Delegates examine impact of agric advisory services

Agriculture experts have called on African governments to play a key role in the promotion of agricultural advisory services. The call was made yesterday by Dr Jeff Mutimba, the Vice Chair Board of the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS), during an agricultural Advisory Services meeting in Kigali. He said that there was need to strengthen the capacity of service providers in the agriculture sector, adding it was difficult to ascertain what extent their capacities should be upgraded.“We need to create a platform where all the service providers can come together, share knowledge, experience and identify the best opportunities for success…because this will help in increasing agricultural output on the continent,” Dr Mutimba said.The official said that one of the challenges still facing agriculture advisory service providers across Africa was lack of systematic studies of had been done, and called for extension research in agriculture advisory services.He asked investors to invest in the agriculture advisory services saying that this will contribute a lot to the continental agricultural development agenda especially in poverty reduction through increased agriculture production among African countries.“I encourage Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources and the farmers to work closely with AFAAS because all the efforts that we are trying to put in place are geared towards the best ways of providing meaningful services to farmers wherever they are in all parts of the African continent” Dr Mutimba said.In his presentation, Innocent Musabyimana, the Deputy Director General at Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) in charge of Agriculture Extension, said that a survey which was recently carried out indicate agriculture advisory service providers in the country are only able to reach out to 32 per cent of the population.He said his institution would come up with more strategies and mechanisms aimed at increasing the number service providers in the agriculture sector.He said that currently each sector across the country has a service provider and an agronomist who help farmers with the necessary information and knowledge on how best they can improve their farming skills.Musabyimana noted that RAB will collaborate with AFAAS to help improve the country’s agriculture sector, particularly through advisory services.

National

Delegates examine impact of agric advisory services