Extension Landscape Course Code : EXTN0501

Course Title: Extension Landscape

Course Code  & Credit : EXTN0501 & 2-0-0

Program Specific Outcome

1. Extension and advisory services (EAS) need to support farmers to deal with several new challenges they face currently.
2. Several new approaches have emerged and many new funding and delivery models emerged in response to reforms implemented in several countries.
3. There is a lot of interest globally in strengthening pluralistic EAS and enhancing its contribution towards development of an effective Agricultural Innovation System (AIS).
4. Orient students of extension on how extension is shaped globally and the policy level challenges it faces so that the extension students fit well to the global demand for competent extension professionals who can appreciate and understand this changing context.

Objectives

1. To introduce the new challenges before extension and how extension is evolving globally.
2. To understand the new capacities that are needed by EAS providers to provide a much wider support to farmers and its orient students to the new insights from communication and innovation studies that are influencing the practice of extension globally.
3. The course also helps students to appreciate the process and the impact of extension reforms implemented in many countries, the new approaches that are evolving globally in different regions and the policy challenges in managing a pluralistic extension system.

Course Syllabus

Theory
Unit 1: Challenges before Extension and Advisory Services (EAS)
Extension and Advisory Services (EAS)- Meaning (embracing pluralism and new functions) New Challenges before farmers and extension professionals: Natural Resource Management- Supporting farmers to manage the declining/deteriorating water and soil for farming; Gender Mainstreaming- How extension can enhance access to new knowledge among women farmers; Nutrition- Role of extension in supporting communities with growing nutritious crop and eating healthy food; Linking farmers to markets- Value chain extension including organizing farmers, strengthen value chain and supporting farmers to respond to new standards and regulations in agri-food systems; Adaptation to climate changes-How extension can contribute to up-scaling Climate Smart Agriculture; Supporting family farms- strengthening the capacities of family farms; Migration-Advising farmers to better respond to opportunities that emerge from increasing mobility and also supporting migrants in enhancing their knowledge and skills; Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture including promotion of agri-preneurship and agri-tourism; Urban and peri-urban farming- How to support and address issues associated with urban and peri-urban agriculture; Farmer distress, suicides- Supporting farmers in tackling farm distress.

Unit 2: New Functions and New Capacities
Beyond transfer of technology: Performing new functions to deal with new challenges; Organizing producers into groups-dealing with problems that need collective decision making such as Natural Resource Management (NRM) and access to markets; Mediating conflicts and building consensus to strengthen collective decision making; Facilitating access to credit, inputs and services-including development of service providers; Influencing policies to promote new knowledge at a scale Networking and partnership development including convening multi-stakeholder platforms/ innovation platforms. New Capacities needed by extension and advisory services at different levels –at the individual (lower, middle management and senior management levels), organizational and enabling environment levels;
–Core competencies at the individual level; Varied mechanisms for capacity development (beyond training).
Unit 3: Pluralism in EAS
Pluralism in Extension Delivery: Role of private sector (input firms, agri-business companies, consultant firms and individual consultants)- Trends in the development of private extension and advisory services in India and other countries; challenges faced by private extension providers; Role of Non-Governmental Organizations (National/international)/ Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in providing extension- Experiences from India and other countries; Producer Organizations- Role in strengthening demand and supply of extension services; their strength and Social Sciences: Agricultural Extension Education weaknesses-experiences from different sectors; Role of Media and ICT advisory service providers; global experiences with use of media and ICTs in advisory services provision.
Unit 4: From the Linear Paradigm to Systems Paradigm
Diffusion of Innovations paradigm- strengths and limitations; multiple sources of innovation- farmer innovation, institutional innovation; farmer participation in technology generation and promotion; strength and limitations; Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems (AKIS); strength and limitations; Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS); Redefining Innovation- Role of extension and Advisory Services in AIS-From information delivery to intermediation across multiple nodes; Role of brokering; Innovation Platforms, Innovation Management; Strength and weaknesses of AIS. Rethinking Communication in the Innovation Process – Network building, support social learning, dealing with dynamics of power and conflict.
Unit 5: Evolving Extension Approaches
Evolution and features of extension approaches: Transfer of technology approach; educational approach, farmer participatory extension approach, demand-driven extension, market led extension (value chain extension), extension for climate smart agriculture, gender sensitive extension, extension for entrepreneurship Extension systems in different regions: Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Australia, North America Networking for Strengthening EAS: GFRAS (Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services) and its regional networks.
Unit 6: Changes in Governance, Funding and Delivery
Reduction in public funding: public withdrawal from extension provision (partial/ full); Examples/Cases; Privatization: Public funding and private delivery; cost sharing and cost recovery; Examples/Cases; Decentralization of extension services; examples/ Cases; Lessons from extension reforms in different countries; Extension and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Unit 7: Challenges in Managing Pluralistic Extension Systems
Pluralism: Managing pluralism and Co-ordination of pluralistic extension provision; Public private partnerships in extension (including the role of local governments/ panchayats and producer organisations); examples, challenges in co-ordination; Achieving convergence in extension planning and delivery, Financing extension Mobilising resources for extension: public investments, donor support (grants/loans); Monitoring and Evaluation of extension: Generating appropriate data for Assessment and Evaluation of pluralistic extension; Strengthening extension policy interface; generating evidence on impact of extension and policy relevant communication.

Session Plan

Session 1 : Extension and Advisory Services (EAS)- Meaning (embracing pluralism and new functions) New Challenges before farmers and extension professionals: Natural Resource Management- Supporting farmers to manage the declining/deteriorating water and soil for farming

Study material: Unit 1 full

Session 2 : Gender Mainstreaming- How extension can enhance access to new knowledge among women farmers; Nutrition- Role of extension in supporting communities with growing nutritious crop and eating healthy food.

Study material UNIT 2