Inclusive agricultural transformation: Strengthening farmer–research–extension linkage platforms and digital feedback for a responsive innovation system in Ethiopia
For decades, Ethiopia’s agricultural extension system has largely followed a linear, top-down model. Researchers design technologies and recommendations, extension services transmit them, and farmers are expected to adopt them.
- farmers
- research
- data and methods
Inclusive agricultural transformation: Strengthening farmer–research–extension linkage platforms and digital feedback for a responsive innovation system in Ethiopia
For decades, Ethiopia’s agricultural extension system has largely followed a linear, top-down model. Researchers design technologies and recommendations, extension services transmit them, and farmers are expected to adopt them.
While this model has generated important gains, it has often failed to account for the diverse realities, constraints, and knowledge of smallholder farmers. The result has frequently been low adoption rates, limited impact, and persistent gaps between research agendas and farmers’ priorities.
Today, this model is being reimagined. A new approach: the farmer–research–extension (FRE) linkage platform, combined with a digital client feedback mechanism (CFM), is helping transform Ethiopia’s extension system from one-way 'technology transfer' into a more inclusive, participatory, and data-driven innovation process.