❑ Define agricultural extension. What are the principles of extension education?

Explain
any five of them.
❑ Extension is a non-formal education. Please explain this statement.
❑ Write down the difference between result demonstration and method demonstration.
❑ Write short note on
1. Result demonstration
2. Method demonstration
3. Block production program
❑ Which extension teaching method is pre-dominantly adopted in Nepal and why??
Describe the major factors affecting in use and selection of extension teaching method?
❑ What are the opportunities and limitations of individual, group and mass teaching
methods?
 Education: Meaning and type
❑ Education is the process of bringing desirable change into the behavior of human beings. It can
also be defined as the “Process of imparting or acquiring knowledge or habits through instruction
or study”.The behavioral changes must be directed towards a desirable end.
❑ They should be acceptable socially, culturally and economically and result in a change in
knowledge, skill, attitude and understanding.
❑ Education is the process of developing capabilities of the individual so that they can adequately
respond to their situation in a balanced way.

knowledge Attitudes Behavior

Skills Change

Change in the knowledge, attitudes & skills ultimately change in the behavior of people
Knowledge: Knowledge occurs when an individual or other decision making unit is exposed to
gain some understanding of how it functions. Knowledge function is mainly cognitive or
knowing.
Attitudes: An attitude describes an individual's state of mind with respect to a situation, person
or thing

Skills: An ability and capacity acquired through deliberate, systematic and sustained effort to
smoothly and adaptively carryout complex activities or job functions involving ideas
(cognitive/conceptual skills), things (technical skills), and/or people (interpersonal skills)

Behavior: The way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially towards others
 Attitude

Behaviour
Knowledge Skills

Knowledge: what they know

Attitude: how they perceive it

Skills: how they perform/do it

 Types of Education
Formal education
It occurs in a structured environment whose explicit purpose is teaching students.
Usually, formal education takes place in a school environment with classrooms of multiple
students learning together with a trained, certified teacher of the subject. School systems are
designed around a set of values or ideals that govern all educational choices in that system.
(curriculum, organizational models,design of the physical learning spaces (classrooms, student-
teacher interactions, methods of assessment, class size, educational activities etc).
Informal Education
Informal education is a general term for education outside of a standard school setting. It works
through conversation, exploration and enlargement of experience. It is a life long process by
which people acquire knowledge, skill, attitude through experience and expose to the environment.
Books, papers, radio, television, internet, self etc
Nonformal Education
Any organized educational activity that takes place outside the formal educational
environments such as a classroom, but instead occurs within a kind of organizational
framework. Usually it is flexible, learner-centered and uses a participatory approach. There is
no specific target group for NFE; it could be kids, youth or adults.
❑ Non formal (NFE) has been defined as any intended, deliberate and a systematic
educational enterprise that is regularly outside the system of traditional schooling in
which the curriculum and the instructional systems are organized in such a manner that
they get easily adjusted to the exceptional requirements and needs of the students

❑ Non formal education focuses more upon the learners as compared to most of the
formal education. Learners can leave anytime when they do not feel motivated or this
education may not be beneficial to them, they are independent to withdraw from the
non-formal education programs

❑ Non formal education tends to put emphasis upon the cafeteria curriculum, options, and
selections rather than the recommended, chronological curriculum that have been
instituted in other educational institutions

❑ In Non formal education, the relationships between the individuals are more informal,
for instance, the roles of teachers and students are less unyielding and often change than
in schools where student-teacher and teacher-administrator roles are hierarchical and
rarely change during the short term

❑ Non formal education mainly centers upon the development of the realistic and practical
skills and knowledge while schools often focus on knowledge which may not be
applicable immediately.
 Extension
“Ex” meaning “out”
“tension” meaning stretching.
❑ Literally extension means to extend, to spread or disseminate

❑ Dissemination of useful information, idea, technology to the ordinary

people/farmers in their working situations.

