@article{cb54dc6b4334492a94ca6dd487183097,
title = "Principles of Designing and Implementing Agricultural Extension Programs for Reducing Post-harvest Loss",
abstract = "Post-harvest losses represent a significant threat to food security and farmer incomes worldwide. It is an inefficiency in the global food production system that is avoidable. In deducing principles of designing and implementing agricultural extension programs to reduce post-harvest losses, valuable lessons can be gleaned from the handful of previous extension projects and programs addressing post-harvest loss. Abstracting principles from previous experiences and using this to inform future post-harvest loss prevention programs is an evidence-based approach to arrive at solutions to this problem. This paper reviews extension programs for post-harvest loss prevention, before presenting key principles abstracted from the review that should be taken into consideration for future post-harvest loss prevention programs. This paper aims to contribute to knowledge on the role of agricultural extension in the design of post-harvest loss reduction efforts in developing countries.",
keywords = "Agricultural extension, Dimensionality, Enabling environment, Post-harvest loss, Process approach, Program design",
author = "McNamara, {Paul E.} and Tata, {Joyous S.}",
note = "Funding Information: Barrett et al. [7] carried out a three-year project funded by the USAID on {\textquoteleft}Extension of Appropriate Post-Harvest Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa{\textquoteright}. The project had three major objectives. The first was to train 30 persons (researchers, extension agents, development workers) from Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Benin and Gabon as post-harvest specialists via E-learning in the first year. The second was to design and establish a {\textquoteleft}Postharvest Training and Services Center{\textquoteright} (PTSC) in Kigali, Rwanda, in the second year. The third objective was to provide demonstrations, training programs and conduct adaptive research on innovative small-scale appropriate postharvest technologies at the PTSC in collaboration with Trainees and local extension personnel in the second and third year. Funding Information: This work was supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (grant No. AID-OAA-L-10-00003) through the Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services (MEAS) program at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, USA. The material is based on work submitted to the Global Learning Assessment project conducted by the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Post-harvest Loss and financially supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. The authors wish to thank Andrea Bohn and Emmanuel Nuesiri for reviewing earlier draft of the paper. We also wish to thank Kathryn Heinz, Alyssa Brodsky and Cortney Eisenmann for manuscript preparation. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.",
year = "2015",
month = dec,
doi = "10.3390/agriculture5041035",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "5",
pages = "1035--1046",
journal = "Agriculture (Switzerland)",
issn = "2077-0472",
publisher = "Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)",
number = "4",
}