1. Sasakawa Africa Association, Gurd Sholla, Daminarof Building, Addis Ababa 1000, Ethiopia 2. Sasakawa Africa Association, Sasakawa Peace Foundation Building, Tokyo 105-0001, Japan
The value chain extension strategy of Sasakawa Africa Association focuses on improving the capacity of national agricultural extension systems and follows various thematic areas along the value chain to address key challenges accountable for low income households and poverty in Africa. Farmer learning platform is a model designed to increase crop productivity and encompasses demonstration plots where technological packages demonstrated significantly outperformed other technology plots in crop productivity and average profit margins. Enterprise-oriented production, postharvest and trading centers are value adding models designed to improve the effectiveness of extension and adoption of postharvest and agricultural processing technologies by producers. The use of the above along with necessary capacity building has facilitated the development of profitable business linkages of smallholder farmers with financial institutions and reliable market opportunities. The community association trader-trainer model is a market-oriented business approach applied in combination with other extension models. In 2018, 297 community-based commodity association trader-trainers were mobilized and capacitated to improve farmer group dynamics and developed collective input and output access and cluster aggregation centers at community level where various agricultural produces were mobilized and collectively aggregated, and valued at about 3.9 million USD. The supervised enterprise project model is an innovative agricultural extension model developed along with above models for capacity development of extension agents and transfer of technologies to smallholder farmers. Over 6000 supervised enterprise projects have been introduced into 27 universities in 12 African countries for training front-line extension officers and extension delivery to farming communities.
M Lemma, B Gebremedhin, D Hoekstra, A Bogale. Current status of agricultural extension services for market oriented agricultural development in Ethiopia: results from a household baseline survey. African Research Review, 2016, 10(3): 1–20 https://doi.org/10.4314/afrrev.v10i3.1
2
B E Swanson, R P Bentz, A J Sofranko. Improving agricultural extension. A reference manual. 3rd ed. Rome, Italy: Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), 1997
3
F Paulo. The politics of education: culture, power, and liberation. In: International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Greenwood Publishing Group: Education, 2008, 1064–8615
4
P Anandajayasekeram, R Puskur, Workneh Sindu, D Hoekstra. Concepts and practices in agricultural extension in developing countries. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), 2008, 275
5
B Fofana, M C S Wopereis, A Bationo, H Breman, A Mando. Millet nutrient use efficiency as affected by natural soil fertility, mineral fertilizer use and rainfall in the West African Sahel. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 2008, 81(1): 25–36 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-007-9146-y
6
B Fofana, H Breman, R J Carsky, H Van Reuler, A F Tamelokpo, K D Gnakpenou. Using mucuna and phosphorus fertilizer to increase maize grain yield and nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency in the coastal savanna of Togo. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 2004, 68(3): 213–222 https://doi.org/10.1023/B:FRES.0000019457.43677.08
7
K A Gomez, A A Gomez. Statistical procedures for agricultural research. Brisbane, Australia: An International Rice Research Institute, John Wiley, 1984
8
L Halos-Kim. Enterprise-Oriented Postharvest & Agro-processing Models. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), 2019
9
L Halos-Kim, T Mado. Improving postharvest systems—promoting agro-industrial development in Africa. An account of the SAA agro-processing program (1994–2004). Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), 2005
10
B Fofana, A Tamélokpo, M C S Wopereis, H Breman, K Dzotsi, R J Carsky. Nitrogen use efficiency by maize as affected by a mucuna short fallow and P application in the coastal savanna of West Africa. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 2005, 71(3): 227–237 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-004-5084-0
11
M C S Wopereis, A Tamélokpo, K Ezui, D Gnakpénou, B Fofana, H Breman. Mineral fertilizer management strategies for maize on farmer fields with differing in organic input history in northern Togo. Field Crops Research, 2006, 96(2–3): 355–362 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2005.08.004
12
A Bandaogo, B Fofana, S Youl, E Safo, R Abaidoo, O Andrews. Effect of fertilizer deep placement with urea supergranule on nitrogen use efficiency of irrigated rice in Sourou Valley (Burkina Faso). Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 2015, 102(1): 79–89 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-014-9653-6
13
L Halos-Kim. Enabling Smallholder Producers Capture the Economic Benefit of Food Value Chain. Presented at the 11th Regional Conference of SEAAFSRE Innovation System Perspective in Agriculture and Rural Development for Smallholder Farmers’. Pretoria, South Africa. November 19–21, 2012
14
L Halos-Kim. Strategies to improve the adoption of postharvest handling and agro-processing technologies in Africa. Ethiopian Journal of Applied Science and Technology, 2013, 1(41): 41–50
15
R J Bawden. Systematic development: a learning approach to change. Occasional paper No. 1. Penrith, Australia: Centre for Systematic Development, University of Western Sydney Hawkesbury Richmond Australia, 1995
16
J A Kwarteng, N. Deola African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development. Ghana: Public-private partnership for responsive extension education: the case of SAFE and UCC, 2016, 16(1), 1–16
17
A Kanté. An assessment of the Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education’s (SAFE) training program in Mali: graduates’ perceptions of the training’s impact as well as opportunities and constraints related to supervised enterprise projects (SEPs). Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Stillwater, USA: Oklahoma State University, 2010
18
L E C Developing. DLEC Project. Mali: In-depth Assessment of Extension and Advisory Services, USAID, 2018
19
J Kwarteng, S. Akuamoah-Boateng Mid-career extension graduates’ perceptions of the impact of a demand-driven, extension curriculum in Ghana. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 2012, 52(2): 257–276
20
N Deola, M Akeredolu, I Oladele. Capacity Development for Scaling up Climate Smart Agriculture: the SAFE Model of Experiential Learning. In: SASAE & AFAAS Proceedings of the Joint AFAAS Africa Wide Extension week & SASAE 53rd Annual Conference. Durban, Kwazulu Natal Pronvince, South Africa, 2017
