If the smallholder farming communities in Africa are to continually adapt to the impacts of climate change as well as sustain their lives and livelihoods, more systematic and easily accessible knowledge and information sharing from credible sources are required. This proposed project, therefore, seeks to strengthen the capacity of the extension system, as a knowledge broker, to transfer proven knowledge, information, and technology to farmers to boost their productivity and resilience, especially in the face of climate change challenges. Most importantly, the project seeks to integrate equitable and inclusive locally led adaptation strategies into the extension system to ensure that the knowledge, information, and technology generated are demand-driven, co-designed, and sustained by the local people. Activities to be undertaken under the project are divided into three work packages namely to: conduct situational analyses and needs assessment of the key actors, their roles, and linkages in the extension systems; co-design and implement targeted capacity strengthening and technical support interventions based on the identified needs of the actors; and create platforms for knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration between and amongst key actors in the extension system. It is expected that through the series of interventions that will be undertaken under this project, the capacity, and linkages of the key actors within the extension system, particularly the extension agents and contact farmers will be strengthened to ensure sustained transfer of proven knowledge, information, and technology to smallholder farming communities, thereby increasing their productivity and resilience. All interventions will be designed to be gender-responsive, equitable and inclusive.
The SCALE project focuses on strengthened knowledge brokering in the Extension System, with a primary focus on smallholder farming communities. The extension system comprises researchers, the extension system, and smallholder farmers
