National Agricultural Technology Project

Through the project, IFAD supports the government’s strategy to increase agricultural productivity and the incomes of poor farmers. The objective of the project is to improve the effectiveness of the national agricultural technology system for the benefit of small and marginal farmers. Project activities address a general lack of improved technologies and weakness of research and extension services. The project’s goal is to improve the quality of national research and extension services and to make them more responsive to farmers’ needs by ensuring that they are increasingly demand-driven.

By intensifying and diversifying production systems and supporting value chain development, project activities will directly benefit members of farming communities. Activities will bring indirect benefits for landless and other extremely poor people by creating an increased demand for labour. Because of  the widespread poverty and overall vulnerability of women, the project focuses on improving women’s access to knowledge and technology.  

By decentralizing extension services and sharing responsibilities for planning and implementation of activities, the project ensures the participation of poor rural people. Common interest groups of crop, livestock and fisheries farmers will form producers’ organizations and federations. The groups will have a key role in value chain development and particularly in strengthening farmer-market linkages.

Source: IFAD