Modern agricultural extension

In the early years of this century, extension services were in their formative stage; they were relatively small in scale and limited in the scope of their work and contact with farmers, and their organization was often somewhat haphazard even though based on legislation. They were organized predominantly either by central or local governments, or by agricultural colleges, usually in close association with experiment stations, or by farmers' organizations (agricultural societies, cooperatives, farmers' unions, or chambers of agriculture), or combinations of these parent bodies. As the century has progressed, the organizations have matured. Changes have often occurred to their parent affiliations, government funding has become relatively more important, their objectives have become broader, especially in "the North," and the extension workers have become better trained and more professional. In addition, several other kinds of organizations have developed comparable work: agriculture-related commercial companies; agricultural commodity marketing boards, concerned to assure the supply and quality of their specific product; agricultural development projects, many of considerable territorial scale; and a variety of nongovernmental organizations (especially religious and charitable) involved in agricultural and rural development.

As agricultural extension organizations have grown and changed, they have invariably become more bureaucratic with distinct hierarchical structures. The work of dispersed extension workers had to be administered and controlled so that one or more levels of intermediary structure (for example, district, region) have been created between the field-level agents and their headquarters. Thus the management of extension activities has become a major preoccupation, and many organizations have been open to the criticism of being top heavy and top-down in their approach. However, with funding derived largely from national revenues (or international donors), senior managers have necessarily had to account for and justify their organization's activities. This has been equally pronounced in the North as in the South where, after colonial territories gained their independence, extension work has commonly been rein-vented and staffed by nationals under the aegis of their new administrations (usually ministries of agriculture).

During the past quarter century, the work of extension services has often become more diversified. In the less developed countries, the main focus remains on agricultural (mainly food) production, but there has been a growing recognition of the need to reach, influence, and benefit the multitudes of small, resource-poor farmers. Strong efforts have been made in this direction, notably through the training and visit system. Among the commercial farmers of the North, a major problem has become surplus production, with farmers facing economic and policy pressures to restrict it. Associated with intensive production methods, many issues and problems regarding environmental deterioration and livestock welfare have also arisen. Thus these have become important aspects of extension work, particularly socioeconomic guidance which focusses both on means by which farmers might maintain their income levels from their resources (for example, introduction of novel crops or livestock and involvement in various rural enterprises) and on the ways of assuring the longer term welfare of farmers and their families. Agricultural extension services are thus adding a strong social dimension to their activities.

Agricultural extension has now become recognised as an essential mechanism for delivering information and advice as an "input" into modem farming. Since commercial farmers can derive direct financial benefits from these inputs, there is a trend towards the privatization of the extension organizations, often as parastatal or quasi governmental agencies, with farmers being required to pay for services which they had previously received free of charge. This trend is strong in the North, and there are examples of it beginning in the South.

The pace of change in the organization, functions, strategies, and approaches of agricultural extension is clearly accelerating.