Extension activities are being pulled in many directions, and are being called on to respond more effectively to the needs of farmers to produce and to forge links with markets. In the USA, for example, State Cooperative Extension Services have a variety of purposes in urban areas and operate in cooperation with other government agencies. Thus extension services, while concentrating on production agriculture, especially via privatized and private extension-type service companies, are simultaneously broadening out to include new purposes and a new clientele. While extension's role is straightforward in contract farming and other commercial ventures, such is not necessarily the case with public sector extension. Its structure, organization and operating system may differ from country to country, even from region to region. Nonetheless, whether in the private or public sector, a major concern for extension is to operate in the context of agricultural innovation systems (AIS) so that new knowledge is applied and used. A key objective in reforming extension, as argued in this paper, is to make it a better instrument, or engine, for the promotion of innovation, the dissemination of knowledge and the facilitation of development.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Greater commercialization of agricultural systems and increasing trade liberalization dictate the need for better capacity on the part of the agriculture workforce in the 21st century. Global changes in the roles of the public and private sectors and the dramatic advancements in technology have also strongly affected agricultural workforce development needs. These evolving changes have important policy, institutional and programmatic implications. This article therefore places human resource development in the context of current concerns for the development of national knowledge economies and “education for the knowledge economy.” First, the territory is defined. Then the part training plays in capacity development within organizations in the agriculture workforce is examined and suggests, in the view of the authors, the need for new and necessary policy, institutional, and program reform. Agricultural education systems, including extension, formal education, in-service training, and mass media/distance education programs are examined for their importance and their need to network to prepare the agricultural workforce to meet new challenges.

No abstract

This paper argues that only the public sector can effectively and efficiently carry out certain functions and that indeed, only national governments can assume those responsibilities that affect the state as a whole. For example, only governmentsnational governments or state/provincial governments in decentralized countriescan assume responsibility for ensuring that extension services deliver needed public goods. And only governments are well placed to promote increased institutional pluralism in extension service provision and oversee the quality enhancement and assurance necessary for rural development.