Agricultural extension and advisory services support farmers and rural producers through training, information, and brokering linkages to markets and services. Extension services provide the critical connection from agricultural innovation and discovery to durable improvements at scale, as farmers and other actors in the rural economy learn, adapt, and innovate with new technologies and practices.
Extension services also help smallholder farmers adapt to and mitigate climate change, conserve biodiversity, and protect the environment while feeding their families and their countries. These services empower farmers and rural producers to cope with evolving agricultural challenges, such as the growing importance of standards, labels, and food safety; and shocks, such as price increases for agricultural inputs.
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Current research
Research on agricultural extension is an important part of IFPRI’s work across different disciplines. IFPRI’s extension research looks for ways to improve extension services for small farmers, including women and youth. These improvements can increase uptake of effective technologies and farming practices, boosting positive farm and community outcomes and impacts.
Much of IFPRI’s work on extension is based on a framework developed to help governments and project implementers design effective, context-appropriate, extension systems and measure their impact. This “best-fit” framework has underpinned many studies and projects.
IFPRI has led rigorous evaluations of ways to improve communication and farmer learning, for example, through video-based programs, radio, picture-based advisories, and other digital innovations that benefit women and men. Another research area is pluralism, which examines cases where private provision of extension services may be effective, such as through contract farming.
Because women often have less access to information, farm inputs, and markets compared to men, IFPRI’s work focuses on ensuring that both women and men are empowered through extension. Empowerment is part of human capital development and education and training, also areas of research led by IFPRI.
Using extension to foster adoption of climate-smart agriculture and other sustainable technologies is a critical component of IFPRI’s climate work and its efforts to transform agriculture for food security and poverty reduction.
IFPRI’s agricultural extension research is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 4, and SDG 8, and with all the CGIAR Impact Areas.
