The road to progress: guide on hte participatory extension (PE) process

This booklet provides guidelines on how to get a participatory extension (PE) process started and on how to operationalise the participatory extension approach (PEA) under ASIP (Agricultural Sector Investment Programme) in Zambia. The guide has been produced to change a previous top-down approach to extension. It gives a background to participatory approaches and analyses the importance of a bottom-up approach to their application. It goes on to describe a step-by-step process to PEA from problem identification to action planning and implementation. It goes through phases from preparations, awareness, reflection and decision, planning, action and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, on to the start of a new oeration cycle. The method uses a variety of diagnostic and analytical PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) tools in a logical sequence and is based on the principles of: attitude and behaviour change of communities and service providers; and willingness to share and to exchange knowledge and resources among actors.