❑ The term extension is extending the relevant and useful information to the adult
population at large
❑ No single definition of extension which is universally accepted or applicable to all
situations.

❑ Extension is a type of non-formal education aiming at inducing behavioral changes in

its clients for their increased knowledge, skills and income.
“Extension education is an applied science consisting of content derived from the
research, accumulated field experiences and relevant principles drawn from the behavioral
science synthesized with useful technology in the body of philosophy , principle, content
and the methods focused on the problem of out of school education for adult and youth”
(J Paul, Leagans).

O P Dahama(1973) defines extension education as an educational process to provide

knowledge to the rural people about the improved practices in a convincing manner and
help them to take decision within their specific local conditions.

• C.W. Lynn defined extension as a two-way bridge carrying information from research
workers to rural people and bringing back knowledge and suggestions based upon local
experiences as a guide for further research.

• The National Commission on Agriculture (1976) explains extension education as an

out-of school education and services for the members of the farm family and others
directly or indirectly engaged in farm production, to enable them to adopt improved
practices on production, management, conservation and marketing.

.
❑ Agriculture extension is the application of scientific research and new knowledge to
the agricultural practices through farmer education. It is also known as agro advisory
services. Or
❑ Agricultural extension is a two way bridge of process and activities, joining research
centers and farmers to diffuse new ideas or innovations or technologies to the farmers
for adoption and farmers problems or needs to the research centers for depth
diagnosis and solution.
❑ The rural people should know and adopt useful research finding from time to time
and also transmit their problems to the research worker for solution. It is
impracticable for the millions of farmers to visit research station and learn things by
themselves.
❑ Thus an agency is required to bridge the gap between the research worker and the
people at large, to play the dual role of interpreting the result of the research to the
farms as well as of conveying the farmers' problems to the research station for study
and solution. This agency is called extension. And the person operating this agency
or organization are called extension worker.
Research stations Extension agencies (
( National and MoALD/DOA/AKC/ Farmer groups
international) VH/Agrovet

Research Linkage User system

system system

Fig: Agriculture extension system

Importance
❑ Extension uses democratic methods in educating the farmers
❑ Extension helps in adoption of innovations.
❑ Extension helps in studying and solving the rural problems.
❑ Extension increases farm yields and improve the standard of living of farmers
❑ Extension makes good communities better and progressive
❑ Extension contributes to national development programmes

Functions of Extension
1. Change in knowledge - means change in what people know
2. Change in skill - is change in the technique of doing things
3. Change in attitude - involves change in the feeling or reaction towards certain
things
4. Change in understanding - means change in comprehension
5. Change in goal - is the distance in any given direction one is expected to go
during a given period of time
6. Change in action - means change in performance or doing things
7. Change in confidence - involves change in self-reliance
 Objectives of extension education
Fundamental objectives
The fundamental objectives of extension education is to develop the rural people
economically, socially and culturally by means of education.
General/Broad Objectives:
1. To raise the standard of living of the rural people by helping them in right use of their
resources.
2. To help in planning and implementing the family and village plans for increasing
production in various occupations.
3. To provide facilities for better family living
Specific Objectives:
1. To assist people to discover & analyze their problems & identify the felt need
2. To develop leadership among people and help them in organizing groups to solve their
problem
3.To assist people in mobilizing and utilizing the resources which they have and
which they need from outside.
4. To collect and transmit feedback information for solving management
problems
 Philosophy of extension
❑ Philosophy: Greek word, Philos = Education or knowledge, Sophiya = Way of acquiring
knowledge, Search of knowledge
❑ Philosophy of extension education includes the principles or guidelines to shape the
developmental programmes relating to that field.
❑ It provides to extension worker the basis for working out the programmes and the
policies to be adopted in extension work.
❑ Extension philosophy is based on the hypothesis that rural people are intelligent in
obtaining new information and at the same time have a keen desire to utilize this
information for their individual and collective welfare
1. Extension has a philosophy of culture
a.It respects culture of people
b. It brings about cultural change through
development.
2. Extension has philosophy of social progress
a. Its works are based on needs and desires of the people
b. It helps people to adjust with each other
3. Extension has philosophy of education for all
a. Disseminates useful knowledge to all people regardless of personal, social and
economic characteristics.
4. Extension has philosophy concerning teaching:

