About

The USAID Agricultural Extension Support Activity (Ag Extension Project)

aims to enhance access to agricultural (ag) extension services by smallholder farmers — both men and women. The project:

■ Enables smallholder farmers to better access for extension services, ag inputs and ag markets using a "collective action" approach by organizing them into producer groups.

■ Builds the capacity of extension agents, both public and private, to deliver improved extension services.

■ Provides demonstrations of improved ag extension service delivery by supporting 1 39 Ag Extension Service Centers in 4 upazilas, each serving as a "one-stop shop" for farmers seeking advice and assistance.

■ Introduces information and communication technology (CT) application and approaches to make ag information available in new ways to extension agents and farmers.

Project Duration: October 2012 — October 2017

Farmer Producer Groups (FPGs):

The project has formed and supports approximately 4,000 Farmer Producer Groups (FPGs) to collectively access extension services including on required inputs, access to finance and markets. Through FPGs the project is supporting public and private extension agents to reach more farmers more efficiently.

Ag Extension Service Centers (AESCs):

In collaboration with the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), the project aims to demonstrate improved agricultural extension service delivery by establishing and supporting a network of 139 Ag Extension Service Centers in 4 selected demonstration upazilas. The AESCs offer farmers the option to seek out and receive extension services and ag information at their convenience from a known, central location. The project will support DAE to adopt learning from the AESCs to other upazilas. The four demo upazilas are:

Barisal Sadar, Barisal Farid ur Sadar, Farid ur
Chougacha, Jessore Kalia, Narail

Information and Communication Technology (CT):

The overall aim of the ICT component is to provide easy access to up-to-date technical information on improved farming practices that already exists, but has been unavailable to those who need it. The project is developing a variety of e-ag appl ications and tools that will be introduced and systematically embedded into existing ag extension services to be made available to farmers and various agricultural stakeholders. ICT tools area also being developed to support information and service management functions at DAE and AIS.

Agricultural Extension Support Activity in numbers:

Regions 3 Producer Groups 4,000
Districts 12 Extension Agents 1,000
U azilas 26 AESCs 139
Farmers 110,000

Project working areas:

পThe project is working in 12 districts in central and southwest Bangladesh. Activities are supported through three regional offices in Jessore, Khulna, and Barisal.

Value Chains:

By working directly with farmer groups and extension agents through a single agricultural value chain, the project enhances smallholder farmers' ability to demand and receive necessary information, training and inputs that they need in order to increase production, while enabling them to sell their outputs to more formalized markets at higher prices. The project focuses value chains in:

Jute Mung bean Chili
Dairy Beef fattening Fish

This website is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the DAM and It’s partner and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.