A Bottom Up Approach For A Private Fisheries Extension System

A bottom-up approach for a private fisheries extension system: A framework and action plan for an aqua-chamber of commerce in India

Aquaculture and fisheries continues to be a sector that has not received adequate attention for its contribution to food security goals across the globe. This sector is predicted to grow at a fast rate in the next 40 years. In the Indian context, the government has prioritized the aquaculture and fisheries sector by establishing an independent federal ministry. However, the public extension system in India still lacks resources and strategies to address the needs of fish farmers and fishers. This has created a space for the private extension system to play a pivotal role in providing appropriate skills and training to farmers and fishers. Considering the present challenges in the aquaculture and fisheries sector, this paper proposes the creation of an Aqua-Chamber of Commerce (ACC) as a viable bottom-up approach to improve the performance of the sector by providing adequate support to private extension system. Additionaly, the ACC will also help in improving the public extension system, facilitating the business ecosystem and strategies, and advocating for major policy reforms in the sector.

A Bottom-up Approach for a Private Fisheries Extension System

Agricultural extension and rural advisory services: What have we learned? What’s next?

Agricultural extension provides the critical connection from agricultural innovation and discovery to durable improvements at scale, as farmers and other actors in the rural economy learn, adapt, and innovate with new technologies and practices. However, lack of capacity and performance of agricultural extension in lower- and middle-income countries is an ongoing concern. Research on agricultural extension and advisory services (in short, extension) has been an integral part of the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) since its inception. This brief synthesizes key findings from research funded by and linked to PIM from 2012 to 2021, presenting lessons learned and a vision for the future of extension. A list of all PIM-related extension and advisory services research is provided at the end. Designing and implementing effective provision of extension is complex, and efforts to strengthen extension services often fall into a trap of adopting “best practice” blueprint approaches that are not well-tailored to local conditions. An expansive literature examines the promises and pitfalls of common approaches, including training-and-visit extension systems, farmer field schools, and many others (Anderson and Feder 2004; Anderson et al. 2006; Waddington and White 2014; Scoones and Thompson 2009). To understand extension systems and build evidence for what works and where, the “best-fit” framework, a widely recognized approach developed by Birner and colleagues (2009) and adapted by Davis and Spielman (2017), offers a simple impact chain approach (Figure 1). The framework focuses on a defined set of extension service characteristics that affect performance: governance structures and funding; organizational and management capacities and cultures; methods; and community engagement — all of which are subject to external factors such as the policy environment, agroecological conditions, and farming-system heterogeneity. To enhance extension performance and, ultimately, a wide range of outcomes and impacts, new and innovative interventions can be applied and adapted within this set of extension characteristics.