University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign

AgReach – A Program for Smallholder Extension

Access to markets, better seeds, and innovative technologies local capacity and applying research-based program designs, are just a few components that producers need to improve which ultimately serve millions of smallholder farmers. production and yield higher profits. However, the poorest smallholders face many barriers to success even with the Paul McNamara, Ph.D., economist and professor at UIUC, leads support of local agricultural extension and advisory services. the initiative and team of 18 professionals based at UIUC and AgReach, a program of the University of Illinois at Urbana- in some of the poorest countries in the world. The program Champaign (UIUC), closes gaps in agrisystems so that also serves to connect institutions like Njala University in Sierra smallholder farmers can thrive. Leone and Makerere University in with University of Illinois’ staff and students, opening communication and AgReach has grown out of several USAID and Feed the Future collaboration on international agriculture issues. (FtF) projects, which began in 2010 with the Modernizing Agriculture and Extension Services (MEAS) project. Through In 2016, two AgReach projects worked to build the capacity of collaboration with public and private institutions, governments, extension workers, improve agricultural policies and practices, and nongovernmental organizations, these projects have and evaluate programs intended to support smallholder transformed extension into more demand-driven, gender- farmers. The Integrating Gender and Nutrition within responsive, and nutrition-sensitive systems through building Agricultural Extension Services (INGENAES) project worked with people in eight countries including Honduras, Bangladesh, and to create more gender-responsive and nutrition- sensitive extension for men and women farmers. The Strengthening Agriculture and Nutrition Extension Services (SANE) project worked with the FtF initiative and Malawi’s public extension providers to better coordinate services and close agriculture and nutrition gaps. AgReach continues to develop research-based solutions with its network of smallholder farmers, extension professionals, innovative researchers, and students to build better extension systems, and is always up for a challenge.

Learn more: https://agreach.illinois.edu PHOTO: COLBY SILVERT

Students from Tonkolili District School in check for weeds in demonstration vegetable plots planted during a field day with INGENAES and WorldFish.

THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE: Harnessing University Discovery, Engagement, and Learning to Achieve Food and Nutrition Security