Reviving agricultural advisory and extension services in sub-Saharan Africa

The Inter-réseaux Développement rural – IRAM – Ambre conseil/CERFRANCE – CIRAD group was mobilised by the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement, or “AFD”) in order to spark discussion on agricultural advisory services. The objective is to provide the AFD with elements for strategic reflection and encourage discussions with partner countries and in international forums on agricultural advisory services. It was against this backdrop that IRAM and CIRAD were asked to produce this document. It is the culmination of several expert assessments of agricultural advisory services in Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon, Niger and Ivory Coast. A number of stakeholders also contributed case studies and helped proofread this report: AFD, AFDI (Agriculteurs Français et Développement International), Ambre conseil/CERFRANCE, APROSSA (Association pour la Promotion de la Sécurité et de la Souveraineté Alimentaires au Burkina), AVSF (Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières), CIRAD (Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement), CORADE, FERT, Inter-réseaux, IRAM (Institut de Recherche et d'Applications des Méthodes de développement). Those case studies are available on Inter-réseaux’s website (www.inter-reseaux.org).