This is always concern for all of us, effective agri-knowledge and agro-advisory procedures dissemination. The problem is very significant within intensive agriculture regions.

Constraints- large spatio-temporal variability in bio-physical and socio-economic aspect, lack of decision tools to address multi-stresses.

possible Solutions (???)- possibly more involvement of software developers, big database managers, multi-variate optimization procedure, effective linkage of remote sensing/GIS/Crop models/decision tools/relational layers of bio-physical and socio-economic aspects, artificial intelligence/neural networks

scope of public/private/corporate partnership (public for research and development)

dissemination tools (public/private corporates)

???

regards 

I believe both aspect has important role in the agricultural production. For example, if you introduced new plant variety ( developed from plant breeding) in farm but the soil types, nutrient requirement, climatic conditions are not matched you do not get good yield.   

We need to understand that advisory services are based on technology/package of practices. Independently they can be evaluated and they will be interlinked which is evident from many cases like soil test based recommendations as they depend upon the crop and their timely application based on package of practices. Anyways a theme to be argued and conversed more as in the developing world this has been challenged both the viability of technologies generated and also on its dissemination.

Utilization of Products / technologies is associate  with advisory  services for increase of agri-production.

If i have introduced new cultivar of rice eg, TTT-1 which yields maximum  on broadcasting method of sowing compare to transplanting. But rice is  commonly cultivated by transplanting method of sowing. We will not advise the farmers, then how we can achieve the increased  agri-production?

New harvesting machine, is very difficult to use, if will not advice and train the farmers, how they will use it?

No dear,  NOT needed any debate.

I am not discouraging your question, it is valuable, because it giving an opportunity to talk on technology and advisory services.

thanks colleagues for your comments, but still my experience at TCL says that advisory services still needs to be aligned with appropriate regional based technologies, which may be due to large agro-ecologies, small/marginal farmers, more no of crops/cropping systems and variability in inputs (behaviour of the farmers)

regards

Basically, as technologies are important to farmers in production, advisory services are also very important too. You give advice based on the technology developed and one important thing we should also considered is the sustainability of any technology developed. In considering this, one should look at the gender responsiveness and socio-cultural acceptability of the technologies developed. This implies that extension agency needs to advise technology developers on the best technologies that could be useful and accepted by different category of people based on gender, society, nature of soil and many other factors. Therefore, technology developed with a strong advisory services may be abandoned.

Thanks Gbenga, but the technical knowledge dissemination is a major concern in developing nations, as numerous agro-ecologies, small/marginal holdings, vast crops/cropping systems etc. We have to evolve rela agri-knowledge dissemination platform

regards

Products/technologies and advisory services work hand-in hand. Products/technologies without adequate awareness regarding their uses could amount to failed diffusion of innovations. On the other, advisory services would be irrelevant without new ideas/technologies or products. Which one is more effective? That depends on the kind of innovations and the competency of the service providers.

Agreed Samba, both are complimentary to each other, but operational effectiveness of services is an essential requirement for product/technologies dissemination. Example is a good variety for better yield takes a good amount of time for adoption  (slower rate), regards

I agreed with you Naveen Kalra that the technical knowledge might be a problem as the situation is in developing countries because extension specialists are not usually allowed to do their duties. You know, a lot of resources is involved in extension works especially in the area of logistics and the rest. owning to this, agricultural economists, agronomists, animal scientists and in fact nutritionist take the place of extension personnel. I think this is where the problem emanate from but I can tell you that within extension profession, there are numerous disciplines that could handle the numerous agro-ecologies and the like. It is very important to have a platform where all stakeholders in agriculture meet to discuss issues of important. So, the suggestion of  agric knowledge dessimination platform is a good idea.

Thank you.

I agreed with you Naveen Kalra that the technical knowledge might be a problem as the situation is in developing countries because extension specialists are not usually allowed to do their duties. You know, a lot of resources is involved in extension works especially in the area of logistics and the rest. owning to this, agricultural economists, agronomists, animal scientists and in fact nutritionist take the place of extension personnel. I think this is where the problem emanate from but I can tell you that within extension profession, there are numerous disciplines that could handle the numerous agro-ecologies and the like. It is very important to have a platform where all stakeholders in agriculture meet to discuss issues of important. So, the suggestion of  agric knowledge dessimination platform is a good idea.

