Roles of lead farmers in facilitating uptake of agricultural technologies in collaboration with extension officers: a case of RIPAT approach in Tanzania
Loading...
Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Mkuki na Nyota
Abstract
Low agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa is caused mainly by the low uptake of agricultural technologies resulting from the declining role of public extension services. For example, the existence of a wide extension-farmers’ ratio in Tanzania has limited access to new agricultural technologies and the capacity to turn the information and knowledge into practices for actual development. To contribute to narrowing the Extension-Farmer ratio, the Rural Initiatives for Participatory Agricultural Transformation (RIPAT) approach has been adopted to bridge agricultural technology gaps through promoting the use of lead farmers (LFs) as the principal agents of change in their communities. This paper assesses the roles played by LFs in the uptake of agricultural technologies and how they fill the gap of inadequate extension staff. The study on which this paper is based, involved 384 LFs and non-LFs who were randomly selected from a population of 1800 farmers in Karatu and Singida districts in 2018. The findings show that the use of LFs has narrowed the extension: farmers’ ratio tenfold at the village level and facilitated the uptake of technologies at reduced costs since they are from within the community and are not necessarily paid for. It is concluded that LFs play an important role in bridging agricultural technology gaps. It is recommended that formalization of the use of LFs should be integrated into Tanzania’s public extension system. In addition, there is a need for further research on the performance of LFs.
Description
Book chapter
Keywords
Uptake of technologies, Lead farmers (LF), Extension officers, RIPAT
Citation
Ringo, D. E., Mattee, A. Z. & Urassa, J. K. (2023). Roles of Lead Farmers in Facilitating Uptake of Agricultural Technologies in Collaboration with Extension Officers: A Case of RIPAT Approach in Tanzania. In J. K. Urassa, A. Z. Mattee, E. T. Malisa, D. E. Ringo & J. N. Ng’ang’a (Eds.), Rural Initiatives for Participatory Agricultural Transformation (RIPAT) and Rural Development (pp. 193 - 220) Mkuki na Nyota