PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION Flashcards
- is the process of providing educational services and information to farmers and other agricultural stakeholders to enhance their knowledge and skills, ultimately leading to improved agricultural productivity and rural development.
Agricultural extension
6 TYPES OF PRIMARY REASON WHY AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION IS ESSENTIAL
- Bridging the Knowledge Gap
- Enhancing Productivity and Efficiency
- Promoting sustainable practices
- Supporting Rural development
- Facilitating problem - solving and innovation
- Enhancing farmers empowerment
- Agricultural extension serve the bridge gap between research institution and farmers. It ensures that the latest scientific research, innovation and best practices are effectively communicated to those who can benefit from them.
Bridging the Knowledge Gap
- Extension Services help farmers increase their productivity and efficiency through the adaptation of new technologies and practices.
Enhancing Productivity and Efficiency
- Agricultural extension promotes sustainable farming practices by educating farmers about soil conservation, water management, and integrated pest management thereby reducing environmental impact and preserving natural resources.
Promoting sustainable practices
- Contribute to rural development by improving agricultural productivity and livelihoods which in turn support broader Socio- economic development in rural areas.
Supporting Rural development
- provide platform for farmers to discuss problem seek advice and learn about innovative solutions.
Facilitating problem - solving and innovation
- providing them with knowledge,skills, and confidence to make informed decisions about their farming practices.
Enhancing farmers empowerment
Function of agricultural extension
- Understanding the need of the farmers
- Disseminating information and knowledge
- Providing support and resources
- Need assessment
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Collaboration and partnership
- Need assessment: Assessing the needs and challenges of farmers. This can be done through Survey, interview, and field observations.
Engagement: extension workers’ interact with farmers to understand their specific problem and information needs
Understanding the need of the farmers
- training and workshops
- Educational materials
- advisory services
Disseminating information and knowledge
- effective extension involved a participatory approach where farmers are actively engaged in the process
Providing support and resources
- Are essential to assess their effectiveness and impact.
Monitoring and evaluation
- collaboration with various stakeholders including research institution government agencies NGOs and private sectors.
Collaboration and partnership
COMMON CHALLENGE FOR AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES
- LIMITED RESOURCES
- LACK OF RELEVANCE AND ADAPTABILITY
- INSUFFICIENT TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING
- COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
- RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
6.MONITORING AND EVALUATION ISSUES - INTEGRATION WITH RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
- GENDER AND SOCIAL INEQUALITIES
- Many agricultural extension Services operate with insufficient financial and human resources which can limit their ability.
LIMITED RESOURCES
- May not always address the specific needs and conditions of local farmers.
LACK OF RELEVANCE AND ADAPTABILITY
- May lack adequate training or ongoing professional development affecting their ability to deliver up to date and high quality information
INSUFFICIENT TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING
- Effective communication can be hindered by language differences.
COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
- Farmers may be resistant to adopting new practices due to traditional belief skepticism about the benefits or perceived risks associated with new technologies.
RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
Lack of effective mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the impact of extension program
MONITORING AND EVALUATION ISSUES
- Extension Services sometimes struggle to effectively integrate with agricultural research and development efforts resulting in a disconnect between research output and practical application.
INTEGRATION WITH RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Education is conceived as a lifelong process of learning. It is a continuing process of bringing about desirable changes in the behavior of human being involves a variety of method and sources. Start from earliest INFANCY through ADULTHOOD.
Education concept
3 MODES OF EDUCATION
- Informal education
- Formal education
- Non-formal education
Is the life long process by which every person acquires and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes, and insight from daily experiences and exposure to the environment at work, at home at play. It is UNORGANIZED AND OFTEN UNSYSTEMATIC.
Informal education
The highly institutionalized, chronologically graded and hierarchically structured” Education system”
Formal education
Refer to any organized systematic, educational actively carried on outside the framework of the formal system.
Non- formal education
Non-formal education includes for example
Agricultural extension and farming training programs, adult literacy program, occupational skills training
Newspaper, books, TV, radio, are considered sources of
Informal learning
Extension means to extend,to spread or to disseminate useful information and ideas to rural people outside the regularly.
Concept of extension
Is highly regarded as a system of educating and training the rural people
Agricultural extension
Refer to the provision of training, information, and support services by the government and non government organization.
Extension Services
Emphasizes the services to be provided in order to improved the status of farmers and fisherfolks.
Agriculture and fisheries Modernization Act of 1997
Define philosophy as the general principles of a field of knowledge
Guralnik (1978)
Extension specialist believe that all it takes to be a professional is to learn the TERMINOLOGY, RULE AND PHILOSOPHY of your RESPECTIVE DISCIPLINE
DI FRANCO (1966)
Philosophical qualities of Di Franco 1966
- Education is the most permanent way
- Freedom of choice, voluntary participation
- Teaches people to do things, not a system of doing things for people.
- Promoting innovations and best practices
- Evaluating and adjusting programs
- Facilitating partnership and networking
Fundamental of extension
- Knowledge transfer
- Educational methods and approaches
- Participatory approach
- Promoting innovations and best practices
- Evaluating and adjusting programs
- Facilitating partnership and networking
Principles: agricultural extension focuses on transferring knowledge from research institution expert to farmers and other agricultural stakeholders.
Knowledge transfer
Principles: extension Services use various educational methods and approach such training session, field demonstration, workshop, and one on one advisory services
Educational methods and approaches
Demonstration Plot: extension Services often use demonstration Plot to show case new agricultural practices and technologies
Farmer to farmer learning: they encourage peer to peer learning where experience farmers share their knowledge with each other.
Promoting innovations and best practices
Monitoring and evaluation: extension Services continuously monitor and evaluate their program assess effectiveness and impact.
Impact assessment: they measure the impact of extension activities on Agricultural products farmers income, and overall rural development.
Evaluating and adjusting programs
Collaboration: work in collaboration with research institution, government, agencies and NGOs.
Networking: they facilitate networking opportunities for farmers to connect with peer and stakeholders
Facilitating partnership and networking
