Author: Professor Nicholas Oliver Nemassan, FNIAE. FNSE
Title: Commissioner of Agriculture and Food Security
Event: National Conference of the Agricultural Extension Society of Nigeria
Date: 6th-10th April, 2025
Location: Idris Waziri’s Hall, Taraba State University Jalingo, Taraba State of Nigeria1. Introduction
Agricultural extension services play a critical role in promoting food security through the dissemination of knowledge, innovations, and best practices to farmers. In the face of increasing population growth, climate change, and emerging agricultural challenges, effective extension service delivery remains a cornerstone for enhancing agricultural productivity and ensuring sustainable food systems. Food security, as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), goes beyond just producing enough food. It also focuses on the accessibility, utilization, and stability of food. Looking at how extension service delivery affects national food security, it is expedient to know key areas for improvement, the challenges involved, and policy recommendations to tackle them.
2. Extension Services and Food Security in Nigeria: A Closer Look
In Nigeria, agricultural extension services play an essential role in enhancing food security by bridging the gap between cutting-edge agricultural research and the actual practices on the ground. These services are vital in equipping farmers with the necessary knowledge, tools, and resources to increase productivity, improve sustainability, and ultimately ensure a more stable food supply. Agricultural extension services, when effective, contribute significantly to improving the livelihoods of farmers and the broader agricultural sector by fostering improved agricultural practices.
The primary aim of extension services is to disseminate knowledge about modern farming techniques, improved seed varieties, soil management, pest control, water conservation, and efficient use of agricultural inputs. These services ensure that farmers are not only informed about the latest innovations in agriculture but are also trained on how to practically apply these innovations in their specific local contexts. This approach has the potential to increase crop yields, improve the quality of food produced, and ultimately enhance the food security of communities.
Moreover, agricultural extension services also facilitate market linkages, providing farmers with vital information on market trends, pricing, and opportunities to sell their produce. This aspect of extension service delivery ensures that farmers can access broader markets, negotiate better prices, and improve their economic stability. By improving market access, extension services help ensure that food is not only available but also accessible to a wider population, further enhancing food security in the country.
In addition to improving productivity, extension services also emphasize the importance of sustainable farming practices. These include environmentally friendly techniques that protect soil fertility, conserve water resources, and promote biodiversity. Sustainable practices are critical in the face of climate change, where unpredictable weather patterns and environmental degradation can threaten agricultural productivity. Extension services play a key role in helping farmers adapt to these challenges, ensuring that agricultural systems are resilient in the long term, which in turn contributes to food security by safeguarding the future availability of food. To truly address food security in Nigeria, agricultural extension services must contribute to all four dimensions of food security: availability, access, utilization, and stability.
1. Availability: Extension services directly influence the availability of food by improving agricultural productivity. With enhanced farming practices and access to improved seeds, fertilizers, and farming techniques, farmers can increase their crop yields, thereby ensuring a more stable and abundant food supply.
2. Access: Extension services also enhance access to food by equipping farmers with knowledge of market trends, trade opportunities, and efficient supply chain management. This enables them to sell their produce at fair prices and access local, regional, and even international markets. Additionally, by fostering cooperative systems and collective farming, extension services can improve farmers’ bargaining power, allowing them to access food markets at competitive prices.
3. Utilization: Effective agricultural extension services can also improve food utilization by promoting nutrition-sensitive farming practices. Farmers are often trained in crop diversification, which not only boosts food availability but also contributes to a more balanced diet. By encouraging the production of various crops, extension services help ensure that communities have access to a variety of nutritious foods.
4. Stability: Finally, extension services help enhance food security by ensuring that farmers can cope with shocks, such as floods, droughts, or market fluctuations. By encouraging adaptive farming techniques, promoting disaster resilience, and providing information on climate-smart agriculture, extension services contribute to maintaining food security even in the face of challenges.
By addressing all these dimensions, agricultural extension services contribute significantly to the overall goal of food security in Nigeria. However, the effectiveness of these services depends on various factors, including adequate funding, the quality of training, and the level of government support. A more robust extension service system can ultimately contribute to a more food-secure Nigeria, where farmers are empowered, food is plentiful, and communities thrive.
3. The Role of Extension Services in Enhancing Food Security: In promoting Food Security through the dissemination of knowledge, Innovation and best practice to farmers the following extension roles are to be consider.
3.1 Bridging the Knowledge Gap: Extension services act as a crucial link between agricultural researchers and farmers, ensuring that the latest scientific knowledge and innovations reach the field. They provide farmers with the information and skills needed to adopt improved farming techniques, leading to higher yields and increased food production. This includes providing information on crop diversification, new farming technologies, and sustainable agricultural practices.