a. It teaches by doing:

i)Hearing – doubtful ii) Seeing – possibly doubtful iii) Do- believe

Edgar Dale
5. Extension has philosophy of leadership
a. Teaches, educates, and stimulates people through local leaders.
b. Utilizes assistance of voluntary leaders.
c. Locates, trains and uses functional leaders.

6. Extension has philosophy of local responsibility

a) Encourages people to contribute increasingly in their own affairs.
b) Prepares suitable leaders to determine programmes and plans.

7. Extension has philosophy about truth

a. Sells only proven facts.
b. Realize that going beyond truth will lose people’s faith in extension.
c. Continuously seeks new truth as today’s whole truth may be tomorrow’s
partial truth.

8) Extension has philosophy of democracy

a. Functions only with voluntary co-operation of the people
b. Co-operation with the individuals, groups and institutions interested in common welfare
c. Selects and solves the problems based on the felt needs through group action.
d. Democratic in organization.
Principles of Extension Education
❑ A principle is a statement of policy to guide decision and action in a consistent manner
(Mathews).
❑ A principle is a universal truth that has been observed and found to be truth and a settled rule of
action.
There are various principles of extension education:

❖ Principles of interests and needs: To be effective, extension work must begin with the
interest and needs of people.

❖ Grass root principle: To be effective and real, it has to be synthesis of democracy obtained at
the level of the family and more particularly at the village level.

❖ Principle of cultural difference : Cultural differences exist between extension worker and
farmer. To be effective the approach and procedure must be suited to the culture of people
who are taught.

❖ Principle of cooperation and participation: The participation of the people is of

fundamental importance of any educational endeavor.

❖ Principle of learning by doing: Learning by doing involves use of maximum number of

series; hence it is very effective in changing behavior.
❖ Adaptability principles : The use of teaching methods must have flexibility to be
adopted to the members of the community who differ in age, education , economic status
, sex and proneness to change etc.

❖ Principle of leadership: The involvement of leaders in extension programs is the one

single factor that determines the success or failure of those programs.
❖ The whole-family approach: Extension work will have a better chance of success if the
extension workers have a whole-family approach instead of piecemeal approach or
separate and unintegrated approach.
❖ Principle of satisfaction. The end-product of the effort of extension teaching is the
satisfaction that comes to the farmer, his wife or youngsters as the result of solving a
problem, meeting a need, acquiring a new skill or some other changes in behaviour.
❖ The evaluation principle : Extension is based upon the methods of science, and it
needs constant evaluation. The effectiveness of the work is measured in terms of the
changes brought about in the knowledge, skill, and attitude and adoption behaviour of
the people but not merely in terms of achievement of physical targets.
 Extension-teaching methods
❑ The extension-teaching methods are the tools & techniques used to create situations in which
communication can take place between the rural people & the extension workers.

❑ They are the methods of extending new knowledge & skills to the rural people by drawing their
attention towards them, arousing their interest & helping them to have a successful experience
of the new practice.

❑ Extension methods are the teaching devices used by the extension worker in diffusion and
adoption of information. These methods are the tools to the extension worker as wrench, screw
drivers and hammers etc. are for the engineers.

