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Bringing agricultural extension into action against HIV/AIDS in Africa

Agricultural extension organisations work with farmers to develop and promote new agricultural technologies. In sub-Saharan Africa, staff from these organisations have been badly affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As farming households have to cope with losses of family and community members, so extension workers have to deal with sickness and the loss of friends and colleagues. Providing technical support to improve agricultural productivity and food security is now more difficult than before.

Studies by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations discuss how HIV/AIDS affects agricultural extension services in sub-Saharan Africa. Providing extension services can be high-risk activity if staff spend long periods in areas that are badly-affected by HIV/AIDS and they are practising unsafe sex. Many extension workers are sick and many more have died. This means that there are fewer staff available. There are also frequent absences for funerals. The distress associated with illness and death has seriously weakened morale in many extension organisations.

Mortality rates from HIV/AIDS are particularly high in rural areas, and the composition of farming populations has changed in many places. Elderly people are coming back into farming. Widows and young orphans may be required to work more than in the past. There are less physically strong people able to work, and burdens on remaining family members are great. These new workers have very different needs, meaning extension staff are required to revisit the range of services they have been providing in the past.

Several key findings arise from the studies:

Organisational costs have risen for extension services, a result of treatment for sick staff and the need to recruit new staff.
Many extension services are understaffed. In Uganda, for example, 20 to 50 percent of all work time is lost due to funeral attendance or caring for sick relatives.
Farmers have less time to attend demonstrations of new technology.
Extension staff have to deal with more queries about HIV/AIDS.

Policy-makers and donors must respond to these new situations. This requires new types of training and new forms of support for staff working in demanding circumstances. Given the severity of the situation in many rural areas, it may also be necessary to reconsider key policies, such as privatising, reducing the size of extension services and making farmers pay for services.

Priority actions needed for preparing extension services to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS include:

developing national policies on HIV/AIDS for extension services
training extension staff in HIV/AIDS issues, including working in vulnerable communities and providing training to cope with emotionally difficult work situations
developing extension strategies that consider the specific needs of social groups taking on new working roles
launching HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness campaigns through extension services. Extension workers can play an important role in educating farming communities about HIV/AIDS.

Agricultural extension organisations in Africa have already been badly affected by staff and budget cuts. These difficulties have been made worse by the HIV/AIDS crisis. The challenges and difficulties associated with being an extension worker have dramatically increased. Policy-makers must understand the new situation and provide appropriate support immediately.

Source(s):
'Facing the Challenge of an HIV/AIDS Epidemic: agricultural extension services in sub-Saharan Africa’, Sustainable Development Department, FAO, by M. Kalim Qamar, 2003 Full document.

Funded by: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations

id21 Research Highlight: 15 February 2005

Further Information:
M. Kalim Qamar,
FAO Senior Officer (Agricultural Training and Extension)
Extension, Education and Communication Service
Sustainable Development Department
FAO headquarters
Rome
Italy

Tel: +39 (0)6 57054203
Fax: +39 (0)6 57053801
Contact the contributor: Kalim.Qamar@fao.org

Food and Agriculture Organization, Sustainable Development Department

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