What are agricultural extension services

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What are agricultural extension services?

Agricultural Extension Services. The agricultural extension service is still conceptualized as a diffusion support process, starting from public-funded technology generation and ending with the adoption in the farm, and consequently suffers from being treated as a linear process that is supply-driven or top-down by design.

How to begin work in agriculture?

Work hard and ask questions. Most farmers take pride in what they do and are happy to share their knowledge. 5. Exchange labor for equipment. If you start out by working for another farmer for a few years, you can often exchange your labor for the use of equipment when you start your own operation. 6. Get help with financing.

What are the principles of agricultural extension?

these principles as related to agricultural extension as mentioned below. Basic principles in agricultural extension system There are basic principles and guidelines used as a tools in community intervention: 1. Principle of interest & need. Extension work must be based on the needs & interests of the people.

What is the function of an agricultural extension officer?

• Towards a New Paradigm. …
• The Role of the Private Sector. …
• Training Modes and Models. …
• Assessing the Impact of Agricultural Extension. …
• Lessons Learned from Project Failures and Successes. …
• Synthesis on the Opportunities for IPI in Agricultural Extension. …
• References. …
• GADD: The Ghana Agro-Dealer Development Project. …

More items…

What are the examples of extension services?

Agricultural Extension ServicesIntegrated Pest Management.Soil Health.Nongovernmental Organizations.Fertilizers.Livestock.Dairies.Highlands.

What is the meaning of agricultural extension services?

An agricultural extension service offers technical advice on agriculture to farmers, and also supplies them with the necessary inputs and services to support their agricultural production. It provides information to farmers and passes to the farmers new ideas developed by agricultural research stations.

What are the different types of extension in agriculture?

‘ Allowing for multiple choices, the farmers had to choose from the three types of extension services (government, private and NGO extension services).

What are the roles of Agricultural Extension?

Agricultural extension (also known as agricultural advisory services) plays a crucial role in boosting agricultural productivity, increasing food security, improving rural livelihoods, and promoting agriculture as an engine of pro-poor economic growth.

What is the main objective of agricultural extension?

General Objectives General objective of agricultural extension is to improve the quality of our farmer’s life through sustainable agriculture. To bring about desirable changes in the human behavior, which includes change in knowledge, skill and attitude.

What are agricultural extension services UPSC?

An agricultural extension service provides technical aid to farmers on any agricultural issues. It works to supply them with the essential inputs and services that support and increase their agricultural production.

Where can agricultural extension work?

In addition, graduates of Agricultural Extension may become self-employed as farmers, consultants, agro-input dealers, etc. or work with non governmental organizations.

What are the functions of extension?

The function of extension is to bring about desirable changes in human behaviour by means of education. Changes may be brought about in their knowledge, skill, attitude, understanding, goals, action and confidence. Change in knowledge means change in what people know.

What is agricultural extension?

Agricultural extension is another name for agricultural advisory services.

What is the difference between Extension and Research?

Research institutions focus on the technical aspects of generating useful technologies. Extension focuses on the acceptance and adoption of those technologies by farmers. The two areas must work in partnership.

How many sources of agricultural extension are there?

There are three main sources of agricultural extension.

What are the consequences of lack of research in Africa?

As a result, poor yields and lack of access to markets mean poverty persists in the sector, with far-reaching consequences. These include the young leaving for the cities, straining inadequate urban infrastructure while also contributing to food insecurity.

What was the role of the World Bank in the Green Revolution?

The World Bank-devised ‘training and visit’ system played an important role in India’s Green Revolution from the late 1970s but also failed in some important areas. It was not suited to diversified farming systems in rainfed areas. It also struggled to meet evolving challenges such as improving sustainability, promoting diversification, and connecting farmers to markets.

What are commercial companies?

Commercial companies (such as input manufacturers and distributors); commercial farmers or farmer group-operated enterprises where farmers are both users and providers of agricultural information; agro-marketing and processing firms; trade associations; and private consulting and media companies.

Which countries have strong agricultural extension services?

Many countries with advanced agricultural sectors, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and Denmark, enjoy strong extension services. In the developing world, however, agricultural extension has not always met farmers’ needs.

What is agricultural extension?

According to IFPRI, agricultural extension (also known as agricultural advisory services) plays a crucial role in promoting agricultural productivity, increasing food security, improving rural livelihoods, and promoting agriculture as an engine of pro-poor economic growth.

Can extension lift millions out of poverty?

However, extension alone cannot lift millions out of poverty unless there is the right mix of policies, technologies, and market opportunities –laments Fancis (ibid).

What is ATMA in education?

ATMA is a multi-agency platform that gives emphasis on procedural as well as institutional reforms, leading to effective extension delivery and it is a registered society responsible for technology dissemination at the district level .

What is agricultural extension?

Agricultural extension can be defined as the “delivery of information inputs to farmers to increase agricultural productivity” and also it is the application of scientific research and knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education.

What are the problems of Indian agriculture?

