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Agricultural Extension (CES2241)

Lecture 5: Selection of Suitable Content and Method in Program Dissemination • Understand appropriate development program

• Understand extension clientele

Izzah Abd Hamid • Understand the adoption process

012 441 8346

izzahahg@gmail.com
Department of Crop Science, UPMKB

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Introduction Developing Appropriate Content

• Appropriate content is critical to the extension process and performance • Appropriateness of content is situation driven – what is appropriate for
of extension system and basically depends on the appropriateness of its one farm family may not be appropriate for another

message • Agricultural development can be facilitated by development of appropriate

• More appropriate message, the better will be extension clientele technologies

– Japan: land is scarce, technology development was oriented towards biological
relationship and more likely extension’s programme will be supported
technologies – improve varieties
– USA: land is abundant, technology development was mainly in form of mechanical
innovations – tractors

• Developing countries, their commercial relationship with developed world

predisposes them to accept/develop technologies that not always
appropriate for their farmers

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Appropriateness of content should be defined within the scope of:

Technically Feasible
1. Ability of farmers to produce a commodity within their environment
Socially Acceptable
1. Innovation can be technically sound but may conflict to social
• Certain commodities do not fit into the production system of
small farmers while others do (scale neutral technologies for norms/societal disequilibrium
maize, rice, and banana) • Zaire: increase cassava (variety) constrained by inability of
2. What family can achieve and not what can be achieved on research women to handle increased yield (workload) and physically
impossible for them to handle and reverted to local variety
station
2. Social disequilibrium – adoption of technologies by small groups of
• Technology potential – tested output of given technology and
dependent on controlled agronomic factor individuals resulted in shift in power relationship within society

• Ardeche: farmer who adopted tractors and mechanical

• Technology feasibility – what can be achieved within holistic
environment of family farm, not limited to technical factors
only but also social, economic, and political factors that affect
family
• If technology can fit, it is technology feasible
harvesters were those who challenged existing family linked
mayoral structure
3. Social context – likely to be accepted/rejected by group at any given
time

• Unwise to introduce programmes with crop/livestock

component experienced market failures
Economically Feasible
1. Ability of farmer incorporate technology/technological package into
farming system has economic implications
Environmentally Safe and Sustainable
1. Aware of effects will have on the environment
2. Farmers’ resource base (human and financial) must be considered
• Increase quantities of fertilizers/agrochemicals – negative
3. Example: small farmers continue to grow banana (facilitator) even
effects on environment by contaminate groundwater and
advised against it because soil erosion on very steep slopes (low
disrupt food chains
yields). Cultivating banana allow them to have access to inputs which
increase profitability of other crops

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Other things need to consider as well: Incorporating Needs into Programmes

• Rapid rural appraisal (RRA) can be used by research and extension to
provide agroecological, biological, and socioeconomic data – identifying
problems and opportunities for extension’s clientele

• Needs can be categorized on basis type of needs – material needs,

Gender
1. Role of women in agriculture
• Appropriate technologies for women
in extension programme – access to
resources and effective technologies
2. Recognition to women perform within
farming system and work schedule
• Women – production food crops
rather than export oriented crop
knowledge based needs, or infrastructural support needs (prioritize
Age Ethnic Groups them before incorporating into extension programmes)
1. Developing countries, agriculture is important 1. Language, food preferences, and religion –
sector and significant proportion of activities
takes place in rural areas – low level
extension’s programme should reflect these
differences
• Transferring appropriate technologies is not enough to ensure adoption
education, few skills, limited employment
opportunities, and strong desire of young
people to leave the area
because may be constrained by other variables which needs assessment
2. Agriculture – low status, low level of
technology, and low income earning
ought to identify
3. Encourage households to invest more and
encourage youth to remain

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Program Delivery and Implementation • It should classified either production technology or problem solving
approach
• Different approaches can be used to organize and deliver extension
• Production technology – emphasize the production targets more than
programmes
clientele, more concern with addressing production issue than clientele
• Selected approach by national extension should reflect its prescribed
related problems
mission as articulated by policy makers and maybe influence by donor
– More to commercial farmers (commodity focussed) compared to small farmers
agencies
• Extension programmes should be developed for each targeted categories
• Types of approach depend primarily on policy considerations, including
(age, gender, and ethnic groups)
clientele to be served, mission of extension, and financial
considerations

How programmes are delivered at field level!

