Evaluating the role of public agricultural extension and advisory services in promoting agro-ecology transition in Southeast Nigeria

Ezinne Merianchris Emeana, Liz Trenchard, Katharina Dehnen-Schmutz, Siraj Shaikh

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    24 Citations (Scopus)
    421 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Agroecological farming approaches sustain food production with zero or reduced dependence on agro-chemicals. This study investigated the impact of the public agricultural extension activities in enhancing the transition to agroecological approaches, in particular organic farming, in south-eastern Nigeria. Data were collected from 30 farmers and 20 extension personnel using in-depth interviews. The respondents were selected using a purposeful random sampling technique. The results show that extension and advisory activities are influenced by current agricultural policy. Extension personnel currently focus almost exclusively on intensive agricultural practices because of the agricultural transformation agenda which surprisingly ignores the principles of organic farming. Factors such as policy, social, environmental, research, and extension management were observed to impede organic farming transition. It is concluded that there is need for a clearly enunciated organic agriculture policy that supports farmers, organic agricultural research, and information dissemination. A participatory approach in policy formulation and information dissemination that incorporates farmers’ traditional knowledge with capacity to strengthen the agricultural information dissemination structure is recommended to improve agroecological transition.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)123-144
    Number of pages22
    JournalAgroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
    Volume43
    Issue number2
    Early online date14 Sept 2018
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 7 Feb 2019

    Bibliographical note

    This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in
    Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems on 14/9/18, available
    online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/21683565.2018.1509410

    Keywords

    • Agroecology transition
    • extension and advisory services
    • Nigeria
    • organic agriculture development
    • smallholder farmers

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
    • Development
    • Agronomy and Crop Science

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