I am honored to address this session on extension financing. I will give a broad overview about the financing of the extension system in Ghana and point out similarities and differences that pertain to the system in Ghana and other countries. I shallalso point out the difficulties we encounter in financing the extension system in Ghana. Before I start I would like to talk about the importance of extension in all developing countries, despite their varied experience with extension. Policy makers haveno interest in agricultural extension, which is why it is not financed as it should be. We all recognize the contribution of agriculture to GDP in developing countries, agriculture's contribution to export earnings, and the usually large percentage of the population that engages in agriculture. We all realize that it is a very important sector and that if we want to enhance the development of our economies, it is the agricultural sector that we must restructure very seriously. To make a difference in the agricultural sector, we need to strengthen and support national extension systems. By "strengthen" and "support," I mean that we should ensure that the extension system has infrastructure and equipment for its operations. I am talking about office buildings, as extension systems at all levels — national, regional, district, and front line levels — cannot function without adequate offices. Extension officers need offices from which to operate, and it goes without saying that if they need an office they must be provided with furniture and other types of office equipment to enable them to pursue their duties.
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