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

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Progress against Objectives and Next Steps

The overall goal of the proposed SCALE project is to strengthen the capacity of the extension system to use proven knowledge and technology to sustain equitable and locally led adaptation among smallholder farmers and farming communities in Nigeria and Senegal. For the period under review, the project activities were focused on the specific objective 1, 2, and 3. These specific objectives are:

  1. Enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of the extension system in major agroecological zones of the focus countries by mapping and analysing the key actors, their roles, and linkages to identify opportunities for improving efficiency, collaboration, and coordination in the extension system;
  2. Strengthen the extension system by understanding the needs of the key actors in the extension system and identifying areas of intervention prior to providing targeted capacity strengthening and technical support interventions to enhance their agricultural productivity and climate change resilience;
  3. Strengthen the extension system by reviewing and documenting proven LLA knowledge and technologies that support gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) for eventual deployment to the smallholder farming communities;

In SCALE project description, the activities were organized in three work pages, with work package 1 at the centre of all activities implemented during the last 6 months. Work package 1 (WP) “Situational analyses and needs assessment of the key actors in the extension system, was aimed at understanding the statuses in the generation, transfer, and use of knowledge and technology to sustain equitable LLA in smallholder farming communities. It will also seek to explore their roles and linkages within the extension system. ATPS National Chapter coordinator for Nigeria worked with WAGEDI, and the ATPS Senegal National Chapter Coordinator and IPAR also, worked to implement WP 1 in Nigeria and Senegal. The activities that were carried out were:

  1. Identification and mapping of key actors the key actors, their roles, and linkages in the extension system in the focus countries.
  2. Conduct of detailed needs assessment of the key actors.
  3. Auditing and documenting proven knowledge and LLA initiatives that support GESI in smallholder farming communities.
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G-FRAS training environment

https://nelk.g-fras.org/en/