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The Learning Process

• Extensionists are educators and need to grasp basic principles of learning
and to understand effectiveness of some teaching methods
• Learning is facilitated by use of the sense, motivation, and abilities of
learner
– More senses are used, more accelerated will be the learning
– Selecting methods which will provide educational experience for their clientele including
conducive environment: choose teaching methods and supporting material

• Less abstract the methods, more learner will participate, and more
effective will be educational experience
– If farmer not performing task effectively, change method to demonstration rather than
lecture/group meeting

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The Adoption Process

PEDAGOGY ANDRAGOGY • Important consideration in selecting methods for delivery of appropriate
content is understanding the adoption process – 5 stages
• Teaching for children • Teaching for adults
• Individual in the process goes through each stage within a definable time
• Learners are dependent • Learners are independent
period
• Learners have less/no • Learners are experienced –
experience to share – involves discussion, problem
didactic solving, and others
• Learners learn whatever • Content modified according to
curriculum offers learners’ need
• Teacher required to direct the • Learners are self motivated and need
learner teachers to guide
• Learning is curriculum oriented • Learning is goal oriented

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• Knowledge of the innovation is critical – mass media

and popular theatre preferred method (reach many
people at the same time)
• Mass media – pay attention to characteristics of
audience targeted – special language
• Theatre – reaching only smaller audience but very
effective of building awareness because use popular
language and rhythms
• Most critical – outcome determines whether/not
individuals proceed to trial and adoption stages
• People need to match knowledge against facts and
assured what they heard and saw indeed workable
• Result demonstration, farmer exchange, and field
days recommended because allow individuals to
reinforce their interest by viewing tangible evidence
• Skill training necessary to facilitate individual
progression to trial stage
• Farmers adopting, extension should continue support
• Recognition programmes and farmers’ competition
can be used to encourage farmers to continue
adopting
• Goal and criteria should be carefully developed so not
to bring out negative effects because of poor planning
and implementation
AWARENESS AWARENESS
Mass media, popular theatre New/additional information
• Knowledge is important but building positive attitude
towards innovation is critical issue
• Strengthening information and attitude building is
important and usually use senses of hearing and sight Group meetings, group discussion, radio
INTEREST (individually/collectively)
forums, field days, farm visit
INTEREST Increased knowledge
• Group meetings, group discussion, and radio forum
recommended to strengthening knowledge; field days
and farm visits allow individuals to see what they
hearing – opportunity for building desired attitude
Result demonstration, farmer exchange,
EVALUATION method demonstration
EVALUATION Improved skills
• Farmer’s technical and management skill – main area
to be targeted
• Individual visit is most preferred method and needs of
individual farmers must taken into consideration
• Extension officer must develop plan for each Individual visit, farmer exchange
TRIAL individual farmer/group of farmers in similar method demonstration, on farm trials
TRIAL Behavioural change
situations (noted – problems experienced not always
same)
• Reinforcing farmers’ interest by use of farmer
exchange and skill training can be useful in helping
individuals to continue adopting
Recognition programme, competition,
ADOPTION incorporating practices into farming ADOPTION Attitudinal change
system

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• To achieve maximum results from the methods selected at different stages,
extension officer must bring to bear their understanding of learning process
– in group meeting, use lecture format supported with video and group
discussion
• Method chosen depend on the goal, resources, clientele relationship, and
skills of extension officers on one hand and on the size, and educational
level of target group
– If extension officers lack on skills to organize and facilitate group meetings, they will
shy away from their use
– If extension officers do not have vehicle, they may not be able to conduct farm visits as
frequently as might be desired/needed
• Guide of selection extension methods, Van Den Ban and Hawkins (1985)
provide useful set of criteria to judge whether the method is well
chosen:
1. Is the chosen method adapted to whether we wish to change knowledge, skills, attitude,
and behaviour?
2. Are the educational activities clearly specified so that we know what the farmer will see,
hear, discuss, and carry out?
3. Are the different methods integrated in such a way that they reinforce each other?
4. Does the planned time scale make it possible to carry out all of these activities well?
5. When choosing learning activities, has the extensionist adequately considered the needs,
skills, and means of the target group?

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