Modernizing Extension and Advisory Systems (MEAS) Project Starts Strong

 A consortium led by the University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) is making significant strides towards modernizing and strengthening the agricultural systems of rural farmers in the world’s poorest nations.

Since its selection in October 2010 as the lead institution for the five-year, $9 million Modernize Extension and Advisory Systems (MEAS) project, granted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U of I along with its consortium partners have made notable progress towards project goals, which include the strategic analysis of the activities and investments needed to strengthen the extension system in 20 developing countries.

Project Director Paul McNamara, associate professor of family and consumer economics, says the primary accomplishments of the MEAS project in its first year include developing training materials and programs for extension staff, completing case studies and pilot projects that have provided great insight into best practices, and finally, conducting in-depth assessments of the extension systems in the target countries. The project team from the U of I has been especially involved in completing these country assessments, which have so far included Rwanda, Bangladesh, Upper Egypt, Mali, and Liberia.

For example, during 2011, MEAS conducted a comprehensive extension assessment in Rwanda which has already been approved by the respective USAID mission and submitted to the USAID Development Experience Center. The assessment, led by Burt Swanson, ACES professor emeritus of rural development, details the important policy issues to be addressed if the pluralistic extension system in Rwanda is to be strengthened and makes recommendations for building capacity in extension education.

Two scoping missions remain for MEAS in 2011. Swanson is currently helping to complete the assessment and recommendations for extension and advisory services in Tajikistan, and in December, McNamara will be working with USAID/Nepal, the Government of Nepal and various local organizations to develop recommendations for modernizing extension and advisory services in this country.

For more information, please visit the MEAS website at: http://www.meas-extension.org/

Image: Extension training in Rwanda led by Prof. Burt Swanson (left). Photo taken by Paul Hixon.