❑ According to Leagans (1961), extension teaching methods are devices used to create situation in
which communication can take place between the instructor and the learners.
 Classification of Extension Teaching Methods

A. Classification According to use 2.Group contacts

1. Individual contacts •Method demonstration meetings
Farm and home visits •Result demonstrations
Office calls •Leader training meetings
Telephone calls •Lecture meetings
Personal letters
•Conferences and discussion meetings
3. Mass contacts
•Meetings at result demonstration
•Bulletins
•Tours
•Leaflets
•Schools
•News stories
•Miscellaneous meetings
•Circular letters
•Radio
•Television
•Exhibits
•Posters
 B. According to form
Written Visual
Bulletins Exhibits
Leaflets •Posters
News articles •Motion pictures Charts, slides and
other visual aids
Personal letters
Circular letters Spoken and visual
•Method demonstration meetings
Spoken •Meetings at result demonstrations
General and special meetings •Meetings involving motion pictures
Farm and home visits •Charts and other visual aids
Office calls •Television
Telephone calls
Radio
 Individual method
❑ Individual or face-to-face methods are probably the most universally used extension
methods in both developed and developing countries
❑ Provide opportunities for face-to-face or person-to-person contact between the rural
people & the extension workers
❑ Very effective in teaching new skills & creating goodwill between farmers &the
extension workers
❑ The atmosphere of the meeting is usually informal and relaxed, and the farmer is able
to benefit from the agent's individual attention.
❑ Time consuming and expensive
❑ Chances of more benefit to wealthy and progressive farmers

• Farm visit
• Office call
• Letters
• Telephone call
• Informal contact
• Personal email
Advantages
i) Helps the extension worker in building rapport with people
ii) Facilitates firsthand knowledge of developmental problems.
iii) Helps in selecting administrators and local leaders
iv) Helps in changing the attitude of the people
v) Helps in teaching complex practices
vi) Facilitates transfer of technology effectively

Limitations
i) Time consuming and relatively expensive
ii) Have low coverage of people due to time constraints
iii) Extension worker may develop favouritism or bias towards some
individual beneficiaries of development
 Group method
❑ Direct contact of extension worker with a group of individuals for a definite
purpose
❑ Rural people or farmers are contacted in a group which usually consists of 20 to
25 person
❑ Reach more people at a time in lesser amount of time
❑ Also involve a face-to-face contact with the people and provide an opportunity for
the exchange of ideas, for discussions on problems and technical
recommendations
❑ The group method brings together farmers with similar problems. Often,
these problems demand concerted action
• Method Demonstration
• Result Demonstration
• Farmers field day
• Group Discussion
• Meetings
• Workshops
• Farmers Tour
• Training
• Lecture
Advantages
i) Enables face to face contact with a number of individuals at a time
ii) Can reach a select target group of people for specific development
work
iii) Facilitates sharing of knowledge and experience and, thereby
strengthens learning by the group
iv) Satisfies the basic urge of people for social contact
v) Motivates individuals to accept a change due to group influence
vi) Less expensive than individual methods because there is more
coverage
vii)Less chances of wrong decision

Limitations
i) Diversity in the interests of the group members may create a difficult
learning situation
ii) Hidden interests, group dynamics and factions may hinder free
interaction and decision making
 Method Demonstration
❖ It is an educational technique used for individuals or groups of villagers to apply
recommended practices by learning new skills under local conditions.
❖ It involves the practices along with instructions and guided practice. It is based
on the principle of “learning by doing”. Its purpose is to lead villagers to the
adoption of practices through their own initiative.
❖ Method demonstration is relatively short time demonstration given to a group of
farmers to show how to carry out an entirely new practices or an old practice in
a better way e.g. how to apply the fertilizer in a particular crop: how to prepare
compost in better way etc

