Extension officers embrace ICT
GOVERNMENT has embarked on a drive to capacitate agriculture extension officers with Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools to strengthen the linkage between extension, research and storage of data to propel the sector’s transformation.
It is believed that the weak linkage between the tripartite parties can be strengthened by ICT which is very useful in agricultural extension and advisory services.
This will also make it easier for the extension officers to reach out to farmers to promote agricultural productivity, increase food security and improve rural livelihoods.
In an interview on the sidelines of the hand-over of the gadgets in Makoni last week on Friday, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development, Professor
Obert Jiri said technology and vital agricultural support services are needed to carry out sustainable farming activities.
He said small-holder farmers are the bedrock of the country’s agricultural and food supply chains.
Prof Jiri said the role of ICT in connecting farmers with the information they need has received much attention in the last few years.
He said agriculture extension agents need to continuously develop new capacities and keep abreast with technological developments that can be used for agricultural and rural development.
“The extension officers are the agents of agriculture transformation, and whatever we want to drive in agriculture revolves around them.
“We have been doing a lot through President Mnangagwa’s support to capacitate them — from motor bikes, physical and mental motorisation — and now we are going towards digitalisation to make sure that our information is captured, kept, processed and delivered in a very efficient manner.
“We are here to give all extension officers in Manicaland top-of-the-range tablets which are able to process and keep data in a big way. We are targeting to give tablets to all the 6 000 extension officers across the country, and we will also capacitate them with laptops.
“We have already started giving 1 000 supervisors some laptops to aid in the collection, processing and management of data. We are only left with five provinces,” said Professor Jiri.
Prof Jiri said after decades of monologue, the Agriculture Ministry has turned to technology to bridge the gap.
He said they trained over 6 000 officers under the e-extension services project that is set to propel the Pfumvudza Programme to new heights.
ICT is needed now more than ever to enhance programmes that include Pfumvudza, the Presidential Rural Poultry Scheme and the Presidential Rural Goat Scheme since the ratio of farmers to an extension officer remain very high.
Agricultural extension officers will now use smartphones, laptops and the internet to engage farmers across the country courtesy of the ZimAgriHub — a farmer-focused online library, the ZimAgricExtension In-Service Training Application, and the Lead Farmer Online Training Programme launched last year.
The digital resources are expected to transform the sharing of agricultural knowledge and delivery of innovation in the sector.
They were developed under the Zimbabwe Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation services, with support from the European Union and technical guidance from Welthungerhilfe Zimbabwe.
The e-extension project seeks to enhance the capacity of extension officers who for decades have been physically visiting farmers on fact-finding missions to encourage and train them.
Prof Jiri said tech-savvy officers can balance new technology and human interaction, adding that agricultural extension services will play a key role in promoting agriculture as an engine for economic growth.
Tech-savvy extension and advisory services are the key to sustainable agriculture, resilient livelihoods, and inclusive growth, especially in light of the complex challenge of climate change.
Government is supporting over 400 000 small-holder farmers, communal, A1, old resettlement and small-scale commercial farming areas of Manicaland through the Presidential Inputs Programmes in cereal, horticulture, livestock and fruit production, to make the 2023/24 cropping season bigger and better.