Ernest Okorley

Citation

Thesis Title
An operational framework for improving decentralised agricultural extension: A Ghanaian case study

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Mr Okorley identified factors critical for improving a decentralised agricultural extension. Using a Ghanaian case study of a government extension organization, his study emphasised the importance of external and internal factors. External factors included the political will to decentralise, the level of decentralisation of other government departments, the provision of a clear legal framework for decentralisation, and the existence of established institutions willing to support the decentralisation process. The study confirmed the importance of internal factors reported in the literature: stakeholder participation, managerial and technical capacity, operational funding, and accountability. Other related factors, not previously reported, were also identified. These included the need to develop a needs-based extension programme, expand the extension service focus and roles, foster a cross-sector pluralistic extension approach, and use needs-based groups in service delivery. Findings have implications for theory development to guide decentralised agricultural extension services seeking to improve their performance.

Supervisors
Dr David Gray
Dr Janet Reid