Objective of Method Demonstration

1. To enable the people to acquire the new skills to improve upon their old skills.
2. To give confidence about the practicability.
3. To bring the research findings to the farmers.
4. To make the learners to do the practice efficient.
 Organizing and Conducting Demonastration
1. Analysis the situation and determine the need
Decide exactly what you want to accomplish through the demonstration. Check that this
practice is really important to the clients, people can afford to practice it and service and
equipments are available enough to permit its widespread use. Decide the number of
demonstrations to be conducted.
2. Consult the local leaders
Talk over the problems with few local leaders. Explain the purpose of demonstration to
the farmers. Secure their approval to conduct the demonstration.
.3.Plan the demonstration
Decide the date and time of the demonstration. Select the site and the participants. Ask
the local leaders to gather the clients and to lead the demonstration.
4. Preparation for the demonstration
Plan your presentation step by step. Include inventory and summary portions. Gather all
the information. Familiarize with the subject matter. Check the research findings. Identify
the key points to emphasize the subject. List out the required materials and equipments
for the demonstration .
5. Rehearse the demonstration
Practice the demonstration until you are thorough with all the steps. Make sure that the
points will be clear from the audience point of view.
6. Execute the demonstration
✓ Explain the applicability of the demonstration and show step by step operation.
✓ Use simple words and make sure the audiences are clear to see and hear.
✓ Try to repeat the difficult steps.
✓ Give the opportunity to the learners for practicing the demonstration.
✓ Summarize the importance of the practice
✓ Distribute supplemental teaching material such as leaflets, bulletins, etc.
7. Follow-up
Prepare a write-up about the demonstration for record keeping. Disseminate the demonstration
details through media. Make a sample check to assess the extent of adoption. Visit the farms
frequently to give the necessary assistance. Often method demonstration paves the way for result
demonstration.
 Merits
1. It appeals to the eye and effectively reaches the individuals.
2. It gives extra assurance.
3. It increases the confidence level of the extension person and the farmer.
4. This is one of the best methods for introducing the new technologies.
5. Helps in developing the local leaders.
6. Furnishes the cost data and other basic information.
Demerits
1. Suited only to the “skill involving technologies”.
2. Transporting the demonstration materials and equipments to the demonstration
plots is very difficult.
3. It causes setback if whole program is improperly co-ordinate.
1. Result Demonstration:
❑ Result demonstration is a way of showing people the value or worth of a new
practices.
❑ It required more time.
❑ Comparison are usually necessary and records are essential.
❑ The result demonstration may be a single practice or a series of practices that comes
in sequence With respect to a problem.
❑ The result demonstration may be:--(i) varietal, (ii) manurial (iii) cultural, (iv)
combination of two or more practices or (v) composite demonstration in which all
the essential improve practices in respect of crop are included as a package of
improve practices.
❑ Result demonstration is useful to convince villagers about the advantages of a new
practice/technology under local conditions.
❑ The difference in crop yields between treated and untreated plots can be shown
effectively along side economic and other advantages of improved practices.
Organizing and Conducting Demonastration
1. Analysis of the situation
Study the local problem, select the practice, analyse whether the farmers' needs for
demonstration. Plan the demonstration; while planning, define the objective. Discuss the
plan with selected farmers and make a detailed written plan.
2. Selection of the farmer
Consult the local leaders and select the farmer. He should have the ability to conduct
demonstration successfully and is respected by the neighbours. A responsible, co-
operative and average farmer with a field where most of the villages can go should be
selected. Make sure that the water and other conditions are typical of the area.
3. Prepare the action plan
After selecting the farmer, prepare a plan of actions with him; a copy of the plan must be
given to the demonstrator. Help the farmer in procuring the necessary inputs.
4. Conducting the demonstration
Before starting, make sure that all the necessary inputs are procured. Extension worker
should help the farmer to carry out the activities. It must be ensured that all the work is
being done as planned. Help the farmers in keeping the records.
5. Supervision of the demonstration
Extension worker should pay the regular visit to the demonstration farm. Give the
specific suggestion, furnish new information when needed, check progress and see
that the succeeding steps are performed as planned. Give him reorganization and provide
him opportunities to meet the scientist and other extension specialists.
6. Recording the results
The results must be carefully observed, measured and recorded especially in the presence
of other fellow farmers. Invite other farmers to see the effect of the new method.

