1. THE NEED TO PLAN

It is necessary to have an accurate assessment of the physical facts for any land which is to be used for the purposes of agriculture, irrespective of whether one is dealing with small, sub-economic units or large farms. One must have a permanent record of available resources, both of the area as a whole and of the individual farms. This information, when mapped, should provide the information required for individual farm planning and consequently a sound foundation for extensive advice in the area. Ideally, it is better to classify the whole area to be planned before individual farm planning commences. However, once one unit has been completed, and finally drafted and reproduced, there is no reason why individual farms should not be planned. This, in essence, is the basis for national and regional plans.

To explain the difference briefly, national planning can be described as a combined effort by those involved in planning to get at least some kind of formal farming, backed with sound planning, established.

The regional plan, on the other hand, involves a smaller area where the team of extension workers in that area would have established their aim for planning and, coupled with this, they would have a series of objectives which are timed phases by which they are able to measure their progress in the overall planning exercise.

2. APPROACH TO PLANNING

Planning is a basic and fundamental procedure at any level where action is intended.

Planning has been appropriately defined as the conscious selection of a course of action to achieve a specific objective.

Planning is achieved through a systematic process involving five clearly defined steps:

Systematic fact collection

Rigorous analysis of the facts, and their interpretation Sound decision making in the light of the analysis

Implementation of the decisions through application Evaluation of outcomes through objective appraisal

Planning is a continuous process, namely;

the evaluation of one planning exercise leading to the development of a modification, or an addition, to the existing plan

its replacement by another plan

its termination on successful accomplishment of the objective

A plan requires a set of blueprints, specifications and instructions; a document describing what will be done, when it will be done, how it will be done, with what resources, and by whom. The document must be clear on the probability of achieving objectives and contain an estimate of the time which will be required to implement the programme. The latter point is most valuable from the point of view of subsequent evaluation.

3. SYSTEMATIC FACT COLLECTION

One must be selective in the light of the objective. For example, it is neither practical nor feasible to collect all the facts; the aim should be to collect the pertinent facts. To this end it is advisable to consider the following points at the outset:

The specific purpose of the programme Its place in the larger activities

Its relation to current plans, policies and orders Relative priority of its claims on resources

The major problems associated with planning are:

What facts to collect How to analyze them

What interpretation to put to them

What action to take as a result of interpretation and resources

How much time one can afford to spend on each stage of the development of a programme

Obviously it is harder to visualise factors in a dynamic situation as opposed to a static one. In the dynamic situation it is necessary to consider the practical implications with their modifying effects. Here we bump into human factors with all their attendant problems.

Fact finding must be geared to the nature of the problem rather than oriented towards ideal patterns which may or may not fit. Each problem has some elements that are unique and therefore no standard pattern of fact finding can be formulated. The collection of facts (as also in all other facets of planning) cannot be successfully carried out by people who do not understand the operation as a whole, are not familiar with the overall environment, or do not have a very clear understanding of the objective. This point is probably the most important single factor leading to failure in extension programmes, and we are all familiar with the fundamental weaknesses of so called fact finding missions made up of people who are completely divorced from the realities of the situations they investigate.

4. ASSESSMENT

Analysis is commonly regarded as a procedure of conceptual clarification to be pursued until the air is clear enough for one’s present purpose, or until some particular perplexity has been resolved, and not be thought of tending towards any ultimate terminus.

Interpretation of an analysis is basically the next stage in the thought processes. The interpretation expounds an individual assessment of what the analysis presented.

The most common weakness apparent in the interpretation of a factual analysis is that the interpreter is unconsciously biased.

The ‘thinking – feeling – doing’ of one group grows to differ significantly from that of another group. Upbringing in a given social environment leaves its strong imprint upon their understanding of situations.

The process of Interpretation (or assessment) is aimed at:

Identifying the problems

Identifying the causes of the problem Identifying the needs

The assessment phase is therefore that which initiates the systematic extraction of all possible alternative courses of action.

5. DECISION MAKING

This is the planning within the plan; selecting and developing the best course of action to accomplish the objective. From the words ‘selecting’ and ‘best course of action’, it is obvious that a choice and therefore a decision-making process is involved.

Breaking down the mental process of decision-making into its basic elements, we are able to identify the following phases:

Consideration of possible alternative courses of action

Discarding of those outside of one’s discretion, sphere of operations or ability

(These should not be abandoned but should be passed to appropriate authority) Prediction of the possible outcomes of each remaining alternative

Evaluation of each outcome in terms of relative desirability Choosing of the most desirable alternative

In making a choice, adequate consideration should be given to the questions:

Is it simple or complex? Is it acceptable to:

1. The community?

• Operating personnel? Is it feasible in terms of:

1. Costs?

• Personnel and/or supervision available?
  • Equipment?
  • Existing knowledge?

