INSTRUCTION: PROVIDE BRIEF AND PRECISE ANSWERS FOR THE

FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

1. Provide a Comprehensive Definition of Agricultural Extension?

Agricultural extension can be defined as the provision of knowledge and skills necessary for
farmers to be able to adopt and apply more efficient crop and animal production methods to
improve their productivity and living standards (John Russell).

Agricultural extension is an education process, which has as it goal the communication of

useful information to people, then helping them to learn how to use it to build a better life for
themselves, their families and their communities. (B.E Swanson and J.B. Claar)

A.W.Van den Ban and H.S. Hawkins: “Extension is the conscious communication to help
people form sound opinions and made goal decisions.”

There are other definitions, which suggest that extension begins with the farmer and the farm,
rather than with a piece of technology or advice. Extension is a means by which new
knowledge and idea are introduced in to rural areas. For the need of services rather than those
in the field of agriculture was realized. Extension is critically important in order to bring
about change and improve the lives of farmers and their families.

In relation with the above, “Extension is a service or system which assists farm people,
through educational procedures, in improving farming methods and techniques, increasing
production efficiency and income, bettering their levels of living, and lifting the social and
educational standards of rural life.” A.H. Maunder, FAO.

Extension is a dynamic concept its interpretation is always changing. Extension there fore, is
not a term, which can be precisely defined, but one that describes a continual and changing
process in rural areas.

Comprehensive Definition of Agricultural Extension - Extension involves the conscious

use of communication of information to help people form sound opinions and make food
decisions. (Van den Ban,1996).For different organizations, the term ‘extension’ still remained
confusing.
2. Governments developing countries use Agricultural Extension as a policy
instrument to ensure the realization of some of the major development goals of their
country. Briefly Agricultural accomplish through that such governments plan to
explain the major goals extension interventions.
Agricultural Extension was realized that extension is in many ways also an intervention that
is undertaken and/or paid for by a party who wants to influence people in a particular manner,
in line with certain policy objectives. It was used to distinguish extension from other forms of
communication intervention such as:

 Commercial advertising, where the goal is to sell products in the interest of a limited
group (salesmen, shareholders).

 Political propaganda, where the goal is to influence people’s ideological beliefs and/or
perceptions of reality in order for some to gain or maintain power.

 Public relations, where the goal is to manage one’s own reputation or public image.

‘Extension is everything that people who think of themselves as extensionists do as part of

their professional practice.’

Agricultural extension now has three main facets:

1. As a discipline it deals with the behavior of people. It is educational in content and

purposive in approach. Whether the content consists of agriculture, medicine (preventive
and social medicine), public health, education, engineering, etc, extension is always
dependent on a firm knowledge and expertise in sociology, anthropology, psychology,
administration, economics, communication arts, political science and so on.

2. As a process, agricultural extension seeks to influence the behavior of rural people

through education and information exchange. The aim is to assist them in gaining a
livelihood, improving the physical and psychological level of living of rural families, and
fostering rural community welfare. The success of the extension process requires an
atmosphere of mutual trust, helpfulness and respect on the part of both extension worker
and rural people.

3. As a service, agricultural extension makes the government ministry, the university or

voluntary agency as useful as possible to the people who support it through taxes and
donations. The concept that the broader function of extension work is to help people to
 solve their own problems through the application of scientific knowledge is now
generally accepted.

3. Illustrate the basic Model of Communication Process and define each of the
elements?
The communication process consist of six essential elements. These elements provide the
building blocks from which all models of communication are drawn, they are:

1. Source/sender
2. Message
3. Channel/medium
4. Receiver
5. Effect, and
6. Feedback

Figure 1: A basic model of the communication process

1. Source/sender
The source or sender is the individual or a group working together or an institution
responsible for initiating communication and ensuring that the objectives of the
exercise are clearly defined and achieved. In addition, the source must strive to
update his knowledge through training, subject matter wise, as well as in the
methodologies of communication itself.

2. Message
The message is the stimuli or idea that the source transmits. Messages must be clear, useful to
the audience, relevant to the environment and timely with respect to their livelihood
activities. Message content should be relevant to the receiver; this implies that the message
sent must be technically feasible, economically beneficial and acceptable with respect to the
norms and values of the society.

3. Channel/medium
A channel or medium is the means by which a message travels from the source to the
receiver. The human senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste and feeling) make up the most
common means of exchanging ideas. The methods include visual and oral, spoken and
written. The more senses employed in the communication process, the greater the chance
that it is understood.

