7th Africa-wide Agricultural Extension Week resonates the call for more investment and alignment of Extension to CAADP livelihoods goals

BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT

LILONGWE, MALAWI — Commitment to: Domestic resource mobilization at national, Continental regional level; mobilization of women and youth as drivers of extension and advisory services delivery; building and nurturing coalitions; building a critical mass of extension and advisory services providers. These are some of the key demands emerging out of the 7th Africa-Wide Agricultural Extension Week 2025, a biannual event that converges experts and stakeholders in the agricultural sector from across Africa.

 

Reform and allocate money to extension

Citing Ethiopia’s and Rwanda’s success stories in investment in agricultural extension and advisory services, speakers gathered in Lilongwe in their diversity resonated almost a convergent call to: Governments to endorse national extension reforms ad and align budgets to implement the changes; development partners to co-finance, codesign, and scale proven extension models; the private sector to innovate with agricultural value chain actors, invest in inclusive delivery models, help make markets work for farmers; researchers to generate actionable evidence; and the farmer organizations influence the design of  last mile interventions.

Rebranding agricultural service delivery

The 7th Africa-Wide Agricultural Extension Week 2025 was premised on the theme, “Rebranding Extension for Enhanced Public/Private Sector-Driven Commercialization, Industrialization and Inclusive Food Systems”, a coinage meant promote innovative approaches to agricultural development. The week-long event taking place in Lilongwe, Malawi has attracted Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D) stakeholders across Africa and globally to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices in agricultural extension.

The Extension week brought together over 600 agricultural advisory services actors including the agricultural research for development to farmer continuum to share experiences, discuss challenges, opportunities, forge synergies, and co-create solutions to address the overriding issue of poor service delivery to the last mile—the farmers. The event was hosted by the Malawian Government through the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS) and the Malawi Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (MaFAAS).

 

Demand for accountability

Speakers demand for tracking and accountability mechanisms for the performance of the agricultural extension and advisory services system to hold Governments, extension workers and the farmers accountable for the roles they are required, mandated, and obliged to play.

 

Malawi’s Agriculture Minister champions call to action

Addressing participants during the opening ceremony, Malawi’s Agriculture minister, Sam Kawale underscored the critical role of agricultural extension workers in the development of Africa’s agriculture. “Extension workers are the heart of agricultural development and a bridge that turns ideas into reality by helping farmers feed nations,” he noted. “Through extension, we are able to use mobile apps to reach young farmers, empower women and youth with new skills, making technologies, skills and know-how accessible to change how we produce, and forge partnership with businesses to grow agriculture.”

Call for documentation of successes

Citing Malawi’s blueprint, Malawi Vision 2063, the Minister spoke to the overriding message across African Agriculture of transforming the farming system from subsistence to modern commercial farming by facilitating small holder farmers to access credit to undertake farming as a business. He also spoke of the need for documenting and sharing success stories of our agriculture. “People want to associate with success. Everybody wants to associate with what works.

 

In a rallying call to peer African Governments to prioritize investment in Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services, the Minister announced that the Malawian Government had approved a new Modem Advisory Services Policy to drive investment in Agricultural Extension.

 

The keynote speaker also highlighted the importance of documentation of processes, achievements, and lessons learnt in agricultural extension initiatives across the continent. “There have been important achievements and commendable success stories around the Farmers Field Schools model promoted by FAO and AFAAS, there have been major lessons and success in Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation Agency. When such achievements are documented, they could motivate more innovation,” he explained. The Conference highlighted the importance of harnessing Agricultural Extension in the implementation of the African Fertilizer and soil health action plan, holding governments accountable, alignment with national agricultural investment plans.

 

Tapping diversity

Outgoing AFAAS Executive Director, Dr. Silim Nahdy said beyond thematic debates, the AFAAS AEW is a unique avenue for sharing experiences and learning between professionals from diverse backgrounds, strengthening interactions with policymakers and investors and developing fruitful partnerships.

Malawi’s Principal Secretary for Irrigation in the Ministry of Agriculture, Geoffrey Mamba said the Malawi Government appreciates the role of extension workers towards the development of the country’s agriculture sector. According to Mamba, between March 11 and March 2025, Agriculture Minister, Sam Kawale visited and interfaced with agriculture development officers in Malawi hearing out their efforts as frontline staff and their challenges.

 

Why AEAS is key in development

Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services (AEAS) provide farmers with access to knowledge, information, and technologies, as well as facilitate interaction with research, education, and agribusiness. The sector, often placed directly under the stewardship the Governments is critical in helping boost livelihoods by helping farmers increase farm income, improve household food security, and build their technical, organizational, and management skills.  It is key in  helping farmers adapt to the impacts of climate change by providing information on sustainable production practices and technologies; facilitating access to new technologies, information, and best practices to improve agricultural productivity and reduce post-harvest losses; empowering farmers by facilitating their access to markets, financial services, and other resources;  leveraging both public and private sector actors to play a role in providing AEAS; training and capacity building for extension workers to ensure they have the skills and knowledge to effectively provide AEAS to farmers; as well as introducing digital tools and applications to deliver AEAS thereby opening up the potential to reach more farmers and provide more personalized support. 

 

During the Extension Week, there was a renewed call to align Extension Services to Africa’s CAADP agenda as well as making agriculture attractive to women and the youth considered as the next generation burden bearers of African food systems transformation. “We ought to make agriculture ‘kool’-right-now to attract youth to agriculture. It is intriguing to fathom the fact that the average age of an African farmer is 60. This is not ‘kool’ for the future of African Agriculture, where the burden of feeding the continent is on the shoulders of an aged population,” said Mr. Chifunro Kandaya, the agribusiness development catalyst and Moja Academy representative during a panel discussion. “It is time to onboard the youth through youth-centric agricultural innovations.”

 

Dr. Lilian Lihasi appointed AFAAS new ED

During the Extension week, the AFAAS General Assembly ratified the appointment of Dr. Lilian Lihasi as the new Executive Director, AFAAS.  She takes over the position with effect from 1st June 2025, when Dr. Silim Nahdy hands over.

 

Dr. Lihasi was appointed by the AFAAS Board of Directors on 7th March 2025 as designate pending the ratification. She becomes the 2nd Executive Director of AFAAS and brings on board a proven history in Agricultural Extension and Rural Development given her vast experience spanning 30 years in agricultural extension, research, and policy.