SD:TCP/SYR/2353 TECHNICAL COOPERATION PROGRAMME STRENGTHENING OF REGIONAL AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION TRAINING UNITS THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC Terminal Statement the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome, 1998 |
SD:TCP/SYR/2353 TECHNICAL COOPERATION PROGRAMME STRENGTHENING OF REGIONAL AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION TRAINING UNITS THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC Terminal Statement the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome, 1998 |
2.1 Installation of appropriate microcomputers
2.2 Initiation to the participatory approach in extension work
2.3 Training of extension staff on software computer use
2.4 Enhancing Syria's agricultural extension system
Since the Ministry of Agriculture was established in 1947 in the Syrian Arab Republic, the structure and management of the delivery of agricultural extension services have experienced four major administrative changes. Following their transfer, first to the Ministry of Education and subsequently to the Department of Cooperatives, they were reestablished in 1979 as a separate Directorate under the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform (MAAR). A few years later, the newly established Directorate created a hierarchy of operational functions at provincial, district and local level. This development was accompanied by the employment of an increasing number of staff at all levels of the extension system countrywide, particularly at the grassroots level, in extension units.
This restructuring, however, failed to achieve the expected improvement in effectiveness and efficiency for a number of reasons. First, the extension personnel were faced by outdated communication- and data-processing techniques. The data collected from the field remained raw and, therefore, a wasted resource since they could not be used as a basis for decision-making, especially when planning extension activities. Field plans were thus based on intuition rather than empirical data and information. Second, the agricultural extension staff had received no formal training in agricultural extension methods and techniques at university or in post-graduate courses. Consequently, difficulties were experienced in efficiently communicating and convincing rural communities to adopt improved farming methods. The lack of communication skills was partly blamed for the technology gaps that existed between recommended practices and farmers' actual use of technology.
Given these serious constraints, the Government of Syria requested assistance from FAO to strengthen its regional agricultural extension units.
This assistance was approved by FAO under the Technical Cooperation Programme project TCP/SYR/2353, "Strengthening of Regional Agricultural Extension Training Units". The Project Agreement was signed by FAO and the Government on 26 September 1993 and the project was implemented by the Directorate of Agricultural Extension of the MAAR from September 1994 to December 1995. The total budget amounted to $US 259 000, subsequently revised to $US 268 000, with a counterpart budget of LS 250 000.
The main objectives were:
- to develop in-service training programmes on extension management, methodology and extension training aids for the regional extension training units;
- to expand extension training programmes and facilities through the training of trainers at Mohafazat and field levels; and
- to train nationals in the applications of computer technology in agricultural extension work.
With the assistance of two International Consultants (specialists in computer application and in extension training) and a National Consultant (specialist in extension training and computer use for extension planning), the project achieved all its objectives. Assistance to install computer systems was provided in five pilot provinces. As a corollary to this, a training programme was organized to initiate extension staff from the central pilot provinces/Mohafazats and districts in the use of microcomputers for planning and monitoring and the production of extension and training materials, within the context of a participatory approach to deal with the newly-established "extension farmers' groups".
Based on the specifications set by the International Computer Application Consultant during the first mission, the project purchased computer systems with printers. Before being distributed to recipients, the computers were used by the project to implement a series of national training sessions in Damascus. They were then installed in five pilot provinces (Daraa, Hama, Homs, Lattakia and Tartous), the Directorate of Agricultural Extension, and the National Agricultural Extension Training Centre (NAETC). As planned, the computers mainly served mass media, planning and monitoring functions. Desktop publishing equipment for the production of supporting materials for extension and training purposes was shared by the Agricultural Extension Directorate and the NAETC in Damascus.
At the national level, the project sponsored a two-day National Orientation Workshop on microcomputers and the use of the participatory approach in agricultural extension (from planning to the production of extension and training materials), attended by 48 administrators and officials responsible for extension and training programmes at provincial and central levels. The main issues covered included aspects of farmers' involvement in the development and delivery of extension programmes (participatory extension strategies, group dynamics, group formation, etc.) and new trends in agricultural extension (free trade of agricultural products, agricultural technologies and sustainable development, human resource development, application of computer technology for extension and training, management of extension delivery system, etc.)
A total of 36 selected participants from the Agricultural Extension Directorate, the NAETC and the Regional Extension Services in the pilot Mohafazats attended the training activities at national level. The project developed five user-friendly guides on computer software application for word processing, data base and desktop publishing.
