Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services Providers in rural communities:
AEAS should be local indigenes, skilled in community engagement strategies, to enhance and serve as agents or community animators, in policy formulation and promotion of key development agenda, for the development sector going beyond agriculture and nutrition issues. It should include fundamental information in the areas of social, financial as well as digital inclusion, so that messages that filter to the rural community are targeted and focused in a holistic form developed with the specific socio-economic as well as cultural chararcteristics of the community in mind.
The roles should be gender sensitive to ensure that certain delicate issues are tackled appropriately.
Challenges of Agricultural Extension and Advisory Service Providers role in addressing gender inequalities and nutrition:
The difficulties of addressing such issues which stem from socio-cultural and religious norms within the rural communities are sometimes critical.
If the AEAS message is in conflict with what pertains in the rural community, the design and presentation of the message should be sensitive to existing norms and seen as a means not to change the entire cultural ecosystem but to enhance the already existing norms with a strategy that in all inclusive of the entire community stakeholder hierarchy to prevent resistance and promote sustainability.
GRAS, AEAS role as a means of promoting gender equality and nutrition sensitive information:
This should be seen as key. As agents in this area of development, already existing practices, norms and traditions shoud be carefully assessed and improved using participatory community engagement strategies making room for unique socio-economic as well as cultural implications.
Rural communities have a rich ancient, scientific and cultural heritage which should not be overlooked as archaic but seen as a basis to be improved for future generations - gender and nutrition thematic areas are no exceptions, thus this should be recognised and developed for the better to preserve the social fibre of the rural community which have survived millennia.
Ms. Lucy Akua Kyerede Quainoo