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Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services
Engaging Extension and Advisory Service Providers in Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture
Part I: Focus on Malawi
Dr. Vickie A. Sigman
Consultant Senior Agricultural Extension Specialist
MEAS, University of Illinois
SPRING-MEAS Webinar Arlington, VA October 29, 2014
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Part I: Integrating Agriculture and Nutrition in Malawi
● TODAY’S WEBINAR
First in the two-part series
About integrating agriculture and nutrition in Malawi within the agricultural extension and nutrition education context.
Based on findings from a recent assessment, commissioned by USAID/Malawi, of Malawi’s
• agricultural extension, • nutrition education, and • integrated agriculture-nutrition programs and systems.1
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Malawi Assessment
Purpose: investigate these different programs and systems with the aim of informing the design of an activity to strengthen extension and nutrition outreach services in Malawi’s Feed the Future focus districts.
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● Team
Assessment
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● Framework: programs and people: 3 types, 3 sectors ● Methodology: visits, interviews, focus group, review
workshop, literature review
Today’s Presentation
● Key findings: Context Structure and Linkages of Nutrition Delivery Systems
Challenges and Possibilities
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Context
●Key statistics • 85% of livelihoods from agriculture • Over 50% under the poverty line • 47% of under-fives stunted
●Key policies and initiatives • Agriculture Policies2
• Nutrition Policies3
• Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN)4
• New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition5
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Overarching Nutrition Structure & Linkages
↕
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Office of the President and the
Cabinet
Department of Nutrition &
HIV&AIDS (DNHA)
Donors
SUN Task Force Tech Working
Groups National Nutrition
Committee
Private Sector Entities
(business, farmer associations)
Public Sector (ministries,
academe, research)
Civil Society Sector
(NGOs, media)
Ministry Structure & Linkages
MINISTRY Agriculture & Food Security Health
Gender, Children &
Social Welfare DISTRICT-LEVEL Staff Coordination
Nutrition Officer Own Committee
District Nutritionist Own Committee
Com Dev Officer
FIELD-LEVEL Staff
Ag Ext Dev Officer
Health Surveil-lance Agent
Com Dev Ass’t
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National-Level: DNHA
District-Level : Ministry of Local Government (District Nutrition Coordination Committee)
Private & Civil Society (NGO) Linkages: Participation on committees or working through or with field level staff.
Delivery Systems
How are farmers and farm families being engaged in nutrition-sensitive agriculture and other nutrition-related activities?
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• Assessment Identifies • Various systems • Department of Agriculture
Extension Services (DAES) • Care Groups • Farmer Organizations • Blended Care Groups/
Farmer Organizations
DAES (Department of Ag Ext Services)
● Public sector system – largest provider of agricultural extension services – has a Food and Nutrition Unit
● Field-staff • Some trained in nutrition (through DAES Food & Nutrition, NGOs,
or SUN) typically in crop diversification; six food groups; food preparation, processing, storage, & preservation, cooking demonstrations; other SUN-developed messages)
• Incorporated as part of their every day work • Collaborate with health field-staff • Engaged by NGOs to implement NGO-funded nutrition-sensitive
agriculture projects, or NGO staff work collaboratively with DAES field staff
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DAES Methods
● Lead Farmers • Respected farmer, trained by ag extension, voluntarily
extends to others
● Mndandandas • Contiguous fields, best practices, demonstrated by
extensionists and farmers, on different crops
● Model Village
• Various service providers from various sectors, assist in
overall development, village is then a teaching tool
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Care Groups
● In Malawi: • widely-used by public sector health and NGOs • system adopted by SUN • tested by NGOs implementing USAID activities
● Focus: improving maternal and child health and nutrition ● Characterized: volunteer health educators, neighborhood
groups, behavior change, household level ● Primarily a health and nutrition system; limited agriculture
integration
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CARE GROUPS NEIGHBOR
GROUPS
COORDINATOR
SUPERVISORS PROMOTERS
Care Group Structure6
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Diagram referenced in End Note #6.
Farmer Organizations
● Private-sector approach ● Two large apex organizations:
• Farmers Union of Malawi • National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi
(NASFAM) • Today’s example
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NASFAM
● Structure
● Paid extension staff
• Field officers work at association level, with lead farmers, DAES staff
● Development entity supports nutrition activities • production and utilization of diversified crops • nutrition education
● Lead Farmers/others receive training • scaled through clubs and out to community
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Farmers Clubs (10-15
farmers)
Group Action
Centers (10-15 Clubs)
Farmer Associations
(10-15 Group Action
Centers)
Innovation & Productivity
Center (Associations grouped in a
District)
Blended Care Groups / Farmer Organizations
● New system, introduced and tested by USAID/Malawi partner
● Explicit linkages between the two systems: Care Group and Farmer Association.
