Journal Article
An assessment of staffing and training needs for effective delivery of extension services in main-
streaming sustainable land management (SLM) practices in Kilimanjaro Region was conducted in
June/July 2013. Data collection methods included discussions with key informants at the regional
and district levels, consultations with village level stakeholders and potential collaborators, re-
view of human resources data both at regional, district and ward levels and collection of individu-
al staff bio-data including capacity deficiencies. The staffing situation at the regional and district
levels was considered to be adequate for effective mainstreaming of SLM interventions in the re-
gion. Staffing at ward and village levels was very poor and largely inadequate for sustainable ex-
ecution of extension services. It is optimistically estimated that on average the staffing at ward
level needs to be increased by at least 50%. In some districts the deficiency of extension staff at
ward level was as high as 80%. Training needs exist at all levels from the region down to commu-
nity level. At the regional and district levels both long and short term training programs were re-
quired. At the community level required training is more practical and purely focused in main-
streaming SLM interventions at individual households and community lands. Potential collabora-
tors with local government were identified in four main categories namely, NGOs/CBOs, private
sector, government departments and faith-based organizations. The study recommends a capacity
building program on specific knowledge gaps identified at regional, district, ward and village le-
vels. The study further recommends that immediate measures need to be taken by the district au-
thorities to address the staffing problem at ward level including recruitment of volunteers and
developing collaboration framework with identified potential partners.