Effectiveness of Research-Extension-Farmer linkages of Agricultural Technology Management Agencies in Assam, India

Problems in the linkage among agricultural research, rural extension and farmers: An international literature review

“…On the one hand, there are problems that are easily identified as causes, because they have a direct or visible impact, or an impact related to operative issues inherent to the institutional management. This group may include problems such as the lack of economic resources to participate in joint activities or meetings (Davis et al, 2019), the work overload for researchers and extension agents, who do not have the time to participate in extra activities (Biam and Barman, 2017;Ragasa et al, 2011), the fact that research and extension agencies are different institutions (Debele et al, 2019), the lack of motivation due to poor working conditions (Sewnet et al, 2016), the lack of farmers' participation and interests in linking activities (Ifeanyieze et al, 2017), and even the political interferences, which draw research and extension work away from farmers' needs (Urhibo, 2021). While these problems may be very important in specific situations, they are relatively easy to visualise by the respective institutional authorities; thus, implementing actions aimed to face them in the context of management actions of the different organisations tends to be easier than trying to address the other problems.…”

“…Another problem mentioned is the (20) poor working conditions and task overload of extension agents (11 works). This problem includes low salaries and unstable extension employment (Sewnet et al, 2016), as well as the need to perform a large number of tasks, which restricts the possibility of implementing actions to link to research (Biam and Barman, 2017;Easdale et al, 2017). Finally, another problem is that (21) the lack of skills of researchers and extension agents contributes to the existence of weak linkages between research and extension (7 works).…”

“…Several authors agree in that a good linkage and communication dynamics among research, rural extension and farmers are key elements for the promotion of agricultural innovation processes (Easdale et al, 2017; Karamidehkordi, 2013; Mengal et al, 2019). Innovation can be conceptualised in very different ways, ranging from diffusionist perspectives focused on technology transfer to proposals that consider innovation as emerging from social learning processes that occur in the interaction among multiple actors (Blum et al, 2020; Cook et al, 2021; Goulet et al, 2019). Nevertheless, all of these different perspectives agree in the multiple benefits and positive impacts of a strong linkage between research and rural extension, and between these elements and farmers.…”

“…Despite the crucial importance of this linkage, numerous authors from around the world have stressed the existence of articulation, coordination and communication problems among the three actors, particularly between research and extension (e.g. Álvarez et al, 2018; Blum et al, 2020; Urhibo, 2021). Several studies have attempted to better understand these problems by analysing the linkage between research and extension (very often by incorporating farmers as a key actor) in the context of case studies limited to specific territories or institutions.…”

Adoption and Utilization of Cactus Pear in South Asia—Smallholder Farmers’ Perceptions

“…Therefore, it is plausible to assume that the relatively high adoption of the spineless cactus in both countries could be a result of a broader dissemination of technology through effective extension and research service delivery [33]. In both countries, farmers were receptive toward information passed on to them from extension workers, which included technology transfer and research support, that passed on information about spineless cactus and its benefits [32,33,35]. Although the level of support from the government agencies for the agricultural sector in terms of adopting new conservation technologies is still very limited in both countries, farmers are suggested to have received substantial information and research support from private extension agents, which is viewed as suitable for, valuable to, and consistent with their social and economic demands [32,33].…”