4. Receiver
The receiver is the target or audience of communication. The audience are those whom the
source/sender wishes to receive, understand and use the idea. In extension communication it
is important that the receiver of each message be clearly defined and segregated into
homogenous groups for effective communication. If the audience is to make progress, the
extension teacher somehow helps them to change their knowledge, attitude or behaviour.

5. Effect, and

The effect of the communication is felt when the receiver decodes the message (attaches
meaning to the symbols) and develops an idea in his mind which he may or may not use.

6. Feedback

Feedback is the response from the receiver to the source of the message. Feedback is a
control device and an important indicator of the success of communication as well as areas
requiring modification and further enquiry.
4. Briefly explain principles of Agricultural Extension?
The principles of Agricultural Extension are:

1. Extension should start where the people are.

2. Extension should be based on the needs and interests of the people
3. Extension should assist farmers to determine their own problems, help them to
find desirable solutions and to encourage them to take action.
4. It is an established fact that human beings have unsatisfied wants.
5. The principle of co-operative work must be pursued to logical conclusion.
6. Extension workers should work with all members of the family.
7. The principle of the use of variety of teaching methods is another basic principle.
8. Participation in extension programme is voluntary.
9. Extension workers should provide maximum opportunity for the people to work
on.
10. Extension workers should take advantage of any existing local groups to involve
the people in extension programmes.
11. Subject matter covered in extension must have definite purpose and must be
specific so that programme would be able to achieve the purpose for which it was
established.
12. The principle of constant evaluation must be followed.
13. The principle of professionalism should be followed.
14. Learning is a gradual process and therefore results must not be expected too soon.
15. Adult learning remains high throughout life.
16. Extension is educational in function through assisting people to make their own
decisions among various alternatives put before them.
17. Extension workers should promote the use and development of volunteer leaders.
18. Extension should be based on facts and knowledge.
There are guiding principles of extension and it will be useful to consider the
principles which should guide it. These are:
 Extension works with people, not for them
 Extension is accountable to its clients
 Extension is a two-way link
 Extension cooperates with other rural development organizations
 Extension works with different target groups
5. Briefly explain the expected role of agricultural extension to contribute towards the
realization of accelerated, sustainable and balanced development in the country
Extension activities are widespread throughout the developing world and most governments
have set up formally structured extension services to implement extension programmes and
projects. The practice of extension is supported by budget, offices, personnel and other
resources. However, it will be useful to consider the principles which should guide it.
Extension works with people, not for them
Extension works with rural people. Only the people themselves can make decisions about the
way they will farm or live and an extension agent does not try to take these decisions for
them. Rural people can and do make wise decisions about their problems if they are given
full information including possible alternative solutions. By making decisions, people gain
self-confidence. Extension, therefore, presents facts, helps people to solve problems and
encourages farmers to make decisions. People have more confidence in programmes and
decisions which they have made themselves than in those which are imposed upon them.
Extension is accountable to its clients
Extension services and agents have two sets of masters. On the one hand, they are
accountable to their senior officers and to the government departments that determine rural
development policies. Agents are expected to follow official policies and guidelines in their
work.
On the other hand, extension is the servant of the rural people and it has the responsibility to
fulfill the needs of the people in its area. This means that the rural poor should have a say in
deciding how effective extension actually is. One measure of effectiveness is to see how well
policies and plans have been carried out. An equally important measure is the extent to which
incomes and living standards of the rural people have increased as a result of extension work.
Extension programmes, therefore, are based on people's needs, as well as on technical and
national economic needs. The extension agent's task is to bring these needs together. For
example, an important part of government policy may be to increase the amount of food
grown and sold in the country. By choosing to encourage the mass of small farmers to
increase their output by improving their farming methods, national needs and farmers' needs
can be satisfied together.
Extension is a two-way link
Extension is not a one-way process in which the extension agent transfers knowledge and
ideas to farmers and their families. Such advice, which is often based upon the findings of
agricultural and other research stations, is certainly important but the flow of information
from farmers to extension and research workers is equally important. Extension should be
ready to receive farmers' ideas, suggestions or advice, as well as to give them.
The two-way link between research, extension and the farmer is fundamental to sound
extension practice and should be a basic principle of extension activity.
Extension cooperates with other rural development organizations
Within rural areas, extension services and agents should work closely with the other
organizations that provide essential services to farmers and their families. Extension is only
one aspect of the many economic, social and political activities that seek to produce change
for the better in rural society. Extension, therefore, must be prepared to collaborate with all
other such organizations, both government and non-government, and to take them into
account when preparing to implement extension policies.
It is essential that the extension agent in the field know what his colleagues in other services
and government departments are doing, and that they understand what he is doing. Close
cooperation not only avoids duplication but provides opportunities for integrated farm
programmes.
Extension works with different target groups
Extension recognizes that not all farmers in any one area will have the same problems. Some
will have more land than others and will be keen to try out new ideas. Others, with fewer
resources, will probably be more cautious. Extension cannot offer a single "package" of
advice, suitable to all farmers. Different groups need to be identified and the agent will have
to develop programmes appropriate to each group.
Extension must, therefore, be aware of the existence of different farming groups and plan its
programmes accordingly. The smallest and poorest farmers will need particular attention, as
they may lack the basic resources needed to become involved in extension activities. The
point to stress, therefore, is the existence of farmer groups with different resources and skills
in any one community, and the need for extension to respond to these groups accordinglY.
6. Discuss the types, advantages and disadvantages of the three major types of
extension methods
There are three different types of extension methods. Theses are:

I. Individual extension method;

II. Group extension method, and
III. Mass extension method
I. Individual extension method

An extension worker, interacting on one-to-one basis with the people, is utilizing and
individual method. Through working individually with the clientele, the extension worker
learns about the people of the area, how they think, what their needs are, and how they carry
on their work. In addition, it provides the opportunity for the local citizens to get to know the
extension worker so that the personal bond between the extension worker & the community
can be established. It also provides the opportunity for mutual discussion (dialogue) between
the extension workers and the farmers.

The distinct characteristic of this method is dialogue or mutual discussion.

Advantages of individual extension method

Mutual discussion is strongly favoured by farmers and extension services, because of its
several advantages. These include:

It is easy to make individual counseling of contact farmers and factionaries in target group
organization. It is useful in contacting the stay-at-home type of peoples and it is also helpful
to increase confidence of farmers in extension. It is a very good way of supplying information
to solve a unique problem. Communication of up-to-date information

It gives the extension worker to an opportunity to know the farmer very well, i.e. his feelings
capabilities situation, etc. Gives the opportunity to observe the crops, animals, etc...

Enables to have first-hand information on problems and their possible causes; it is possible to
integrate the information from the farmer (e.g. goals, means and experience) with information
from the extension agent; enables the farmer to clarify his feelings and to choose between
conflicting goals; the extension agent can increase the farmer’s trust in him /her.
Disadvantages of individual extension method

 Costs are high in terms of time, money, staff and travel

  Limited coverage (Small proportion of a target group could be reached.) 
Transmission of incorrect information sometimes takes place.

 It is seldom to provide a solution to problems related wills collective interest.

E.g. Discussions on the use of grass land.

II. Group extension method

This method aims at a particular reference group. The advantage of group p. In the group
extension work, several members of the target group who are linked by formal of informal
ties are addressed at the same time. In groups, there exists greater interaction or discussion
among group members.

It is costly as compared to the mass extension method.

Advantage of Group Extension Method.

 Large number of farmer of farmers can be reached, even if the material and staffing
provision of the extension services is limited.

 The extension worker can modify the content of his message to meet the specific
needs, interests and educational level of the audience. The extension worker can get
more feed back from the audience. Time saving compared with individual extension
work. Extension costs per head of the target group are reduced. Group methods permit
more participation by the target groups.

Disadvantages of group extension method.

 Listeners might quickly forget the main points in talk and lecture unlike publication
that can be read. If speaker is not well prepared and does not have enough knowledge,
he may transfer faulty message. There will be limited feed back unless followed by
discussion, through questions and active participation.

III. Mass extension method and mass media

Mass extension method can be categorized in to three

Printed media: newspaper, letters, Leaflets, pump lets, extension bulletins, farm publications

Audio visuals: - TV, radio, and Video film

Static media: - Posters, flip charts, wall charts, maps and chalk board.

Broadcasts, Agricultural shows etc. are also mass extension methods

Advantages of mass extension method

 Information that cannot be conveyed by words alone can be transferred visually;

messages, which are transferred both by visual and words are remembered more; the
method itself may create interest in the listeners when the style is changed in words
and visuals.

 Cost per person reached is minimum.

 It helps us to reach a large audience at once.

Disadvantages of mass extension method

 There is less feed back because these people are not in close contact with the source
and having less interaction; the audience’s misinterpretation may become very high.
Extension agents make most of the decision on the messages. There might be a
possibility of designing messages, which is irrelevant to the farmers.