The manuals are intended as working documents. The project supported the development of the Common Framework on Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems of the Tropical Agriculture Platform, and tested it in eight pilot countries. One key finding was that the framework requires adaptation in each country situation, and as such the manuals are intended as general guides only .

Despite several efforts for its dissemination, adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is low – causing some to wonder if an incremental approach for adoption of its three components would prove more effective. In this paper, we apply the endogenous switching regression model to a nationally representative sample of 1901 wheat fields in Morocco to analyze the impacts of partial or full adoption of all three components of the CA system. We also employ an ordered probit model to identify the determinants of partial and full adoption of CA. Model results show that adoption of the complete CA system leads to 307 kg/ha (35 %) higher yields, US$99/ha (44 %) higher gross margins, and 23 kg/capita/year (38 %) more consumption of wheat relative to the conventional system. Our results also show that adoption of only two principles of the CA system leads to higher benefits in all the livelihood indicators listed above compared to adoption of only one or none of the principles. Likewise, adoption of only one principle is more beneficial than the conventional system. Along with biophysical and environmental benefits documented elsewhere, our results demonstrate that the CA system can provide large economic, social, and food security benefits both at individual household and national levels. Therefore, wider diffusion of the full CA system involving zero tillage (ZT), crop rotation, and crop residue retention has potential to sustainably improve the viability of agriculture in the drylands of Morocco and other similar countries in the MENA region. Given that the CA system is complex and knowledge-intensive, transition from the conventional system to CA requires the following: (1) flexibility to let farmers incrementally adopt one or more of the CA components, learn at their own pace, use some of the benefits, and improve it over time to exploit the full potential of the CA system with close follow-up and technical support from experts and extension specialists; and (2) sustained policy and institutional supports that provide incentives for farmers to adopt and for the private sector to be actively involved, especially in service provision.

A technical brief on fall armyworm management from the lens of farmer field schools that outlines successes from previous projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Different control methods and traditional recipes for fall armyworm management are highlighted.

This document describes several real-life examples that illustrate some of the different ways in which the GFRAS network adds value to the work of local actors and ongoing initiatives, with the aim of benefiting the lives and livelihoods of smallholder farmers around the globe.

The Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) is about enhancing the performance of agricultural extension and advisory services to better serve farming families and rural producers, thus contributing to improved livelihoods in rural areas, the sustainable reduction of hunger and poverty, and working towards reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. Rural advisory services (RAS) help to empower farmers and integrate them more fully in systems of agricultural innovation.

The publication is a part of the FAO work to assist the member countries in reforming their national Extension and Advisory Services (EAS). It highlights the main elements and provide concrete guidelines for the policy makers to coordinate pluralism in extension and advisory services (EAS), i.e. ensuring that multiple EAS providers from public, private sector and NGOs/donors, provide quality services that contribute to national agricultural priorities and wellbeing of rural producers, collaborate and exchange information to maximise synergies and minimise gaps and duplications.

A group of extension programming staff, specialists, and directors as well as leaders in the field of agriculture collaborated at the International Conference on Agricultural Extension: Innovation to Impact, jointly organized by the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), and Michigan State University (MSU) Extension, East Lansing, Michigan, U.S.A, at MANAGE, Hyderabad, India. This book, Innovations in Agricultural Extension, was imagined at the conference. Authors from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, India, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, and the United States of America contributed to the book, eventually co-published in 2021 by MANAGE and MSU Extension. Its 20 chapters cover a wide range of topics such as an overview of agricultural extension, community outreach and advisory services, case studies of agricultural programs and initiatives, community and government engagement, information and communication technology, agritourism, entrepreneurship, and professional development, among others.

This book showcases best practices in extension with the goal that extension professionals are inspired by and learn from programming examples across the globe.