Zimbabwe: Increased Mobility Changes Face of Extension Services

Agri — Insight

THE boot is on the other foot for extension officers now! And they are fast transitioning from that band of foot soldiers, which would criss-cross vast expanses of land in their line of duty, to motorised troops using technology that allows them to surmount huge workloads that used to give them sleepless nights.

The crux of the matter here is that mobility challenges, which were the biggest stumbling block to extension officers’ efforts to do their work are now being taken care of, thanks to the motor cycles Government is availing.

Essentially, this should make extension officers more visible and effective compared to what has been happening previously.

Government recently made a bold statement on its intentions to transform the agriculture sector from a brand dogged by mediocrity every other season into a formidable player in the national economy by initiating the motorisation of extension officers from both the crop and livestock divisions.

For the crop extension officers, the initiative has not just taken care of their mobility challenges, but has also ushered in the use of modern technology to eliminate the drudgery of moving around with 22-page record books in which they would keep data on every farmer under their supervision.

This meant that they would write down every important detail out there in the field before going to submit the records at the district offices from where they would be sent to provincial offices then national for collation.

And with the many agricultural programmes Government has set in motion as the country marches towards attaining Vision 2030, the extension officers could have been easily forgiven for requiring something bigger than the 22-page record books to capture all the critical data.

Instead, they will now be using satellite-linked tablets for data capturing and as my long-time associate, the Agritex acting director Mr Stancilae Tapererwa puts it, they will not need to visit the offices to submit records anymore, but just send them from the field via their tablets.

“We have developed an application that allows our extension officers to record all essential data and send it to the head office here in Harare directly from the fields where they will be assisting farmers,” he said.

“They no longer need to take a day or two off work to deliver records to the district offices.

“Now they will be highly mobile while information transfer will be happening at the click of a button.”

His counterpart in the veterinary division, Dr Josphat Nyika, could not hide the ecstasy, saying the welfare of their officers had received a major facelift as they would no longer be covering vast distances on foot, but ride on their motor bikes to assist farmers in distress.

“Livestock does not visit the veterinary officer in the same manner people visit doctors when they are not feeling well; the veterinary officer has to go to the sick animal no matter where it is situated geographically,” he said.

“Now our officers can easily access all the farmers under their supervision. We are very excited about the development and have since engaged the Central Mechanical Equipment Department (CMED) to train the officers in the use of motor cycles ahead of their arrival. The officers need to holders of Class 3 driver’s licences.”

The onus is now on the extension officers to demonstrate that one of their biggest problems has been addressed, which should bring more positive results.

One veterinary officer has been covering an area equivalent to or even bigger than what is covered by two or three of their Agritex counterparts.

Motor cycles will now make it possible for them to visit all farmers requiring their assistance or just make routine visits just to check on the general condition of livestock without hassle.

It is exciting to note that distribution of the satellite-linked tablets and 1 000 motor cycles is expected to start before the end of this month with Government stepping up efforts to mobilise a further 5 000 motor cycles.

Last July, the Government dispatched 500 motor cycles to for use by Agritex officers.

Demand for extension services has risen exponentially following the implementation of the land reform programme in 2000, which ushered in hundreds of thousands of new farmers.

The department of Agritex has 4 790 agricultural extension workers and 505 agricultural extension supervisors while the veterinary division has a 1 563 staff compliment.

They have 620 functional motorbikes and 900 non-runners, while the veterinary department has 315 motorcycles, of which 254 are functional and 61 are non-runners.

It is, however, critical for the extension officers to remember that their motor cycles will require to be handled with care, especially as most of them will be used on roads that are not up to scratch, which makes it even more crucial for the users to exercise great care each time they are out on duty.

It is also a common secret that extension officers will use the same bikes for their personal matters, which makes it even more critical for them to be more careful and give their bikes a longer life. It may also be necessary for Government to take off its gloves and introduce periodic inspections on the condition of the bikes and those found to be handling them without due care must be penalised or have money deducted from their salaries to effect repairs.

It will not be cruel for Government to withdraw the bike from reckless users and make them part of the pool or allocate them to more deserving candidates whose bikes might not be working for one reason or the other.

The nature of extension services should now change for the better and rise a gear or three up because instead of spending precious time walking or hitch hiking like they used to do, extension officers now just need to drive to their intended destinations and get down to business in no time.

Although it may take a bit of time to show that there is a new normal in extension services, developments on the ground should definitely be telling an extension story different from last season’s.

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