1. WORLD CONGRESS ON AGROFORESTRY 2014
10-14 FEBRUARY 2014, DELHI, INDIA
Trees for Life: Accelerating the Impact of Agroforestry
Session 6.3: The science of scaling up and the trajectory beyond subsistence
A framework for assessing the effectiveness
of rural advisory service (RAS) approaches
Steven Franzel
World Agroforestry Centre

2. Outline
• Agroforestry and rural
advisory services (RAS)
• Conceptual framework for
RAS
• Framework for assessing RAS
approaches
• Assessment criteria
27th April- 3rd May 2012. Nairobi, KENYA
2

3. Agroforestry and rural advisory services (RAS)
Innovative and low-cost RAS approaches are especially
important for agroforestry because
• Agroforestry RAS is complex, that is it
– Involves more than one component (trees/crops/livestock)
– Is knowledge-intensive, involves new skills
(e.g., nurseries, pruning, harvesting)
– long-term, periodic training
• Agroforestry extension is neglected, neither
agricultural nor forestry policy and extension
pay it much attention
27th April- 3rd May 2012. Nairobi, KENYA
3

4. Conceptual Framework for Rural Advisory Services
Improved livelihoods
Improved productivity
How can RAS
approaches
such as
volunteer
farmer trainers
facilitate this
process?
Farmers and farming
systems
Germplasm
and other
inputs
Skill
development
Knowledge
and
information
Adapted from
Degrande and Birner

5. Framework for Assessing Rural Advisory Service
Approaches
Not a question of best practice but Best Fit
Research question: Which RAS approach fits best for which target
group, under which circumstances and for which AF practice?
Which RAS approach to use will vary according to
– Which farmers you are targeting, eg some more appropriate for
women than others
– Which circumstances (agro-ecological zone) you are
in, e.g, some more suited to higher population density areas
than for low density areas
– Which AF practice you are promoting, eg, some more suited to
knowledge intensive practices and others to simpler practices
– The objective of the approach: to sensitize? To train? Both?
27th April- 3rd May 2012. Nairobi, KENYA
5

6. Framework for Assessing an Extension Approach
Four dimensions
Clients, eg
- Poor
- Women
Circumstances
- Biophysical
- Socioeconomic
AF practices
Degree of complexity
f (period, skills required, components))
Extension objectives
- to sensitize
- to train

7. Framework for Assessing Extension Approaches
Four dimensions
Women trainers as effective
as men (reaching 20
farmers/mo)
Clients, eg
- Poor
- Women
Circumstances
- Biophysical
- Socioeconomic
Trainers more effective
in high population
density areas
AF practices
Degree of complexity
f (period, skills required, components))
Trainers most effective
on simpler practices
Extension approaches
- to sensitize
- to train

8. Criteria for Assessing Effectiveness of RAS Approaches
The degree to which they
1. facilitate the flow of information, innovation and
materials (e.g., seed) among farmers leading to
improved livelihoods
2. benefit marginalized groups: women, youth and the poor
3. are cost-effective; high benefits relative to costs
4. are sustainable, can be managed by communities
5. Are compatable with other RAS approaches
6. strengthen local capacities to access information and
solve problems
7. are accountable to their clients

9. 1. Does approach facilitate the flow of
information, innovation and materials (e.g., seed) leading to
improved livelihoods?
• There is a long chain to monitor from farmer trainer to
improved livelihoods:
Farmer
Trainer
Trained
farmer
Farmer
tests
Farmer
adopts
Incomes
increase
Impr.
livelihoods
• Surveys at particular stages, eg did farmer trainers train?
Did Trainees plant? Did they adopt?
• Randomized controlled trial to assess impact of volunteer
farmer trainers
27th April- 3rd May 2012. Nairobi, KENYA
9

10. 2. Does approach benefit marginalized groups:
women, youth and the poor?
• Note that women can benefit in two ways from farmer to
farmer extension
– Women are empowered as farmer trainers
– Approach reaches more women
• In the East African Dairy Development Project, Kenya,
– <10% of extension staff are
women while
– 38% of 1,400 farmer trainers
are women.
27th April- 3rd May 2012. Nairobi, KENYA
10

11. 4. Is it sustainable, can approach be managed by
communities after end of a project?
• In western
Kenya, Volunteer farmer
trainers were actively
training farmers even
several years after project
support ended, (Lukuyu
et al, 2012).
• The main factor here:
Community based
organization (local village
councils) to manage the
approach
27th April- 3rd May 2012. Nairobi, KENYA
11

12. 7. Is approach accountable to its clients?
• Community members
have role in
– Selecting the farmer
trainer
– Deciding on the content
of the extension
program
– Monitoring and
evaluation
27th April- 3rd May 2012. Nairobi, KENYA
12

13. The next step in assessing RAS
approaches….
• Instead of starting with an RAS approach and
assessing its effectiveness, start with a
particular target group, agro-ecological zone
and potential innovations and ask:
• Which RAS approaches will be most
appropriate?
27th April- 3rd May 2012. Nairobi, KENYA
13