Global Good Practice (GGP) Notes on Agricultural Extension

The Global Good Practices Initiative was initiated by Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) to facilitate access to information and know-how on rural advisory services for a wide audience of practitioners. It does so by providing Global Good Practice Notes, which are descriptions of key concepts, approaches, and methods used in agricultural extension (which include, for example, farmer-to farmer extention, radio, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and social media), in an easy-to-understand format. Each note gives an overview of the main aspects of the methodolgy, best-fit considerations, and sources for further reading. The intended audiences include field-level practitioners and programme managers, as well as educators and policymakers.

As explained on the online platform where the Notes are housed, “[T]here is plenty of information available in the public domain that covers various aspects of extension and know-how about new methodologies for implementation. However this information is often scattered and presented in complex academic language. Hence practitioners, who often have very limited time and/or may only have basic formal education, find it difficult to make use of this information. The Global Good Practices Initiative aims to bridge this gap by providing information about extension approaches and methods in easy-to-understand formats.”

The GGP notes are categorised into the following broad areas: governance structure; capacity and management; advisory methods (which include edutainment television, radio, ICTs, farmer study circles, and extension campaigns); and cross cutting issues (including gender and nutrition).

Although the notes are submitted by different organisations, they have a common structure, so that different approaches can be easily compared, and also to ensure that all elements of the GGP outline are reflected in the Note. The structure is as follows:

1. Philosophy and principles
2. Implementation
3. Capacities required
4. Costs
5. Strengths and weaknesses
6. Best-fit considerations: 1) For which target groups; 2) For which innovations; 3) In which ecological and institutional settings.
7. Governance
8. Evidence of impact and potential scalability
9. Training materials available
10. Further reading

The series consists of the following notes (as of April 2017):

• Note #0: Overview of Extension Philosophies and Methods [2015]
• Note #1: Innovation Platforms [2015]
• Note #2: Farmer Field Schools [2015]
• Note #3: Mobile Based Bundled Services [2015]
• Note #4: Integrating Gender into Rural Advisory Services [2015]
• Note #5: Enabling Rural Innovation [2015]
• Note #6: Videos for Agricultural Extension [2015]
• Note #7: Farmer-to-farmer Extension [2015]
• Note #8: Management Advice for Family Farms to Strengthen Entrepreneurial Skills [2015]
• Note #9: Integrating Nutrition into Rural Advisory Services and Extension [2015]
• Note #10: Rural Resource Centres: A Community Approach to Agricultural Extension [2015]
• Note #11: Navigating ICTs for Extension and Advisory Services [2015]
• Note #12: The Role of Producer Organisations in Rural Advisory Services [2015]
• Note #13: Agricultural Innovation Systems [2015]
• Note #14: Community Knowledge Workers for Rural Advisory Services [2015]
• Note #15: Social Media for Rural Advisory Services [2015]
• Note #16: Web Portals for Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services [2015]
• Note #17: mExtension – Mobile Phones for Agricultural Advisory Services [2015]
• Note #18: Using Radio in Agricultural Extension [2015]
• Note #19: Service Provision by Agri-Cooperatives Engaged in High Value Markets [2016]
• Note #20: Farmer Study Circles [2016]
• Note #21: Innovative Financing Mechanisms for Demand Driven Agricultural Advisory Services [2016]
• Note #22: Edutainment TV for Disseminating Information about Agriculture [2016]
• Note #23: Plant Health Clinics [2016]
• Note #24: Extension Campaigns [2016]
• Note #26: Involving Men in Nutrition [2016]

The collection of GGP Notes is continuously enlarged and updated and a call for a new set of notes went out in early 2017.