Therefore the final phase of this step is the arrangement of the decisions into the correct sequence to attain the objectives within the limitations of external controls such as season, available time, etc.

This arrangement is attained by undertaking a further series of decision making processes to determine:

WHAT is required to implement the decision WHERE the operation will take place

WHEN it will be carried out HOW it will be done

WHO will do it

Sound planning requires facts, standards, experience, vision, authority and timing. It is also important to realise that more than one alternative may be satisfactory and flexibility can be derived from having another string to one’s bow.

6. IMPLEMENTATION

To have produced a blueprint which never takes effect is a negation of planning and a plan cannot be considered as being complete until it has been implemented.

To carry out the programme it is necessary to:

MOTIVATE all participants and associates by ensuring that all can see the benefits of theproposals

ORGANISE the execution of the task by ensuring the timely availability and deployment of allthe facilities required

EXECUTE those aspects of the task required of oneself

CONTROL the aspects to be carried out by others through guiding and coordinating theirendeavours

The greatest single contribution to success in implementation will be clear and adequate

COMMUNICATION

Question the following:

Are there adequate detailed written instructions?

Are all concerned adequately informed on the reasons for and details of the plan?

Finally, planning is not segmental and for programmes to be effective, they must be subscribed to by all levels of authority.

7. EVALUATION

The Planning process is still not complete. Only when we have evaluated the outcome of our efforts can we have an appreciation of our success or otherwise, and have new background and facts to plan again.

COMMON ERRORS

Planning has become fashionable and as such it is embarked upon by many who have not considered the fundamentals. In the field of policy formulation and planning there are several common errors which evidence themselves. Amongst the most conspicuous are the following:

THE LACK OF A CLEAR OBJECTIVE

Objectives in the key areas are the instrument panel necessary to pilot the enterprise. Without them, administration flies without landmarks to steer by, without maps and without having flown the route before. Objectives are best expressed in terms of a desired condition or state of affairsand this must be clearly differentiated from the means or course of action necessary to achieve the objective. Objectives must be specific and practicable. An organisation’s long range objectives need to be broken down into subsidiary objectives corresponding to all the major segments of its establishment. At each lower organisation level there should be a clear statement of objectives for each unit.

EXPECTING TO ACHIEVE SOUND PLANNING AS A SIDELINE

Sound planning requires a considerable amount of time and is a specific function of administration.

If insufficient time is allocated for this purpose, the entire organisation is defective.

ATTACKING PROBLEMS SEPARATELY OR ASSUMING TOO NARROW A VIEWPOINT

Planning is aimed at permitting an integrated approach across functional lines to be followed. It is designed to bring the various problems into true relative focus and demonstrates the inter-relatedness of problems. Failure to take an overall integrated view destroys one of the major advantages of planning.

OUTSIDE EXPERTS DICTATING POLICY PLANNING

This is extremely common but seldom works satisfactorily. Active participation is an important part of planning. Outsiders may assist in certain areas and phases and may provide suggestions and review, but they should not be used to formulate plans. All executive staff should be given a function in developing a plan.

CARRYING FACT FINDING TO EXCESS

In the research necessary as a preamble to decision making it is a common failing for all sorts of data to be collected and examined to ascertain what answers can be developed from them. Such excess facts may prove interesting but they frequently have no bearing on the work to be done. It should therefore be decided in advance which facts are needed and where they are most likely to be found.

UNWITTING MISREPRESENTATION OF STATISTICS AND OTHER INFORMATION

There is a common hazard in wanting something simple which can be relied upon. This frequently results in over elaborate grouping of information with a resultant lack of explanation of the true meaning of the condensed information.

There and other similar technical difficulties in using statistics should be avoided.

FAILURE TO ESTABLISH AND ENFORCE DEADLINES FOR COMPLETING PLANNING

Planning can easily become a never ending project. It is impossible to attain 100% perfection. As subsequent events show few if any plans, especially those of a long range nature, are without error. At the time of formulation certain information is not available but there is a human tendency to refrain from making assumptions or from supplying imperfect plans. It is however, possible that more than half of the planner’s time can be spent in trying to attain the last 5% perfection. Plans will always require more polishing. Complete plans, submitted on time, which may require tweaking, are preferable to endless delays.

ASSUMING THAT JUNIOR STAFF UNDERSTANDS THE NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF DECISIONS TO BE BASED ON THEIR INFORMATION

In many cases the planner and contributors do not quite understand each other. It is essential for good planning that all members should know how their contribution will play a part in the overall development of the plan.

EXCESSIVE AND POINTLESS MEETINGS ON PLANNING

If participation is important meetings are a necessary aspect of planning. However, too often such meetings accomplish very little, and no real contribution to the planning exercise is made. To ensure real contributions, advance preparation, careful selection of the attending members, limited debate, and effective leadership are absolute essentials.