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The effectiveness of the extension system in Malawi : a case of the Strengthening Agriculture and Nutrition Extension (SANE) project in Dedza district

Dissertation (MSc (Agriculture Extension))--University of Pretoria, 2023.

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Other Authors: Loki, Olwethu
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Loki, Olwethu
author_browse Loki, Olwethu
author_facet Loki, Olwethu
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MSc (Agriculture Extension))--University of Pretoria, 2023.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/90322
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:38:15.902Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/90322 The effectiveness of the extension system in Malawi : a case of the Strengthening Agriculture and Nutrition Extension (SANE) project in Dedza district Loki, Olwethu u20783044@tuks.co.za Saidi, Ashraf Mtambo UCTD Agricultural extension system Demand-driven Farmer participation Collaboration and coordination Extension planning Dissertation (MSc (Agriculture Extension))--University of Pretoria, 2023. From 2015 to 2021, Strengthening Agriculture and Nutrition Extension (SANE) project was implemented to strengthen Malawi’s Decentralised Agricultural Extension Services System (DAESS) which is based on the demand-driven principle of farmers’ request for services. Despite evidence on improvements in the functionality of DAESS through SANE, farmers were still hesitant to request for extension advice through the system for unknown reasons. To address this knowledge gap, this study evaluates the effectiveness of the SANE project in strengthening the extension system in Dedza district, Malawi. Data were collected through a survey from 389 SANE participating farmers in the district, selected using a multi-stage random sampling. Using descriptive and content analysis, the study shows that 89% of the respondents are fulltime farmers with a relatively small piece of land (<1ha) for farming; 77% are engaged in both crop and livestock farming; 94% farm for both consumption and sale; 91% of farmers have access to extension. The findings show that 90% of the farmers were aware of DAESS platforms and that 76% participated in planning of extension support through DAESS platforms, higher than 39% reported in 2016. The study also shows that 50% of the type of planning activities farmers were involved in relate to tackling of technical aspects, while only 1% and 2% pertain to proposal development and identification of challenges respectively. Only 32.6% were involved at “self-mobilization” level of participation required for demand-driven extension. Nonetheless, the study shows that 99% of the farmers have extension needs, but they prefer to request them from the public-only EPA offices than pluralistic DAESS platforms because EPA offices are perceived to have expertise and accessibility. In conclusion, while confirming improvements in DAESS made over the SANE period, the findings suggest that DAESS platforms are still questionable to farmers because of their poor composition in practice. There is, therefore, a definite need to improve the composition by ensuring a policy environment which directs all agricultural activities to be implemented through the DAESS. Malawi Government Scholarship Fund Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development MSc (Agriculture Extension) Unrestricted 2023-04-03T09:40:05Z 2023-04-03T09:40:05Z 2023-04 2023 Dissertation * S2023 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/90322 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.22352671.v1 10.25403/UPresearchdata.22352671 en © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Agricultural extension system
Demand-driven
Farmer participation
Collaboration and coordination
Extension planning
The effectiveness of the extension system in Malawi : a case of the Strengthening Agriculture and Nutrition Extension (SANE) project in Dedza district
title The effectiveness of the extension system in Malawi : a case of the Strengthening Agriculture and Nutrition Extension (SANE) project in Dedza district
title_full The effectiveness of the extension system in Malawi : a case of the Strengthening Agriculture and Nutrition Extension (SANE) project in Dedza district
title_fullStr The effectiveness of the extension system in Malawi : a case of the Strengthening Agriculture and Nutrition Extension (SANE) project in Dedza district
title_full_unstemmed The effectiveness of the extension system in Malawi : a case of the Strengthening Agriculture and Nutrition Extension (SANE) project in Dedza district
title_short The effectiveness of the extension system in Malawi : a case of the Strengthening Agriculture and Nutrition Extension (SANE) project in Dedza district
title_sort effectiveness of the extension system in malawi a case of the strengthening agriculture and nutrition extension sane project in dedza district
topic UCTD
Agricultural extension system
Demand-driven
Farmer participation
Collaboration and coordination
Extension planning
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/90322