Blessings Chinsinga questioned the very paradigm of private demand-led extension. In Malawi, he said, most farmers could not afford to ‘demand’ private extension services. And the idea that the private sector would provide its own extension agents has not materialised. Instead, NGOs are hiring government extension staff, who are already busy with the logistics of fertiliser subsidies.

In a presentation that gave a historical review of approaches to extension, Miguel Loureiro showed how the currently fashionable approach of ‘Agricultural Innovation Systems’ has origins not in agriculture but in thinking on innovation in industry. Of several objections to this approach was Loureiro’s concern that focusing on ‘innovative’ farmers to receive extension excludes other, more vulnerable members of rural society.

Lastly, Kojo Amanor presented an update from Ghana, where farmers have been offered a package of inputs as part of the Block Farming Programme. Amanor argued that smallholder-targeted extension has been used to integrate farmers into the value chain and provide opportunities for agribusiness. Describing a case in which input suppliers have been licensed by the government to provide new maize varieties developed outside Ghana, Amanor asked, who are the clients of extension officers? What is the role of extension? And should extension officers not respond to farmers’ preferences rather than forcing them to adopt inputs from agribusiness?

• For more on the event, including conference papers, programme and background, visit the Political Economy of Agricultural Policy in Africa event site.

(Photo: Farmer interacting with extension worker, from IITA’s photostream on Flickr)