To develop the institutional capability of regional and district staff, five two-week workshops (one in each Mohafazat covered by the project) on microcomputer applications were held during the period March-July 1996. An additional 30 participants attended the training, using funds made available by the Government, in local currency, on the basis of cost-sharing. The activities were conducted, using various software programmes (Word, Excel and Access), by staff members of the Agricultural Extension Directorate in Damascus, who had been trained during the national workshops on the microcomputer systems installed by the project.
To ensure the sustainability of project efforts, especially at the regional level, the project organized a Self-Assessment and Planning Seminar-Workshop in the pilot provinces/Mohafazats (20 participants) to pinpoint the problems met and solutions promulgated, to share experiences and to plan for optimizing the use of computers for agricultural extension programme planning and management.
Field visits revealed that Syria was facing multi-faceted problems in agricultural extension which were beyond the capacity of the project to solve. To help address this need, the project, in collaboration with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), sponsored a seminar entitled "National Seminar on Agricultural Extension, Year 2000 and Beyond". Attended by 70 key officials and technical staff of the MAAR and international organizations in Damascus, the seminar generated nine policy papers dealing with the major problems and issues in the delivery of agricultural extension services in the country. The seminar resulted in the promulgation of major recommendations by the participants for ministry action. As a follow-up to these recommendations and the project's pilot activities, the International Extension Training Consultant was requested by the Directorate of Agricultural Extension to prepare project proposals, enabling the Government to approach potential donors.
The National Consultant conducted a nationwide training-needs assessment survey of extension personnel, at various levels, on agricultural extension methodology and techniques. Based on the information collected and analysed by the National Consultant, the project organized a Workshop on Assessment and Programme Planning for the NAETC, in collaboration with the Agricultural Extension and Training Directorates. The aim was to review the centre's mission, clientele, programmes, facilities and management structure in order to make these more responsive to the needs of Agricultural Extension Directorate personnel. A total of 30 participants attended the workshop, including directors and training staff of in-service training centres, officials of the MAAR, secondary and faculty teaching staff and national and international consultants. The project also commissioned five working papers for presentation during the National Seminar regarding the pre-service and in-service training needs of agricultural extension personnel.
The project successfully strengthened the capabilities of the five Regional Extension Services (manpower and hardware) in the use of computers within the context of a participatory approach in agricultural extension. It also succeeded in bringing to the attention of MAAR officials critical issues and problems facing the agricultural extension and training system of the country and recommended appropriate solutions and follow-up actions to address these constraints.
The installation of microcomputers in the pilot provinces has increased the productivity and effectiveness of agricultural extension services. Since the Regional Extension Service currently has only two units, there is a need to carefully plan their utilization so that the computers are used only in those activities where the pay-off in productivity increase is highest. The plans produced during the workshop thus need to be carefully reviewed and modified as the Mohafazat extension staff acquire experience.
Related to effective computer use are needs related to manpower capability building and upgrades of hardware and software. The ability to maximize computer use depends on the technical ability of the staff. Therefore, the Agricultural Extension Directorate must develop a programme for continuous skill upgrading in using the software already installed, by sponsoring intermediate and advanced courses and by developing user-friendly guides or instructions. The manuals developed by the project can be revised by the Damascus team to cater to the needs of non-beginners.
A Management Information System in the Agricultural Extension Directorate should be established on-line throughout the country to assist national and regional extension programmes and improve agricultural outputs. It is thus recommended that the pilot activities be extended to the remaining eight provincial extension services. These should be equipped with similar hardware and software, and their staff provided with the necessary training in their use.
With increased proficiency, better equipment is required to meet the expected increase in productivity. The Agricultural Extension Directorate should therefore prepare an integrated plan of upgrading based on real rather than perceived needs. A mechanism must be set up to assess actual computer use, identify bottlenecks and promulgate solutions based on the assessment outcomes.
The project demonstrated one aspect of the participatory approach in agricultural extension. The Directorate of Agricultural Extension has also started to adopt a participatory approach to field planning of extension activities. For the participatory approach to work, however, it must involve the whole system, from planning national programmes to field execution. It is therefore suggested that extension staff, at all levels, be trained in the methodology and an analysis be made of the whole extension delivery system in order to determine how and where the approach can be used to improve overall productivity and efficiency.