In 2016, a study was conducted in Tanzania to assess the impact of radio and SMS in scaling-up smallholder participation in legume-based sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) practices and technologies. The study aimed to answer the following research questions: (i) does participation in the campaign enhance farmers’ knowledge of legume-based sustainable agricultural intensification practices and technologies? (ii) what is the impact of the campaign on the adoption of legume-based sustainable agricultural intensification practices and technologies?; (iii) does exposure to multiple ICT-enabled channels result in larger gains (in terms of knowledge and adoption) than exposure to only one channel? (iv) is it more cost-effective to use radio or SMS alone or use them in combination? The results show that both awareness and adoption are boosted if SMS supports radio campaigns. However, radio alone is the most cost-effective approach. Each dollar spent on the radio campaign results in 2.1 farmers that have adopted at least one new practice, compared with 0.5 farmers for SMS and 0.4 farmers for radio and SMS combined. Other factors were also important in facilitating uptake of legume-based SAI practices, such as gender, age, education and land size, but were not statistically significant when rated against the communication channels used.

The impact and sustainability of two interventions that have been formulated to introduce integrated pest management (IPM) into rice and maize crops in Southwestern China, Laos, and Myanmar between 2011 and 2016, and were assessed at the end of 2017. From 22 Trichogramma rearing facilities established during the interventions, 11 were still producing substantial quantities of biocontrol agents 1.5 years after project support had ended, while seven had stopped operations completely, and four were doing stock rearing only. Through the implementation of biological control-based IPM, slightly higher yields were achieved in maize and rice (4–10%), when compared to control farmers, but the difference was not statistically significant. However, the use of pesticides nearly halved when farmers started using Trichogramma egg-cards as a biological control agent. Support from either public or private institutions was found to be important for ensuring the sustainability of Trichogramma rearing facilities. Many of the suggested IPM measures were not adopted by smallholder farmers, indicating that the positive impacts of the interventions mostly resulted from the application of Trichogramma biological control agents. The following assessment suggests that further promotion of IPM adoption among farmers is needed to upscale the already positive effects of interventions that facilitate reductions in synthetic pesticide use, and the effects on sustainable agricultural production of rice and maize in the target area more generally.

Sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) practices have been developed with the aim of increasing agricultural productivity. However, most of them are not achieving their potential because of low adoption, linked to limited extension support to make them known and accessible by end-users. This paper reviews the effectiveness of the Africa Soil Health Consortium (ASHC) extension-based campaigns, contributing knowledge for formulating novel and cost-effective extension approaches. Results show that ASHC campaigns achieved scale of farmer reach and spurred adoption of promoted SAI technologies. Adoption levels for a range of practices were at least 20%, which favourably compares with reported adoption rates for the training and visit extension approach; 1-7% and 11-21% for complex and simple practices respectively. In comparison to a single channel, exposure to multiple communication approaches was associated with higher uptake of promoted practices and technologies, and also increased participation of men, women and youth, by addressing inherent differences in access to, proficiency with, and preferences of communication channels. Success factors associated with ASHC campaigns were; the deployment of multiple and complementary information channels; harnessing public-private partnerships to establish sustainable input supply chains; and development of localized content and fit-for-purpose information materials to facilitate information diffusion.

Using qualitative methods, this study assessed the stakeholders and management processes involved in locust outbreaks in China, including factors influencing the use of biopesticides. Study findings show that China has an integrated national locust response protocol, which involves various institutions from all administrative levels of the government. The process is inherently highly complex but efficient, with multisectoral agencies working closely together to prevent and/or manage locust outbreaks. In addition, the process has been successful in combating recent outbreaks, due to dedicated government funding, decisive administrative and technical actions, and the empowerment of local government administration. This is the case with the county level acting as a ‘first-responder’ that is capacitated financially and technically to respond to a locust invasion in their jurisdiction. Additionally, study findings show that despite the availability of biopesticides in local markets, their use is dampened by inadequate information about market availability, negative perceptions by decision makers about their efficacy, and concerns about their costs, as well as limited knowledge of their application techniques. Actions are therefore needed by relevant authorities to enhance stakeholder awareness of biopesticide market availability, efficacy, and field application processes. Future areas of research should focus on modelling the expected impact and cost effectiveness of chemicals vs. biopesticides, thus increasing the evidence base for promoting biopesticide use.

Providing smallholder farmers with support through conventional government extension approaches is challenging as the number of extension agents is decreasing. At the same time, new information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as short message services (SMS) sent via mobile phones, show considerable promise to complement existing extension services. In the UP-scaling Technology in Agriculture through Knowledge and Extension (UPTAKE) Project, ICTs were used to create awareness and increase uptake and adoption of agricultural innovations by maize farmers in Tanzania. Two SMS-based maize campaigns were implemented during the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 cropping seasons in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. Prior to the start of the campaigns, formative research to determine maize production knowledge, practices and challenges was conducted in Mbeya and Songwe Region. After the campaign a telephone survey, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted. During the campaign, about 3.8 million SMS were disseminated to over 55,000 farmers. 73% were male, 19% owned smart phones and 86% farmed maize on up to 1.2 hectares of land. Farmers reported maize production challenges as: unreliable markets, inadequate extension services, pest outbreaks and lack of knowledge to identify counterfeit inputs particularly seeds and fertilizers. The UPTAKE mobile SMS campaign was a new approach to agricultural extension in this area. A telephone survey amongst a sample of farmers who received the SMS revealed that 53% of respondents considered that this was now their preferred as a source of information compared to traditional sources including neighbours and family members, demonstration plots, agricultural extension workers and radios. Key lessons learnt relate to management of databases of farmer contacts, importance of participatory processes in developing content and designing SMS campaigns, and the need for flexibility and promptness in responding to emerging threats such as delayed rains and outbreaks of pests. Good practices like buy in and authorizations from the government administrative structures and compliance with country's regulations on communication are integral to the success of ICT projects.

Developing countries have recognised the need to strengthen their agricultural extension services as an engine for improving productivity, reaching marginalised, poor and female farmers and addressing new challenges, such as environmental degradation and climate change. However, structuring effective and viable extension systems remains a major challenge in most places. This paper studies the Plantwise extension programme in Kenya, an initiative that supports and increases collaboration among actors in the national plant health system, establishes and maintains a network of plant clinics – a physical interface between farmers and crop protection experts – to address the needs of smallholders, and collects key information in the process that can be used for informing policy and for monitoring and evaluation purposes. To assess the programme in Kenya, we conducted a longitudinal mixed-methods evaluation of the programme from 2014 to 2018. Our results show that Plantwise has altered the way the Government of Kenya addresses crop protection. The programme is innovative and improves knowledge at multiple levels. At the farm level, Plantwise has contributed to improvements in the use of agricultural practices, inputs and maize productivity, a major staple crop. The results show that the Plantwise approach is a reasonable alternative to other agricultural extension systems that support smallholder farmers.