordination: duplication of efforts, poor
communication, conflicts between public and private
organizations
• Extension is overextended with too many responsibilities
• Land tenure issues
• Gender bias against women
• Approaches that exclude the poorest farmers
• Corruption/bad business practices

40. Results: Future Opportunities
Nodes of Connection
• Existing nodes of connection can be leveraged to reach farmers
• Extension activities can provide information (market intelligence)
about the needs of small farmers to private suppliers
• Private suppliers can use CRM processes to gather metrics for
tracking extension success
Other Reported Opportunities
• Modern communication technologies
• Local processing, value-added products
• Better metrics and tracking

41. Key Takeaways
Multifaceted nature of extension
• Multiple objectives and multiple approaches are
common, regardless of region or organizational type
Extension priorities
• Production-oriented goals tend to be prioritized (e.g.
productivity, supply reliability
Institutional arrangements
• Heterogeneous arrangements for funding and
implementation include single-actor and multi-actor
models
• More public-private collaboration in funding than in
implementation

42. Self-assessment of outcomes
• More progress toward achieving farm-level goals
related to production and market access
• Less progress toward achieving social (e.g. poverty
alleviation) or environmental goals
• More progress in Asia and the pacific than in Africa and
Latin America
Extensions tactics and keys to success
• Provision of financial services appear to substantially
advance several goals
• Participatory approaches are mentioned as key to
success, but showed limited impact on outcomes
Key Takeaways

43. Thank
you
for
your
amen9on!
Ques9ons?
Comments?
Miguel
I.
Gómez
(mig7@cornell.edu)
Benjamin
Mueller
(bmueller@Illinois.edu)