Chapter 10 - Implementing strategic extension campaigns
Ronny Adhikarya
Ronny Adhikarya is a Senior Extension Education and Training Methodology Specialist, Agricultural Education and Extension Service, FAO/United Nations, Rome, Italy. The contents of this chapter are largely taken from several sections of R. Adhikarya, Strategic extension campaign: A participatory-oriented method of agricultural extension, Rome, Italy: FAO/United Nations, 1994.
Strategic extension campaign: What and why
The usefulness of SEC
SEC operationally defined
Suggested conceptual framework for strategic planning of extension campaigns
Lessons learned
References
Strategic extension campaign: What and why
A "strategic extension campaign" (SEC) methodology developed by FAO has been introduced in Africa, the Near East, Asia, and Latin America. This methodology emphasizes the importance of people's participation (i.e., intended beneficiaries such as small farmers) in strategic planning, systematic management, and field implementation of agricultural extension and training programmes. Its extension strategies and messages are specifically developed and tailored based on the results of a participatory problem identification process on the causes or reasons for farmers' nonadoption, or inappropriate practices, of a given recommended agricultural technology or innovation. The SEC technology transfer and application approach is needs based and demand driven and has a problem-solving orientation.
The SEC programme follows a systems approach, which starts with a farmers' Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) survey whose results are used as planning inputs and benchmark-baseline for summative evaluation purposes. In addition, a series of practical and participatory approach workshops are conducted to train extension personnel, subject-matter specialists, trainers, and farmer leaders together on the skills of extension programme planning, strategy development, message design and positioning, multimedia materials development, pretesting and production, as well as management planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. One of the strengths of this approach is in orienting and training relevant extension personnel to apply a systematic, rational, and pragmatic approach to planning, implementing, managing, monitoring, and evaluating regular or routine programmes of an agricultural extension service.
Empirical evaluation studies (using information recall and impact surveys, focus group interviews, and management monitoring surveys) of strategic extension campaign methods applied to specific FAO-supported extension activities conducted, for instance, in Bangladesh and Malaysia (on rat control), Thailand (on pest surveillance system), Malaysia (on weed management), Zambia (on maize production), Malawi, Jamaica, and Morocco (on population education), reported positive changes in farmers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices vis-a-vis the recommended technologies as well as significant economic benefits.
This SEC method has been replicated with FAO assistance in many countries in Asia, Africa, the Near East, and the Caribbean, with topics such as line-sowing method of rice cultivation, maize production, cocoa cultivation, tick-borne disease control, contour tillage, population education, and ploughing with draught-animal power. In addition to various SEC replications within a country, the multiplier effects of its method are felt beyond national boundaries. For example, extension specialists from Ghana, Malawi, Ethiopia, France, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines who had been trained by FAO on this SEC method and implemented such programmes have now served as consultants and resource persons to train their counterparts, and/or have assisted in similar SEC replications in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Liberia, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Morocco, Tunisia, Rwanda, Burundi, Guinea, Jamaica, and Honduras.
The usefulness of SEC
The strategic extension campaign (SEC) is not an alternative to the conventional extension programme or activity. SEC is, and should be, an integral part of the programmes of an agricultural extension service. The effectiveness and efficiency of such a service could be increased because of SEC's emphasis on its problem-solving orientation, participatory planning approach, intensive extension personnel training, multimedia materials development, and extension management, monitoring, and evaluation procedures. Its activities should be carried out by extension personnel and to support the ministry of agriculture's policies, strategies, and priority programmes. The strategic extension campaign is useful and important to an agricultural extension service for the following reasons:
· It advocates a participatory planning approach.
· It has a needs-based and demand-driven orientation.
· It uses a strategic planning and integrated systems approach.
· It considers the human and behavioural dimensions.
· It has a problem-solving orientation.
· It employs a cost-effective multimedia approach.
· It provides specific extension support materials and training.
· It has built-in process documentation and evaluation procedures.
· Its method is applicable to other extension programmes.
Participatory Planning Approach
This participatory approach extension method is responsive to intended beneficiaries' agricultural development problems and information needs because its extension objectives, strategies, methods, messages, and multimedia materials are specifically developed on the basis of survey results of their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) vis-a-vis the recommended agricultural technologies. Such a participatory approach in planning SEC activities increases the degree of relevance, and thus acceptability, of extension messages or recommendations among intended beneficiaries who are consulted during the planning process regarding their priority concerns and needs. It does not assume the target beneficiaries (i.e., farmers) to be ignorant or requiring all the information there is to know. Rather, it tries to understand and assess farmers' local indigenous knowledge, values, and belief system on farming practices, which may be good, need to be improved, or perhaps need to be discouraged. In short, it follows the well-known principles of rural reconstruction: "Start with what people already know," and "Build on what they already have."
Needs-Based and Demand-Driven Orientation
In order to make the best use of available extension resources, SEC activities concentrate on meeting the information, education, and training needs of intended target beneficiaries. Rather than providing them with the spectrum of information and skills related to a given recommended technology, SEC activities are geared to narrowing the gaps between knowledge, attitudes, and/or appropriate practice levels of the target beneficiaries vis-a-vis the technology recommendations. Furthermore, the focus of SEC activities is to create a demand (through information and motivation approaches) and/or to satisfy the demand (through education and training) among the intended target beneficiaries for the necessary relevant knowledge and skills for adopting the recommended technologies. Such a method needs to apply bottom-up and participatory planning procedures which will give high priority in meeting the interests and needs of the target beneficiaries. Tailoring the SEC messages and activities to the specific needs of the intended beneficiaries would not only increase the chances of success, but also would increase the efficiency in resources utilization.
Strategic Planning and Integrated Systems Approach
The SEC method advocates an integrated and holistic approach in extension strategy development, programme planning and management, training, media and materials development, and monitoring and evaluation. To ensure its relevance to audience needs and to utilize its resources efficiently, it relies heavily on both quantitative data and qualitative information obtained from target beneficiaries (i.e., farmers) to assist in problem analysis, objective formulation, strategy development, and management planning. It applies a strategic planning approach in programming and managing its activities to achieve maximum outputs or results using minimal inputs or resources in the shortest time possible. SEC activities such as surveys, strategy and management planning, multimedia materials design and development, training, field implementation, monitoring, and evaluation are integrated as a system, which is also an integrated part of a larger extension programme which has linkages with relevant agencies or units dealing with research, inputs-supplies, training, and marketing.
Human and Behavioural Dimensions
In order to minimize the heavy technology bias of many extension activities, the SEC method gives adequate consideration to human behavioural aspects, such as socio-psychological, sociocultural, and socioeconomic factors which may facilitate or impede adoption, or continued practice, of recommended technologies by farmers. Without sufficient understanding of their positive or negative attitudes and behaviour towards a given technology, the technology transfer process would be slow and ineffective, especially if the extension emphasis is on appropriate technology application by farmers. There is considerable evidence to suggest that nonadoption of a recommended agricultural technology or innovation is often related to, or caused by, nontechnological factors such as social, psychological, cultural, and economic problems.
The SEC method gives due attention to human and environmental factors which may influence the important decision-making process related to agricultural technology adoption and practices. It employs a behavioural science analysis, based on a participatory needs assessment and problem identification of the target au