Demand Driven Agricultural Advisory Services

An informal group of representatives of bilateral and mul ti lat er alcooperation agencies and institutions involved in agricultural developmentin the countries of sub-Saharan Africa was set up in1995 out of a meeting hosted by the Swiss Agency for Development andCooperation in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.This group comprises representatives of the cooperation agencies of Austria,Denmark (Danida), France (MAE), Germany (GTZ), the Netherlands(DGIS), Sweden (Sida), Switzerland (SDC), UK (DFID) and the USA(USAID), as well as representatives of the FAO, the IFAD, the EuropeanCommission (EC/DGVIII), the CTA (Technical Centre for Agricultural andRural Cooperation) and the World Bank.Through a series of case studies and joint refl ections, this 'Neuchâtel InitiativeGroup' is helping to bring a measure of convergence to thinking onthe objectives, methods and means of support for ag ri cul tur al extensionpolicies.