The AFAAS Africa Wide Agricultural Extension Week (AEW) is an international event that brings together averagely 600 participants from across Africa and the World to deliberate on a selected strategic theme in agricultural extension and advisory services (AEAS) for sustainable development in Africa.
Its purpose is to facilitate processes for improving the use of knowledge, technologies and innovations by agricultural value chain actors to achieve their individual and national development goals.
Beyond thematic debates, the AFAAS AEW is a unique avenue for sharing experiences and learning between professionals from different backgrounds, strengthening interactions with policy-makers and investors and developing fruitful partnerships. The AFAAS AEW is also meant to discuss new developments, emerging needs in capacity development and defining new directions in agricultural extension and advisory services for the coming years. It is held biennially, and so far, three AEWs have been organised.
The 1st AEW was held in August 2013 in Gaborone, Botswana focusing on “Value Chain Approach in Agricultural Development: Coping with new demands for Agricultural Advisory Services”.
The 2nd one took place held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in October 2015 under the theme: “Reinvigorating Extension Services for Market-led Agriculture within the Context of the Malabo Declaration”.
The 3rd AEW was held in Durban South Africa from 30th October to 3rdNovember 2017, under the theme “Scaling up climate smart agriculture: integrating youth, women, and the digital revolution”.