This decision guide is intended to help extension professionals and their organizations make informed decisions on methods and approaches for providing information, technologies and services to rural producers and to facilitate interactions and knowledge flow. Expected users include field-based rural advisors, extension managers and programme planners.

This book links tropical agri-chain dynamics – with which CIRAD and AFD have been involved for decades – to that of sustainable development. Increased environmental and social concerns urge agri-chain actors and development practitioners to design innovations, and public and private actors to invent regulations in connection with agri-chains to improve sustainability.With a view to contributing towards implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this book examines the different roles of agri-chains: as vectors of development, as spaces of innovation, as objects of evaluation, and as arenas of regulation. It builds upon the findings and experiences of CIRAD and its researchers together with their Southern partners, and of AFD and its officers.Linking agricultural production with the other economic sectors, agri- chains are key spaces where local and global challenges to sustainability meet and where local and global actors experiment interlinked or common solutions.

La 4e de couv. indique : "La conférence AGRAR en 2013 a été prévue dans la conduite du Projet AFOMDnet dans le cadre du Programme ACP pour la Science et la Technologie avec le soutien de l’Union Européenne. Elle n’aurait cependant pu avoir lieu sans l’adhésion et le soutien − directs ou indirects − mais aussi la participation d’un nombre conséquent d’institutions du Nord et du Sud. La conférence AGRAR (pour « AGRiculture, Alimentation et Recherche »), une conférence par et pour la recherche agronomique en Afrique, a été conçue pour perdurer. Il est espéré que le partage des travaux conduits en Afrique se poursuive. C’est l’objectif de la publication de ces Actes."

Judicious soil fertility management is crucial for sustainable crop production and food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This book describes the various concepts and approaches underlying soil and soil fertility management research in SSA over the last fifty years. It provides examples of important innovations generated and assesses the position of research within the research-to-development continuum, including how innovations have been validated with the intended beneficiaries. Using the experience of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) as a case study, the authors analyse how processes, partnerships and other factors have affected research priorities, the delivery of outputs, and their uptake by farming communities in SSA. They evaluate both successes and failures of past investments in soil fertility research and important lessons learnt which provide crucial information for national and international scientists currently engaged in this research area. The book is organised in a number of chapters each covering a chronological period characterised by its primary research content and approaches and by the dominant research paradigms and delivery models.

Extension and advisory services (EAS) are well recognized as a key factor in contributing to agricultural productivity and growth. However, rigorous evaluation of EAS approaches and assessment of complex national or subnational pluralistic EAS systems are rare. This working paper examines the literature on experiential and empirical insights and explores methods to assess complex pluralistic EAS systems. The authors present conceptual thinking on innovation systems and EAS, and review the IFPRI “best-fit” framework. This framework remains relevant because it is based on a holistic perspective with an impact pathway orientation. The paper aims to operationalize and improve the best-fit framework to guide the evaluation of complex EAS systems. The authors draw on and summarize existing literature to illustrate methods and tools used to analyze each component of the framework. The review pays close attention to the literature and methods for assessing the diversity of service providers and their various delivery tools and learning approaches. The discussion also pays close attention to the interaction of each component and how it affects the performance and impact of EAS from a systems perspective. This paper adds key points and considerations on how to operationalize the best-fit framework to carry out evaluations of pluralistic EAS.