What does ‘quality’ mean in the context of rural extension and advisory services?

The quality of rural extension and advisory services is a crucial element in fostering innovation and rural development. This article aims to clarify the concept of quality of rural extension and to develop a preliminary theoretical framework. An ample literature review was conducted in search of articles on service quality and quality of rural extension and advisory services. The first part presents the main results of the literature search on quality of extension services. The definition of quality is not universal. Quality cannot be conceptualized only as farmers’ satisfaction or as extension results. It has different dimensions or components and stakeholders have different points of view about it. The second part of this article discusses the definition of service quality and the concept of Total Quality Management and underlines that the concept of quality varies according to industry types or contexts and is the result of complex negotiation among different stakeholders. Finally, a comprehensive theoretical framework for addressing quality of rural extension and advisory services is presented that differentiates among enablers that limit or facilitate the delivery of quality rural extension and advisory services, the production and delivery processes, and results obtained. Here, the key role played by quality self-assessment and organizational learning is highlighted.