Agricultural Extension: The Kenya Experience

This note, based on a recent study by the Operations Evaluation Department, analyzes the effectiveness of the training and visit (T&V) system of agricultural extension service management in Kenya, through the experience of both the First, and Second National Extension Projects. The main goals of these projects were the institutional development of extension services, and a sustained increase in agricultural productivity. Following a beneficiary assessment on the efficacy of extension services by using contact farmers, and groups, the projects' outcomes, point at the lack of impact on awareness, and adoption of recommended practices, which indicate limited potential for impact on agricultural productivity. This in turn, implies low cost-effectiveness for the T&V approach as applied in Kenya, and, the reason for providing extension services in the country, though still relevant, indicates that a more rational allocation of extension resources could have been more cost-effective. Recommendations suggest to focus more on targeted areas (and groups), where marginal impacts are likely to be the greatest, based on reliable information systems, and indeed, providing less intensive approaches, rather, wider coverage would be preferable, and more cost-effective.