This document discusses the history and current state of agricultural extension services in Malawi, as well as ideas for improving extension efforts going forward. It notes that agriculture is the main livelihood for most Malawians but productivity needs to increase. The history of extension involved different approaches, and currently extension aims to be demand-driven and pluralistic. Challenges include lack of coordination, coverage, and training. The document recommends strengthening partnerships between farmers, researchers, and extension providers to improve market-oriented, coordinated extension services nationwide.

1. AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION
SERVICES IN MALAWI
PAST, PRESENT AND THE FUTURE
PAPER PRESENTED AT MEAS SYMPOSIUM 1ST TO 5TH JUNE 2015
Washington DC

2. PRESENTATION OUTLINE
• INTRODUCTION
• MALAWI AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION HISTORY
• PRESENT AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICES
• RE-THINKING AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION
SERVICES
• CONCLUSION

3. INTRODUCTION
• Agriculture main source of livelihoods for 80%
of Malawians
• Contributes 39%to GDP
• Smallholder farmers play vital role in
agricultural production
• Extension key to agricultural productivity

4. MALAWI AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION
HISTORY
• Agricultural Extension undergone many changes
• Teaching / prescriptive – forced adoption /
cohesion
• Preferential support to individual farmers e.g the
master farmers
• Training and visit (Block Extension)
• Specialized services – commodity based
extension with assured market

5. PRESENT EXTENSION SERVICES
Vision: All farmers should demand and access
quality extension services from those that
best provide them
• Pluralistic and demand- driven extension services
provision
• Emphasis on decentralised Coordination,
standardised service delivery, and quality
extension services
• Distinctive roles for extension players

6. Role of Public Sector
• Development and provision of policy
guidelines for extension
• Coordination of stakeholders
• Pre – and in- service training provision to
extension workers
• Provision of IEC materials
• Strengthening farmer organisations
• Provision of conducive environment for
private sector development- TWG, FISP

7. Role of farmer organisations
• Adequately represent interests of farmers and
provide services to their members
• Contribute to policy formulation
• Offer training and advisory services to their
members from within their own organisation
or by hiring staff or farmer-to-farmer

8. Role of private sector
Private sector looks at profit and not for profit
organisations like NGOs
• Provision and delivery of effective extension
services
• Developing entrepreneurship
• Joint planning and implementation of extension
activities
• Contribute to policy formulation
• Commercializing and privatizing extension

9. Academia
• Development of curriculum responding to
extension demands
• Training of extension staff
• Out reach program
• Extension research

10. Successes of present extension
• Pluralism in extension provision
• Farmers demanding services
• Bottom up participatory approaches used
FFS, FBS, Clusters, lead farmer, farmer led
demonstrations
• Coordination structures (DAESS) in use at all
levels
• Participation of extension players in agriculture
programs eg Technical working groups

11. Challenges in present extension
services
• High vacancy rates
• Poor coordination
• Limited coverage of private extension
• Poor infrastructure
• Limited ability to demand services by farmers
• Limited in-services and upgrading training for
extension staff

12. RE-THINKING EXTENSION SERVICES
To strengthen and upscale the successes that
are being registered
• Operationalise and strengthen DAESS
• Quality control and standardisation of
extension services –staff, IEC, approaches
• Strengthen farmer led extension
• Strengthen Research – Extension – Farmer
linkages

13. RE-THINKING EXTENSION Cont...
• Improve extension coverage
• Build and strengthen partnership in extension
• Promote market oriented extension and
advisory services
• Strengthen mainstreaming of cross-cutting
issues in extension services provision

14. CONCLUSION
• Agriculture sector and the environment
continuously changing, its a must that
extension continuously responds the changes
• Continuous capacity development of
extension workers is a must
• All extension providers and those supporting
extension must effectively coordinate and play
their distinctive roles

15. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
ZIKOMO KWAMBIRI

16. Organisation of Ministry of
Agriculture
• Ministry and Ministry Departments
• 8 Agricultural Development Divisions (ADDs)
• 28 Districts
• 185 Extension Planning Areas (EPAS)
• 2880 Sections
• Villages
• 4,000,000 Farm families

17. DAES Subject Matter Specialists –
National to Sectional Level
National, ADD, District levels
Extension Methodologies and Systems, Food
and Nutrition, Agricultural Communication,
Agribusiness, Gender and Extension Support
Services
Extension Planning Area level
A coordinator for all programs
Sectional level
Frontline Extension Worker implementing all
Programs with farmers