By Dr. Austen Moore pr

1. Building Agricultural Extension
Capacity in Post-Conflict Settings:
A Collective Volume
Austen Moore
Paul McNamara
MEAS Project
University of Illinois
MEAS Symposium 2015

2. Background & Rationale
Extension and Conflict:
• Extension, via agricultural development, is linked
to conflict
– Agriculture-related factors (e.g. poverty and hunger)
contribute to conflict(Lagi, Betrand, & Bar-Yam, 2011)
– Disproportionate number of conflicts begin in rural
areas dependent on agriculture(Zaur, 2006)
– Effective extension addresses these factors
• Conflict disrupts agriculture more than any sector
– Reduces productivity and compromises food security
– Damages and compromises extension systems(Collier, 2006)

3. Background & Rationale
Extension & Post-Conflict Development/Peacebuilding:
• Extension is a central post-conflict development strategy
– Addresses poverty, livelihoods, and food security (Wiggins & Leturque, 2010)
– Many MEAS countries are emerging from recent conflict
• Extension promotes stability
– Represents a public service targeted at populations most prone to
conflict
– Addresses causal factors of conflict (e.g. poverty and hunger)
– Demonstrates governmental commitment to the rural poor (Collier, 2006)
• Extension challenges in post-conflict settings are unique
• Literature base requires expansion

4. Purpose of the Book Project
The purpose of this collective volume is to:
a) investigate the experience and issues involved
with rebuilding extension systems in post-
conflict settings
b) evaluate the impact of different extension policy
approaches and practice in such settings
c) identify the key elements needed to effectively
rebuild agricultural extension systems and
programs in post-conflict contexts

5. Approach & Process
1) Conduct literature review to develop background
chapters
– Provide an overview of the links between extension and
conflict
2) Identify authors to prepare country-specific case
studies on post-conflict extension
3) Authors prepare initial chapter drafts
4) Coordinate writing workshop
5) Engage a expert to synthesize country experiences to:
– Determine lessons learned
– Generate recommendations
6) Editorial and publishing procedures

6. Case Study Chapters
Iraq – Afghanistan – Republic of Georgia – Sri Lanka
Myanmar – South Sudan – Sierra Leone – Liberia
Democratic Republic of Congo

7. Case Study Authors
Iraq
• Dr. Edwin Price
• Director
• Center for Conflict &
Development
• Texas A&M University
Afghanistan
• Dr. Chris Pannkuk
• Director
• International Research &
Agricultural Development
• Washington State University
Republic of Georgia
• Dr. Anastasiya Shtaltovna
• Associated Researcher
• Center for Research & Development
• University of Bonn

8. Case Study Authors
Sri Lanka
• Dr. Wijaya Jayatilaka
• Senior Lecturer
• Dept. of Agricultural Extension
• University of Peradeniya
Myanmar
• Dr. Joshua Ringer
• CEO
• Indigdev LLC
South Sudan
• Dr. Robert Strong
• Assistant Professor
• Dept. of Agricultural Leadership, Education, &
Communications
• Texas A&M University

9. Case Study Authors
Sierra Leone
• Dr. Paul McNamara
• Director
• MEAS Project
• University of Illinois
Liberia
• Dr. Austen Moore
• Post-Doctoral Research
Associate
• MEAS Project
• University of Illinois
Democratic Republic of Congo
• Dr. Catherine Ragasa, Dr. John Ulimwengu,
Dr. Josee Randriamamonjy, Dr. Thaddee
Badibanga
• International Food Policy Research Institute

10. Synthesis Chapter Authors
Role of NGOs in Post-Conflict Extension
• S. Walsh, T. Remington, A. Chassy, L. Kamara,
K. Bhattarcharyya, Z. Zewdie, J. Schofield, A. Okecha
• Catholic Relief Services
Post-Conflict Extension in a Global Context
• Dr. Ian Christoplos
• Senior Researcher
• Danish Institute for International Studies

11. Writing Workshop
• Held in February 2015 in Washington, DC
• Individual chapter presentations
• Designed to:
– Produce revisions and recommendations
• Written peer review
• Group verbal review
– Generate critical questions
– Identify emergent themes

12. Writing Workshop
Workshop Participants

13. Emergent Themes from the Workshop
• Capacity loss
– Weakened institutional capacity
• “Brain drain” and attrition
– Decreased individual capacity
• Lack of training opportunities and information
• “Forgetting by not doing” (Collier & Duponchel, 2013)
• Funding dynamics
– Short-term funding “bubbles” vs. long-term
resource constraints

14. Emergent Themes from the Workshop
• Pluralism challenges & competing priorities
– Emergency services vs. capacity development
– Circumventing governments vs. collaboration
• Transitional governments and short-term
extension bodies
– Governments operating without established
policies and/or developing new policies
– Short-term non-traditional extension providers
• South Sudan Armed Forces agricultural battalion
• US-military Provincial Reconstruction Teams and
Agribusiness Development Teams in Afghanistan

15. Emergent Themes from the Workshop
• Extension must deliberately be conflict-
sensitive
– Extension for social cohesion
• Reincorporation of marginalized and displaced peoples,
former fighters, etc.
– Manage roles of governmental vs. local authorities
• e.g. sheiks, warlords
– Consider extension impacts on inequalities and
marginalization
• Consider land rights in extension
• Safety and security considerations facing
personnel

16. Next Steps
1) Finalize chapters and case studies
– Target date: June 2015
2) Analysis and synthesis
– Target date: August 2015
3) Editing and refinement
– Target date: September 2015
4) Publishing
– Target date: January 2016

17. Disclaimer
This presentation was made possible by the generous support of the American
people through the United States Agency for International Development, USAID. The
contents are the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the
views of USAID or the United States Government.