In the recent i have been following debates on food security in the horn of Africa.Policy makers and researchers have been indeed coming up with good proposals on how best irrigation can help create food security in the region.Israel has always been the reference of a country that is food secure,despite being in an arid land.I absolutely salute this brilliant ideologies.However i still do believe for sustainable food security solution to be realised in the region, We need to review approaches related to extension.
Traditionally extension personnel have been seen as channels or vessels which pass information and new technology to farmers.So routinely has the extension services become to an extent that some farmers do not need the extension services any more and neither do they attend the farmers "barazas" field days ,in the long run farmers still go on with their traditional farming method which are less productive .I do not blame the farmers for their position of not being interested in the extension services.But the extension personnel need to change their techniques of disseminating information to farmers in a more understandable ways.The relevant governing bodies should create training programs on information packaging to the extension personnel. If food security is to be realised in the horn of African region.
For food security to be reality in the region the extension personnel have to be extensively consulted when coming up with new technologies that are to used by farmers.
Remember extension agents represents the face of the research centres in the fields,failure of the success of a new technology only makes the farmers loses confidence in the extension personnel.Which might reduce production in the long run.
Traditionally extension personnel have been seen as channels or vessels which pass information and new technology to farmers.So routinely has the extension services become to an extent that some farmers do not need the extension services any more and neither do they attend the farmers "barazas" field days ,in the long run farmers still go on with their traditional farming method which are less productive .I do not blame the farmers for their position of not being interested in the extension services.But the extension personnel need to change their techniques of disseminating information to farmers in a more understandable ways.The relevant governing bodies should create training programs on information packaging to the extension personnel. If food security is to be realised in the horn of African region.
For food security to be reality in the region the extension personnel have to be extensively consulted when coming up with new technologies that are to used by farmers.
Remember extension agents represents the face of the research centres in the fields,failure of the success of a new technology only makes the farmers loses confidence in the extension personnel.Which might reduce production in the long run.
