In Ethiopia, the delivery of new technologies to smallholder farmers is still largely the responsibility of publicly funded extension services. However, the public extension organizations in the country lack the capacity to support many of the value chain activities implicit in market-led smallholder development.

Most extension workers are technicians with a limited understanding of agricultural science. Sixty-five percent of them hold less than a BSc degree. Most extension agents are men (80-90%), which because of social and cultural barriers in many communities limit their ability to work with women farmers. Thus, a concerted effort is needed to strengthen the skills and credentials of mid-career extension staff, and to increase the ranks of qualified women extension professionals.

After working with Ethiopian farmers, extension specialists and researchers, SAA (formerly known as SG-2000) realized how important it was to upgrade the technical and human relations skills of mid-career agricultural extension professionals. SAA recognized that improved technology alone, though essential, was not sufficient for moving agriculture forward. It identified a critical missing link: of the need for well-trained agricultural extension staff that are equipped to handle new initiatives and programs for agricultural modernization.

In 1997, the SAA Board launched the SAFE initiative to strengthen agricultural extension education and enhance the skills of mid-career professionals. Since 2018, SAFE has been fully integrated into SAA as its Capacity Building program, expanding its reach across Ethiopia. Today, the program operates in ten leading universities, including Haramaya University, Hawasa University, Bahir Dar University, Mekele University, Wollo University, Arba Minch University, Jimma University, Samara University, Jigjiga University, and the University of Gondar.

With more than 25 years of experience in building the capacity of mid-career extension staff in Ethiopia and in the development of demand-driven curricula with Ethiopian universities, it remains clear that the importance and relevance of SAFE programs continue to increase. There is still an enormous need to mobilize agricultural extension services in support of achieving food security and a number of rural development goals.

Addressing such urgent issues as food security, market development, climate change, etc will be effective only if strong agricultural advisory services are in place. Smallholder producers must have access to efficient input and output markets, information and knowledge, and new production and processing technologies in order to increase their productivity.

Human resource development is a catalyst for achieving such changes in agriculture. Extension has moved beyond simply providing farmers with information about standardized technological packages. Extension specialists now provide advice and guidance that facilitate communication and coordination among many different stakeholders in all agricultural development sectors. Dealing with these kinds of issues requires skills beyond the capabilities of most front-line extension agents working today. This lack of capacity is not surprising, given that the average educational level of extension staff in many countries is declining due to general waning of educational and training standards, a drop in the number of institutions that emphasize agriculture and rural development, and competition for quality staff from better paid job markets.

There is urgent need for universities to review existing curricula, develop demand-driven programs, and acquire modern training materials to help them equip extension students and field staff with vital skills and knowledge to cope with current issues in agriculture. The curricula in universities and colleges must be responsive to emerging needs of African farmers along the whole agricultural value chain to ensure that coping with the realities faced by smallholder farmers remain at the center of rural development efforts.

Hence, SAA has set several important goals around which it organizes its operational objectives and its various action plans. The following are SAA’s key goals:

1. To create an enabling environment in which agricultural universities and colleges meet the needs of extension staff for upgrading their knowledge and skills by facilitating communication and interaction between training institutions, extension service providers and farmer organizations. SAFE will bring key stakeholders together to periodically and systematically review and develop relevant curricula.
2. Increase the adoption and adaptation of demand-driven, experiential extension training by agricultural education institutions.
3. Ensure the existence of a critical mass of well-trained agricultural and rural development advisory service providers and improve the quality-of-service delivery to small and marginalized farmers.
4. Notably increase the number and qualifications of female faculty and mid-career graduates to improve the gender balance at training institutions and in agricultural advisory services, thereby strengthening their ability and effectiveness to serve small-scale and marginalized farmers, the majority of whom are women.
5. Ensure the long-term sustainability of the SAA Capacity Building (SAFE) program by focusing on future cost-effectiveness, continuing relevance, and institutionalization in participating agricultural training institutions.