Drill statt Beratung ? - Zum Aufstieg und Fall des Training & Visit-Systems im landwirtschaftlichen Beratungsdienst Westafrikas

The training and visit (T & V) agricultural extension system has been adopted in West Africa to improve the transfer of technology to farmers with the ultimate aim of increasing agricultural production. The West African experience is discussed in this article, showing that the T & V messages to increase staple food production have not been adopted by the small farmers because the innovations were elaborated by agricultural research stations without due consideration to the particular constraints of the different production systems and target groups. Recent evaluations of different agricultural projects revealed the lack of adequate methods to develop innovations as a major bottleneck. Therefore, and in order to reduce the high cost of extension staff, it is argued that the latter should concentrate on the extension of methods to promote participatory technology development on demand of individual peasant innovators within each of the target groups. It is suggested that the diffusion of innovations should be left to more efficient channels of communication, such as local radio service, newsletters or professional private organizations.