This article surveys the trends in agricultural extension programmes and services found across the world, including privatization, decentralization, and pluralism. The general movement from top-down extension services to demand-driven programmes is explored along with its impact on the skills needed by extension professionals. Process skills and competencies required of modern extension professional programme planning and development, programme implementation, written and spoken communication, educational and informational technology, facilitative leadership, diversity and multiculturalism, public relations, and applied research and evaluation are explained and linked to relevant skill sets. In-service training of current extension agents and improvements to the facilities, faculty, and curricula used in the education of future agents are proposed as solutions to the challenges facing agricultural extension programmes and services. In-service training would raise knowledge, skills and attitudes of extension agents to meet changing contexts and needs. The changing nature of professional extension work requires that university training programmes respond with new courses and experiences for students. Practical education through fieldwork, internships, or practicums and techniques for adult learning, technology and communication skills, and leadership development are all possible solutions for closing the gap between the agricultural and extension education training programmes and the competencies required of professional extension agent
This paper briefly analyse the genesis, development and change in public sector-led extension approaches in India showing its temporal pattern, emerging innovations in extension approaches and the way forward. It discusses decentralized, community based, pluralistic extension approaches and their opportunities...
This presentation argues the need of green growth in agriculture, analyzes features of the innovation systems and ends with some policies practices. The presentation has been prepared for "Innovation and Modernising the Rural Economy", OECD’s 8th Rural Development Policy Conference, 3-5 October 2012 (Krasnoyarsk, Russian...
The Chinese Government has initiated a series of agricultural reforms since the 1970s to encourage agents to provide more services to farmers. In 2006, a new round of agricultural reforms was extended nationwide; however, the effectiveness of these reforms has...
This paper draws lessons from selected country experiences of adaptation and innovation in pursuit of food security goals. It reviews three cases of systems of innovation operating in contrasting regional, socio-economic and agro-ecological contexts, in terms of four features of...
The new challenges facing the European agricultural and rural sectors call for a review of the links between knowledge production and its use to foster innovation, and for a deeper analysis of the potential of the current Agricultural Knowledge and...