Youth Agri Champions Demand Paper 2023

The Challenge:
Extension services are not as effective
as they could be
The Demand:
Invest in extension services
We ask the international community to support the
Many extension services suffer from inadequate
funding and insufficient staffing, leading to
establishment of farmer field schools to provide
training on practices and the use of technologies
overburdened extension workers who lack the
necessary travel budget to reach all smallholders,
that enhance smallholders’ resilience to climate
change. This requires the training of star farmers
particularly those residing in remote regions. In this
and the establishment of their farms as local centers
case, they are often forced to spend their own
money to prevent the most remote communities
of excellence, where other farmers can receive
training. This methodology has proven highly
from going unserved. Furthermore, farmers are not
always able to make the most of the training
successful because it circumvents language barriers
and allows farmers to see climate-smart practices
opportunities extension services provide.
and technologies in action, and witness their
Not all farmers can afford to leave their fields for a
impacts on yields first-hand. The farmer field
schools should be designed to involve young
day or travel without being compensated. When
they do attend and learn useful new techniques,
farmers, who tend to have the technical knowledge
and forward-looking mindset required to advance
farmers often lack the means to implement them,
due to lack of access to credit or the technologies
climate-smart agriculture.
required. Finally, in many countries, the capacity
building landscape (which includes extension
In addition, we ask governments to develop
consistent national strategies and messaging on
services and trainings organized by other actors) is
fragmented. As a result, farmers receive piecemeal
issues such as monocropping and excessive
training rather than a comprehensive curriculum
and may be overburdened by too many trainings
fertilizer use. Both are inconsistent with climatesmart
agriculture principles but continue to be
promoted by other organizations, undermining the
held as part of different programs.
effectiveness of our capacity building efforts. Based
on the latest evidence, governments should
develop regulations to ensure consistent messaging
across organizations.
BKMC staff meet the AgriChampions from Kenya during a field visit
on one of their farms in September 2023
Youth AgriChampions Demand Paper 3