Focal area approach: a participatory community planning approach to agricultural extension and market development in Kenya

The focal area approach has been developed and applied by the public agricultural extension service in Kenya to harness the comparative advantages of various players for the overall development of rural areas. Participatory processes have been institutionalized in public extension and have brought new meaning to both extension and understanding rural development. The interactive engagement of smallholder farmers by public extension and the conducive environment created by the approach for other service providers to interact with communities has brought many advantages. The participation of women and youth, the poor and vulnerable groups in generating information and solutions to address food security and other rural needs has been impressive. The knowledge gained from the interaction has contributed in influencing policy change and research priorities. Smallholder farmers have formed common interest groups, which has enabled them to move from subsistence to business farming associated with increased knowledge, increased productivity and increased demand for produce. The approach has enabled extension service providers to reach more farmers per year than they did previously. The partnerships created between public extension with other institutions contributed to enhancement of knowledge and skills that has enabled the approach to spread to more areas in the country. Further capacity development among the extension providers and formulation of supportive policies that encourage demand-driven extension will lead to further improvement of the approach and scaling up.