Experiences, Innovations and Issues in Agricultural Extension in Uganda: Lessons and Proposals
This book makes a vital contribution to the documentation and analysis of Uganda’s experiences with agricultural extension systems. Introduced way back in the early 1900s by the colonial administration, agricultural extension has since been part and parcel of Uganda’s agricultural development strategy, albeit with various changes and innovations in approaches, institutional arrangements, methods, and strategies. Notable innovations included liberalization in the early1990s, which broadened the provision of extension services beyond the public domain to include a range of non-governmental organizations (NGOs); decentralization of extension services to the districts in 1997 (Local Government Act, 1997); and the shift from public to private farmerowned contract extension approach through the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) Act, 2001. While all these provided a wide range of valuable experiences, systematic documentation and analysis with a view to drawing lessons to inform theory and practice, has been largely insufficient. Unfortunate consequences of this dearth of information include, among others, repetition of previous mistakes, policy reviews not informed by previous lessons, localized success stories not widely disseminated and up-scaled, and the absence of credible locally-produced reference text books for use during training of agricultural extension professionals at university and other levels. This book should serve as an important resource for educators and students in agricultural higher education, policy makers and practitioners in Uganda and other developing countries
