Along the Policy Path: Reviewing Ghana’s Agricultural Extension Policy

MEAS Symposium 2015

June 4

“Public Sector Service Provision, Policy

Making, and Enabling Environment”

Along the Policy Path:Reviewing Ghana’s Agricultural Extension Policy

Vickie Sigman Sr. Agricultural Extension Policy Specialist

MEAS, University of Illinois

What & Why

Participants: Ghana Agricultural Extension Policy Forum

HOW

• Background and input• Forum itself: highly participatory– Small Groups, Themes, and Exercises

Review

Summarize

Report Out

Analyze Progress,

Constraints,Gaps, &

Changes Report Out

Develop prioritized

recom-mendations

Report Out

Group Exercises by Policy Theme

Outcomes

• Highest Priority Recommendations– Target resources to women providers & beneficiaries– Fund public extension services adequately– Clarify extension capacity development funding– Update extension policy on emerging issues– Update Farmer-Based Organizations Policy and

Strategy• Groups to support the policy process forward– Extension Policy Standing Committee and Champions

• Next Step– Revise the agricultural extension policy to reflect

recommendations

What was learned along the path?

Review is but one step:ALSO NEED• Companion costed & timed plan for

carrying-out revisions• Finance and political will for

implementation & monitoring of revised policy• Greater involvement in and awareness of

process by farmers

Disclaimer

This presentation was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development, USAID. The

contents are the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.