3.2 Enhancing Productivity and Yields: Extension services provide farmers with access to improved seeds, fertilizers, and other inputs, extension services contribute to increased agricultural productivity. They also play a role in promoting the best practices for crop management, pest control, and water management, which can significantly impact yields. Extension services can also help farmers access credit and markets for their produce, further boosting their income and food security.
3.3 Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Practices: Extension services play a crucial role in promoting sustainable agricultural practices that protect the environment and ensure long-term food security. This includes promoting practices like crop rotation, soil conservation, and integrated pest management. They also help farmers understand the importance of biodiversity and sustainable resource management.
3.4 Capacity Building and Training: Extension services provide training and capacity-building programs for farmers, enabling them to adopt new technologies and improve their farming skills. This includes training on topics such as crop diversification, post-harvest management, and value addition. They also help farmers access information on climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.
3.5 Market Linkages and Value Chain Development: Extension services facilitate market access by connecting farmers with local and international markets. Strengthening value chains ensures fair pricing, reduces post-harvest losses, and increases income for smallholder farmers, contributing to economic access to food.
3.6 Addressing Challenges and Improving Livelihoods: Extension services can help farmers overcome challenges such as access to credit, input, and markets. By improving agricultural productivity and incomes, they contribute to improved livelihoods and reduced poverty in rural areas. They can also play a role in promoting nutritional outcomes and ensuring sustainable food systems that promote healthy diets.
3.7 Climate-Smart Agriculture: Extension services encourage climate-smart farming methods that improve resilience in the face of climate change. To lessen the effects of climatic unpredictability on food production, methods like conservation agriculture, agroforestry, and water-efficient irrigation are essential.
4. Challenges involved in Extension Service Delivery
4.1 Inadequate Funding and Infrastructure
Limited financial resources constrain the capacity of extension services to reach remote areas. Insufficient transportation, communication tools, and demonstration facilities hinder the effective dissemination of knowledge.
4.2 Human Resource Constraints: A shortage of trained extension personnel results in high farmer-to-extension worker ratios. This limit personalized advisory services and reduced the impact of extension programs.
4.3 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Gaps: Although ICT has revolutionized agricultural extension, gaps in digital literacy and inadequate access to mobile technologies prevent many rural farmers from benefiting from digital extension platforms.
4.4 Policy and Institutional Bottlenecks: Inconsistent policies, poor coordination among stakeholders, and bureaucratic inefficiencies impede the successful implementation of extension services. Integrating extension services into national agricultural strategies is essential for sustained impact.
4.5 Extension-Farmer Linkages
Weak Linkages: Poor communication and coordination between research institutions, extension services, and farmers leads to a lack of relevant technologies and information reaching the farmers.
Technology Adoption: Farmers often struggle to adopt new technologies due to factors such as high costs, lack of access to credit, and insufficient information.
Inappropriate Technologies: Insufficient and inappropriate agricultural technologies for farmers further exacerbate the problem.
4.6 Other Challenges:
Corruption: Corruption within the extension system can lead to misuse of funds and resources, further undermining the effectiveness of the services.
Environmental Imperatives: Environmental issues, such as climate change and resource degradation, pose additional challenges to agricultural extension and require a shift towards sustainable farming practices.
Lack of Incentives: Inadequate incentives for extension workers can lead to low morale and poor performance.
Large Jurisdictions: Large areas of jurisdiction for extension field staff can make it difficult for them to effectively reach and serve all farmers in their area.
5.0 Policy Recommendations for Strengthening Extension Services:
To strengthen extension services in Nigeria, policy recommendations should include:
5.1 Increased Investment in Extension Services: Governments should allocate more resources to agricultural extension, focusing on human resource development, infrastructure enhancement, and digital extension systems.
5.2 Capacity Development and Training: Continuous training and capacity-building programs for extension agents will improve service delivery. Emphasis should be placed on emerging challenges such as climate change and digital agriculture.
5.3 Public-Private Partnerships (PPP): Collaboration between government, private sector, and civil society can enhance extension services by pooling resources, knowledge, and technological innovations.
5.4 Leveraging Digital Technologies: Expanding digital extension platforms, such as mobile applications, SMS advisories, and e-learning modules, can improve outreach, especially to remote and underserved areas.
5.5 Monitoring and Evaluation Systems: Establishing robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks will ensure accountability, measure impact, and guide evidence-based policy adjustments.
6.0 Conclusion
Effective extension service delivery is indispensable for achieving national food security. By providing farmers with essential knowledge, fostering innovation, and strengthening market linkages, extension services contribute to agricultural productivity, rural development, and sustainable food systems. Addressing the challenges through targeted policy actions and increased investments will enhance the role of extension services in safeguarding food security and improving livelihoods across the nation.