● Example: Promoters are recruited from NASFAM membership - information flows among groups/clubs
● One example: peanut production for income and home consumption
● Integration driven by both ag & nutrition concerns 16
Challenges and Possibilities
● Personnel and Related Support Issues ● Coordination ● Investments
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Challenges and Possibilities: Personnel and Related Support Issues
• Coverage • Capacity • Conditions of Service • Incentives
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Challenges and Possibilities: Coverage
Challenge: Coverage • High-vacancy rates = ratio of 1:2000 to 4000;
difficulties recruiting women • Health Surveillance Agent numbers also low
Possibilities: Coverage • Lead farmers • Improved transportation • More mass media & ICT • Strengthen GOM- NGO coordination • Hire more agents, moderate expectations
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Challenges and Possibilities: Capacity
Challenge: Capacity • Numerous subjects including nutrition-sensitive ag • Limited refresher training • Not all have participated in nutrition training • Learning aids lacking
Possibilities: Capacity • Peer to peer training • Self-paced learning modules • More ICT • Advocate for increased budget for training
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Challenges and Possibilities Conditions of Service & Incentives
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE Challenge
• Sub-standard housing & minimal transport
• Lack of communication tools
• Narrow opportunities Possibilities
• Long-term costed plan
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INCENTIVES Challenge
• Conditions of service and training
• NGO – GOM extension; wide-differences
Possibilities • GOM & NGO develop
standards and protocols
Challenges and Possibilities: Coordination
Challenges: • Many actors • Coordinating structures understaffed; few function effectively • Ministries and entities have own set of coordination
committees • Lack of funds to coordinate at the field level Possibilities • Streamline, realign, merge, the various coordinating
structures and committees • Establish a coordination fund to support field-level
coordination across sectors
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Challenges: Investments
Challenges: • GOM has numerous priorities and limited funds • Many systems require investment, but particularly
public sector agricultural extension • Resources needed to address challenges
identified • Data to guide investments lacking
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Possibilities: Investments
Possibilities: • Study cost-benefit of investments in various
systems • Use resources more efficiently • Main contributor is GOM
• Improve DAES capacity to advocate • Some donor contributions to GOM extension;
most bi- and multilateral donors finance NGO-based and private sector extension and advisory services • Given expectations, reconsider trend
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THANK YOU
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End Notes
1 Sigman, V., Rhoe, V., Peters, J., Banda, T, & Malindi, G. (2014). Assessment of agricultural extension, nutrition education, and integrated agriculture-nutrition extension services in the Feed the Future focus districts in Malawi. Urbana-Champaign, IL: University of Illinois, MEAS. Available from http://www.meas-extension.org/meas-offers/country_studies/malawi-ii
2 GOM/MOAFS (2011). Malawi agricultural sector wide approach: A prioritized and harmonized Agricultural Development Agenda: 2011-2015. Lilongwe: GOM/MOAFS. Retrieved from ftp://ftp.fao.org/tc/tca/CAADP%20TT/CAADP%20Implementation/CAADP%20Post-Compact/Investment%20Plans/National%20Agricultural%20Investment%20Plans/Malawi%20Post%20Compact%20Investment%20Plan.pdf
3 GOM/DNHA (2009). National nutrition policy and strategic plan (2007-2011). Lilongwe: DNHA. Retrieved from https://extranet.who.int/nutrition/gina/sites/default/files/MWI%202009%20National%20Nutrition%20Policy%20Strategic%20Plan%202009.pdf
4 GOM. (nd). National nutrition education and communication strategy, 2011-2016. Lilongwe: GOM. Retrieved from http://www.dnha.gov.mw/documents/NEC_Strategy_2012.pdf
5 DFID. (2013). Country cooperation framework to support the New Alliance for Food Security & Nutrition in Malawi. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-new-alliance-for-food-security-and-nutrition-malawi-cooperation-framework
6 Food Security and Nutrition Network Social and Behavioral Change Task Force. (2014). Care groups: A training manual for program design and implementation. Washington, DC: Technical and Operational Performance Support Program. Retrieved from http://www.coregroup.org/resources/462-care-groups-a-training-manual-for-program-design-and-implementation
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This presentation was given:
By Vickie A. Sigman, on behalf of MEAS
SPRING- MEAS Webinar October 29, 2014
Arlington, VA
Disclaimer:
This presentation was made possible by the generous support of
the American people through the United States Agency for
International Development, USAID. The contents are the
responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the
views of USAID or the United States Government.
www.meas-extension.org