Agricultural Extension: Worldwide Institutional Evolution and Forces for Change

Agricultural extension has entered a period of renewal in the past decade after being overshadowed by agricultural research involving a great deal of experimentation. Throughout this experimentation, the central issue has been about the relationship of the public sector with its clientele and the private sector. This volume is about recent evolution of public sector agricultural extension, seen from various perpsectives and with different concerns in mind. The book begins with providing examples of different responses by the public sector towards pressures to re-structure financing and privatize. Following are discussions on how to make extension more effective and efficient through public-private cooperation. Focus is also placed on a number of concepts and strategies influencing the current development of extension. The final section gathers a number of contrasting perspectives regarding the development of extensions systems and the roles and responsibilities for public sector agricultural extension in the future.