Agricultural extension in Senegal is critical to increasing agricultural production among the nation's smallholder farmers who make up 60 percent of the country's 14 million population. The paper argues that whereas the Government has recognized the importance of an integrated rural development approach to holistic development and urges extension workers to become development facilitators it fails to recognize the importance of providing these agents with training in development and communication, otherwise known as “Communication for Development” (C4D). Therefore, the authors urge the government to introduce C4D training for extension workers as an innovative strategy for improving extension effectiveness in Senegal.

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Sustainable food production to feed the growing population in Africa remains a major challenge. Africa has 64% of the global arable land but produces less than 10% of its food locally due to its inherently low soil nutrient concentrations. Poor soil fertility and a lack of fertilizer use are the major constraints to increasing crop yields in Africa. On average only about 8.8 kg NPK fertilizer is applied per hectare by African smallholder farmers. There is therefore considerable potential for increasing food production through sustainable intensification of the cropping systems. The low crop yields in Africa are also partly due to limited farmer access to modern agronomic techniques, including improved crop varieties, a lack of financial resources, and the absence of mechanisms for dissemination of information to smallholders. This study analyzed the Science and Technology Backyards (STBs) model and investigated its use for the transformation of agriculture in Africa. Some key lessons for sustainable crop intensification in Africa can be found from analysis of the STB model which is well established in China. These include (1) scientist-farmer engagement to develop adaptive and innovative technology for sustainable crop production, (2) dissemination of technology by empowering smallholders, especially leading farmers, and (3) the development of an open platform for multiple resource involvement rather than relying on a single mechanism. This review evaluates the benefits of the STB model used in China for adoption to increase agricultural productivity in Africa, with a perspective on sustainable crop intensification on the continent.

African youth face great challenges and great opportunities. Positive youth development (PYD) programs have the potential to support youth in Africa to reach their full potential. Yet PYD approaches must be tailored if they are to be contextually and culturally responsive and relevant. The purpose of this paper is to provide an evidence-informed description of one such program, the 4-H Senegal PYD program. We first provide a conceptual background for the program, informed especially by the literature on global and cross-cultural PYD. We then share empirical results of a qualitative case study focused on the establishment, scale-up, and institutionalization of the 4-H Senegal program. Our case study results elucidate culturally responsive PYD program adaptations that corroborate conceptual framings of cross-cultural PYD work while also pointing the way towards promising practice recommendations. We hope this conceptual and empirical summary of the 4-H Senegal program can contribute to the field by informing practice and guiding other innovative efforts to adapt PYD models and approaches across contextual and cultural bounds.

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