Extension and development strategies
The purpose of this section is to take a quick look at extension as it has evolved over the past several years. In light of the previous discussion on the farm household, emphasis is given to matching extension strategies with the decision making needs of the farm family. It is apparent that in many development programmes, traditional extension is not stimulating development to a significant extent and this is serious because extension services are expensive. Traditional government extension services are only suitable for a given period of development or under specific sets of conditions. This tends to be in the relatively early stages where government induced programmes are needed to meet national objectives such as food security or import substitution. Once a reasonable proportion of the rural community has moved from subsistence agriculture to a market-driven economy, then governments can gradually invest less in traditional extension and the private sector plays a greater role.
Fig. 4: Interaction Between All Factors Influencing Household Decisions
Under these conditions, governments can encourage industrial investment in rural areas and act as a stimulator to commercial organizations and farmer groups. There may also be a need to act as a watch-dog for the rights of small farmers to prevent undue exploitation by the powerful few.
Alternative extension approaches
The figure below represents a range of alternative extension approaches. Any one of these may be appropriate at certain points in time and under certain conditions. It is a mistake to try to force any one extension system upon diverse sets of conditions. Governments should encourage voluntary, commercial and farmer organizations to deliver needed services when these mechanisms have a comparative advantage in responding to the evolving needs of farmers. Depending on the status of the farm household and the environment, extension approaches may fall along the continuum illustrated in figure 5.
Fig. 5: Range of Extension Approaches
A detailed discussion of these broad approaches will not be attempted here. Rather, reference may be made to Table 1. This rough typology attempts to link on-farm decision making to alternative extension delivery strategies based on their relative strengths and weaknesses. Although it is tempting to advocate one strategy over another, all of these strategies have proven to be successful at different points in time and under different conditions. For example, if the "green revolution" had waited for development of farmer organizations, an opportunity would have been lost for rapid transfer of technology through coordinated government efforts.