7. Follow-up
Extension worker should publish the results through all mass media. The impact of result of
demonstrations measured by a number of people who are persuaded to try the new practice .
 Merits
1. It appeals to the eye and effectively reaches the individuals.
2. It gives extra assurance.
3. It increases the confidence level of the extension person and the farmer.
4. This is one of the best methods for introducing the new technologies.
5. Helps in developing the local leaders.
6. Furnishes the cost data and other basic information.

Demerits
1. Requires a lot of time.
2. It is a costly method.
3. Difficult to find the good demonstrator.
4. Unfavorable weather and other factors may destroy the values.
5. Unfavorable demonstration may create strong aversion among the farmers.
 Result demonstration Method demonstration
Purpose To prove the value of a To teach a new skill or old one
recommended practice in the in an improved way.
local farm is the main purpose.

Conducted by: The farmer is the demonstrator. Extension worker himself or

He conducts the demonstration trained local leaders conducts
under the guidance of the demonstration.
extension worker.

Designed to teach The farmer who conducts the Participants of the

demonstration and other demonstration may be
farmers who visit the benefited.
demonstration farm may be
benefited.

Duration It requires long time to Relatively short time is

complete the demonstration.
Cost involved It involves much cost.
Where On the farm ,ranch or home
required.
Relatively cheap method.
At learning meetings ,general
meetings , on TV , Streamed on
internet etc
 Mass method
❑ All those means of imparting information to a large number of people quickly
by a single source
❑ Particularly useful in making enormous members of people aware of new ideas
and practices or awakening them to sudden happening
❑ Serve in stimulating farmers interest in new ideas, even though the amount of
detailed information transmitted may be limited
❑ Can be used singly or in combination as required
❑ Chances of low or no attention by the user
❑ Little feedback
❑ Cheap and quickest method
✓ Printed media (Pamphlet, leaflet, booklet, folder, bulletin)
✓ Broadcasting media (Radio, Television)
✓ Exhibition and fairs
Advantages
• Suitable for creating general awareness among the people about new
practices.
• Helps in transferring knowledge and changing opinions.
• Facilitates quick communication in times of emergency.
• Large numbers of people are communicated with, in a short span of time.

Limitations
• Less intensive methods.
• Little scope for personal contact.
• Generalized recommendations hinder application by individuals.
• Little control over the responses of the audience.
• Difficulty in getting feedback information, and evaluating results
Factors affecting selection and use of extension teaching methods
❑ The size of extension staff and amount of supporting specialist assistance
❑ The availability of certain communication media For eg: news paper, radio,
TV
❑ Audience based consideration
• Size, Age, ethnicity, caste, income level and social status of audience
• Educational change expected in the people
❑ Agency based consideration
• Size of manpower, financial and other resources
• Geographical coverage
• Number of people to be involved
• Content consideration
• Personality and skills of the workers
❑ Teacher and tools based consideration
• Amount of time teacher expect to devote
• Availability of communication media and complexity of the
methods
❑ Subject matter based consideration
• The nature of complexity of subject matter: old/new, simple/complex
• Relative economic and social importance of the subject matter
• The relative effectiveness of the methods
Leaflet: A leaflet is a single sheet of paper used to present information
on only one developmental idea in a concise manner, using simple
language.
Folder : A folder is a single piece of paper folded once or twice, and,
when opened, the material is presented in sequence.
Pamphlet : A pamphlet is a 2-12 page publication, printed in 2-3 colours
with some action pictures, giving full information about a topic in greater
length than in a folders and leaflets.
Bulletin : A bulletin is a 12-20 page publication with the primary
objective of giving complete information which the intended readers can
apply to their own situation.
Booklet : When the extension material is exceeds 20 pages and is less
than 50 pages, it is called booklet.
Circular Letter : This is a letter written by an extension worker, and
sent to many people periodically, or, on special occasions.
Mass Meeting : This is held to communicate interesting and useful
information to a large number of individuals at a time.
Thank you