Extension and advisory services for agroecological transitions in Africa

The document examines the role of extension and advisory services (EAS) in scaling agroecology across Africa to combat food insecurity, climate change, and land degradation. It identifies systemic barriers to this transition, including a severe shortage of extension workers—with ratios as high as 1:10,000 in some Nigerian states—and a funding bias toward industrial agricultural models. The brief recommends that donors shift toward long-term, community-driven, and gender-sensitive funding mechanisms that prioritize local and indigenous knowledge over top-down, one-size-fits-all industrial approaches.

• Agroecology is underutilized globally, with only approximately 30% of farms operating according to its principles due to insufficient funding, inadequate training for extension workers, and the continued dominance of industrial-agricultural models.
• African extension and advisory services face a critical personnel shortage, with an average ratio of 1 extension worker per 3,000 farmers across Africa, reaching as high as 1:10,000 in certain states in Nigeria.
• Current EAS models in Africa are often top-down and private sector-led, prioritizing commercial interests and one-size-fits-all solutions over the participatory, horizontal learning and local indigenous knowledge essential for agroecology.
• There is a significant disparity in funding between industrial agriculture and agroecology; for instance, in Kenya, 85% of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation projects focus on industrial food system efficiency, while only 3% support agroecology-related initiatives.
• Philanthropic funding strategies often hinder the scaling of agroecology through short-term project-based grants, a focus on high-profile initiatives over grassroots efforts, lack of coordination between donors, and failure to engage farmers in program design.
• Women in African agriculture face significant barriers to accessing EAS and decision-making power despite their primary responsibility for food production and natural resource management.
• Case studies from Malawi and East/Southern Africa demonstrate that farmer-led experimentation, the integration of indigenous knowledge with scientific expertise, and bottom-up EAS platforms are effective models for increasing agroecology adoption.

APA

Elujulo, O., Shilomboleni, H., & Ahmed, Z. (2025). Extension and advisory services for agroecological transitions in Africa. African Climate Foundation. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/801023_A-Extension-and-advisory-WEB-1.pdf

Chicago

Elujulo, Opeyemi, Helena Shilomboleni, and Zack Ahmed. Extension and advisory services for agroecological transitions in Africa. African Climate Foundation, 2025. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/801023_A-Extension-and-advisory-WEB-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Elujulo |first1=Opeyemi |last2=Shilomboleni |first2=Helena |last3=Ahmed |first3=Zack |title=Extension and advisory services for agroecological transitions in Africa |publisher=African Climate Foundation |date=2025 |url=https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/801023_A-Extension-and-advisory-WEB-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{elujulo2025extension, author = {Elujulo, Opeyemi and Shilomboleni, Helena and Ahmed, Zack}, title = {{Extension and advisory services for agroecological transitions in Africa}}, institution = {African Climate Foundation}, year = {2025}, url = {https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/801023_A-Extension-and-advisory-WEB-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }