The document discusses the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services and its goals of strengthening knowledge management, country forums, partnerships, capacity building, policy advocacy, and conducting studies related to Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services (AEAS) in Africa. It explains that country forums are important as they bring together AEAS actors to innovate, learn from each other, support AEAS development nationally, strengthen linkages to agriculture development plans, exchange information and lessons learned, and conduct joint studies. The document also provides an overview of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, its mission to help smallholder farmers lift themselves out of poverty through sustainable productivity increases and access to finance, and its three-part strategy for 2015-2020 to catalyze agricultural

1. African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services
• Championing Knowledge Management in AEAS
in the Continent (ICTs, Networking etc)
• Strengthening Country Fora for national level
engagement, for advocacy and policy influence
• Partnerships and collaboration with all ARD actors
for scaling up and out innovations
• Capacity Strengthening for AEAS
• Policy and advocacy for AEAS at national,
regional and continental level
• Conducting strategic studies and sharing results,
conducting learning events and assessing
impact of AEAS interventions.

2. Why Country Fora?
• Brings together AEAS actors to innovate, learn, share
• Supports/ Leads AEAS development at national level
• Strong linkages of AEAS stakeholders with CAADP process
• Exchange of information and Knowledge
• Shares lessons
• Identifies opportunities for providing services to each other-
learning process
• Innovation on AEAS ( innovating, piloting, scaling up and out)
• Capacity and professionalism
• Identifies areas of joint studies in AEAS at national level
• Advocacy and policy support and influence

3. Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA): Dynamic partnership working across the
African continent to help millions of small scale farmers and their families lift themselves out of
poverty and hunger. MISSION: Catalyze an agricultural transformation in Africa through
innovation-driven, sustainable, productivity increases and access to finance that improves the
livelihoods of smallholder farmers. STRATEGY (2015 -2020) will focus on three components:
1. Catalyze an agricultural transformation in key agro-ecological zones on the continent (50%
of resources)
2. Unlock the value of private and public sector investments to sustain agricultural
transformation (25% of resources)
3. Develop capacities and capabilities that will strengthen and sustain the foundation for
African agricultural transformation in the future (25% of resources)
AGRA sees EAS as key to help smallholder farmers benefit from the transformation.
- Works closely with national governments, private sector, civil society to ensure extension
services are rejuvenated and in tandem with the changing agricultural landscape.
- Works with universities to review and improve curricula
- Pilots innovative models including private sector led extension, community led extension
services and use of ICT for extension/agriculture

4. This handout is available on the
symposium website