The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) together with the World Agroforestry Centre and partners will organise an international conference entitled ‘Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Linking Knowledge to Policy and Action for Food and Livelihoods’ from 15 – 18 November 2011.

The event, which takes place in Nairobi, Kenya, will bring together farmers and some of the world’s leading thinkers, policy makers, extension practitioners, researchers, development experts, academia, donors and the media. The conference is aimed at sharing knowledge of best practices, and building coalitions of various development actors to advocate policy reforms and innovations in extension and advisory services.

The conference will address four themes: policy challenges in agricultural extension, capacity development, modern tools and approaches for delivering extension services, and learning networks for fostering continuous innovation in extension. A media competition on the status of extension and advisory services in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries has been launched, leading up to the conference.

The conference is expected to come up with best practices and policy options for improving extension and advisory services, and priorities for research, capacity development and investment to improve the impact of extension and advisory services for smallholder farmers in developing countries.

For too long, extension and advisory services have been neglected. This has been detrimental to the advancement of agricultural and rural development in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and beyond. As a result, smallholder farmers, particularly those in remote rural communities have suffered. The situation is further compounded by their inability to effectively communicate their needs and the failure of other actors to understand these needs. It is extensionists and other advisors who normally facilitate the smooth flow of information and knowledge exchange at community level. In recent years, efforts have been made to reform extension and advisory services in agriculture. The success and impact of these efforts will be reviewed, shared and new pathways developed at this international conference, which is expected to be attended by over 300 participants.

CTA has teamed up with national, regional and international partners to organise this conference. These include:

• World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)
• African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS)
• Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
• Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS)
• International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
• NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency )
• International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA)
• African Network for Agriculture, Agro forestry and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE)
• European Initiative for Agricultural Research for Development (EIARD)
• Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago (FSA, UWI)
• Institute for Research Extension and Training in Agriculture of the University of South Pacific (IRETA, USP)
• Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI)
• Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya.

For more information and to register for the conference, visit http://extensionconference2011.cta.int/. Abstracts for papers, videos, case studies, photo collages or posters should be submitted before 15 July. The deadline for submissions for the journalists’ competition is 15 August.