What Drives the Integration of Lead Farmers into Public Extension Systems? Unpacking Institutional, Policy, and Operational Factors in Tanzania’s Kagera Region

Abstract

Integrating community-based intermediaries into public agricultural extension systems is increasingly recognized as a strategy to address chronic service delivery gaps in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the systemic factors that enable or constrain such integration remain poorly understood. This study investigates the institutional, policy, and operational conditions influencing the integration of Lead Farmers (LFs) into Tanzania’s government-led agricultural extension system, using the Kagera Region as a case study. Despite LFs being widely promoted by non-governmental and donor-funded projects to facilitate peer learning and improve agronomic practices, their formal alignment with public extension structures is limited, uncoordinated, and lacks long-term institutional backing. A cross-sectional, mixed-methods design was employed, combining a household survey of 95 smallholder farmers with 18 key informant interviews and four focus group discussions involving extension officers, NGO representatives, researchers, and local leaders. The findings reveal that while LFs are highly valued for their accessibility, credibility, and complementary role in extension delivery; with over 80% of surveyed farmers acknowledging their positive contribution to productivity; their effective integration is severely constrained by a lack of political commitment, the absence of coherent policy frameworks, weak institutional coordination, and inadequate administrative and financial preparedness. The study contributes to policy and practice by moving beyond project-level assessments to provide a systems-level analysis of the structural determinants of LF integration. It highlights that without deliberate efforts to embed LFs within formal planning, budgeting, and accountability mechanisms, their role remains informal and unsustainable. The study concludes that leveraging the potential of LFs requires a fundamental shift from project-based engagement to institutionalized integration. It recommends the formulation of a national policy guideline to standardize LF roles, the mainstreaming of LFs into district agricultural plans and budgets, the establishment of multi-stakeholder coordination platforms, and the provision of structured, ongoing training through public institutions.