Indian agriculture is confronting serious issues such as a huge yield gap, a multitude of smallholders, imbalances with respect to input use and declining natural-resource productivity. Extension systems in India, which have an important role to play in addressing these concerns, are constrained by financial, infrastructural, and human resource limitations. There is an immediate need to increase investment in extension.

Rural Development Cooperative Services

Rural Development’s Cooperative Services Program promotes understanding and use of the cooperatives to market and distribute agricultural products. The Cooperative Services division serves cooperative members, directors, management, educational institutions, organizations, rural residents, and others interested in cooperative-based business.

Cooperative Research

USDA advances knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and well-being, and communities by supporting research programs in the Land-Grant University System and other partner organizations.

Cooperative Research Emphasis Areas

USDA manages a broad portfolio of cooperative research programs which cover the scope and breadth of USDA.

Extension Services

Cooperative Extension Service offices are conveniently located in courthouses, post offices, or other local government buildings to improve the quality of people’s lives by providing research-based knowledge to strengthen the social, economic and environmental well-being of families, communities and agriculture enterprises.

How do agricultural extension agents work?

Many agricultural extension agents rely on the networks of ‘contact’ or ‘lead’ farmers to disseminate information to communities whom agents themselves are unable to reach. However, this diffusion of information through networks is not automatic, and the selection of different contact farmers can result in different learning patterns. Research in Kenya and Malawi indicates that farmers are more likely to accept the recommendations of producers they consider similar to themselves and may need to see a new practice or technology demonstrated by several people in their network before they are willing to adopt (Tjernström 2017, BenYishay and Mobarak 2014, BenYishay et al. 2015). In Malawi, for example, 70% of people needed to see at least two connections to be persuaded to adopt a novel planting technique that required substantial labour investments but no other additional inputs (Beaman et al. 2015). Learning from others, however, can be less effective in delivering messages or promoting technologies if social networks are segregated or small (Beaman and Dillon 2016, Emerick et al. 2017). Nonetheless, more systematic and careful approaches to selecting ‘messengers’ could increase the effectiveness and inclusion of extension services.

How can information services help farmers?

Information services can substantially increase the productivity and profitability of smallholder farmers as long as certain criteria are met. Agricultural development remains the cornerstone of the fight against global poverty.

How does agriculture help the world?

Despite this potential, some of the most essential components of farming systems – access to credit, insurance, or inputs – under-perform in the world’s poorest countries. For instance, farmers need timely and high-quality information to make important management decisions, like when to plant and sell, or which fertilizer to use. In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, however, the traditional agricultural extension services designed to address these needs often face critical personnel shortages and offer recommendations that few farmers adopt (Coughlin 2006, BenYishay and Mobarak 2014, Glendenning et al. 2010, Beaman et al. 2015, Blair et al. 2013, Cuguara and Moder 2011, Kondylis et al. 2014, Waddington et al. 2014).

What is ATAI in agriculture?

Over the past eight years, the Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative (ATAI) has supported nearly 50 randomised evaluations on the constraints to the productivity and profitability of smallholder farming, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UK Aid from the Department for International Development, and an anonymous donor. Conclusions from this portfolio of research are being presented as part of a series of policy briefs and presentations, summarising evidence on farmer credit and savings, risk, markets, and agricultural extension. In the case of information services, research from ATAI and the broader literature indicates that improvements might be achieved through a greater understanding of how to make targeting more efficient using social networks, the customisation of information to individual farmer contexts, and more awareness of information needs in the context of new technology deployments. We also find that interventions that share price information with farmers to increase their bargaining power in sale negotiations may, on their own, be insufficient to have an impact on incomes or prices. Here, we share some emerging insights on farmer advisory and information services from ATAI (and our colleagues).

Why do farmers need timely information?

For instance, farmers need timely and high-quality information to make important management decisions, like when to plant and sell, or which fertilizer to use . In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, however, the traditional agricultural extension services designed to address these needs often face critical personnel shortages …

Does extension help farmers?

Traditional extension does not always provide the most useful information to farmers. Governments or NGOs frequently provide agricultural advice designed to maximise yields, but farmers internalise the need to maximise profits. Evidence from field trials in Kenya, for example, finds that following the official seed and fertiliser recommendations …

Nature of the extension work

Since most of the population of the countries, hardest hit by AIDS, lives in rural areas, a large number of people affected by HIV/AIDS in sub Saharan Africa are, directly or indirectly, engaged in farming. The workers, who have the most frequent contact with the small-scale farmers, are the field extension agents.

Impact on extension and partner institutions

Extension staff apart from being more exposed to the risk of contracting the HIV infection due to their frequent visits to HIV/AIDS infected rural areas, are themselves suffering from the pandemic in many ways. Many of them are sick, some chronically.

Emergence of unexpected clientele and extension-demand environment

The epidemic is changing the traditional composition of the clientele for extension services. In the areas of high HIV prevalence, the category of healthy and able-bodied men, women and youth, in the late adolescence to middle age range, is the one that has been most affected by high levels of morbidity and mortality.

What Is Agriculturalextension?

See more on syngentafoundation.org

Who Provides Agricultural Extension Services?

Agricultural Extension in The Developing World

New Approaches to Agricultural Extension

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