Thank you.

Thanks Dr Gbenga, i agree with you regarding effective platforms for knowledge dissemination within developing countries, although knowledge content exist, the need is to consolidate and make it tune with the regional based decisions, as well dissemination is a problem due to large proportion of small/marginal farmers, amongst them the extent of variability in land use types, inputs and management options is quite wide, 

regards

Dear Naveen,

information is inferior to knowledge. Advisories are inferior to training farmers directly or via well trained extension intermediaries. This is about establishing services with farmers in their fields.

We have developed a new extension approach with much more face to face dialogues with farmers. We are delivering these services but are training Farmer Facilitators and in due course extension agents for farmer training in dialogues.

See for example (file attached, manuscript as submitted, paper with copyrights so no published paper file permitted):

Yunita T. Winarto and Kees Stigter, 2016. Incremental learning and gradual changes: "Science Field Shops" as an educational approach to coping better with climate change in agriculture. In: Lynn Wilson and Carolyn Stevenson (Eds.) Promoting Climate Change Awareness through Environmental Education. IGI Global (Information Science Reference), Hershey, USA, 59-93.

Best wishes, Kees

Thanks Kees for your nice advice, but country like India with intensive agriculture and more small holdings, this problem of dissemination or technology transfer is a bit difficult unless public/private agencies join together for this mission, the fertilizer/pesticides industries have their outlets and can effective transfer the knowledge acquired from public research institutions and this process is in developing stage in india, government is also putting priority on these actions, but the need is appropriate technologies/products to be transfered to the wider agro-ecologies, production environmets

regards

But Indonesia, particularly Java, is also densely populated and land is also scarce.

Extension does also not function properly. Training farmers by providing appropriate technologies as (knowledge) products as part of (climate) services in agriculture can reach large numbers, and even more so  if unions and other farmer groups take part. K.

Thanks Kees, if we take the example of Delhi although we have cultivable lands but people have have started using for some other land use type which gives them more profit, so agro-advisory for them and inputs management for most of farmers in delhi region is not much concerned, but when we talk of Punjab the advisory is very effective for the reason that soilare more or less uniform, in winter season majority of cultivators grow rice only so mono-crop advisory from the extension agency is not difficult, but if I talk of  Haryana neighbouring state, during winter season large variations in crops followed and the problems in soils is also variant, so the agro-advisory becomes difficult, we need to understand the production environments within a region and accordingly set the advisory platform, kind regards

Thanks Naveen,

apparently we have different experiences.

It is our experience over the past eight years that under the present conditions of a changing climate, nowhere in Indonesia our services dialogues are easy, also not in just irrigated or rainfed rice. Farmers need new knowledge for completely new conditions of rising temperatures and diminishing rainfall and increasing climate variability with more and more severe disasters (droughts, floods, winds) for the whole of southern Indonesia lowland tropics.

It means that adaptation is needed and this can only be introduced well in scientists/extension/farmers dialogues because this is new knowledge for new climate products that need to be introduced. That is what our work describes.

Best regards, Kees

Agreed Kees, 

Researchers/extension workers have to exactly know the adaptation/mitigation strategies to be communicated to the farmers and other stakeholders for that region, sometimes for climate change mitigation/adaptation, the technical knowledge remains too general/qualitative, as most of the time we are applying point results for regional dissemination which may pose a problem

Same way as the crop growth is a complex process with numerous biotic/abiotic stresses, we get confused and our transfer of knowledge gets restricted to only qualitative definitions

May be it is my feeling, but still we have to strengthen our knowledge platform, on higher resolution

regards

That's correct Naveen,

almost all our climate knowledge products are improvements of existing earlier ones and our climate services have been developed recently with farmer interactions. K.

Nice, Kees and that should be the process adopted by all of us

regards