Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services

Pluralism in Agricultural Extension: What? Why? How?

Paul E. McNamara 

Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics,

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Director, Modernizing Extension and Advisory

Services Project (MEAS)

September 29, 2014

Outline

• What is pluralistic extension? • Why do we see it? • How do we utilize it for improved

services?• Conclusions

Pluralism in extension and pluralistic extension

• Pluralism in extension – extension systems with multiple providers of services, and often with multiple funding sources, and multiple extension approaches

• Pluralism raises a number of issues– Coordination– Roles– Collaboration and competition– Strengthening capacities of

extension managers and systems at different levels

Lead farmer in Liberia

Examples of pluralism

• Ghana– Ministry of Food and Agric. – Cocoa farmers organization– NGOs and iNGOs– Research institutes – SARI and

others– Universities– Farmers’ groups– Private businesses – ICT,

fertilizer, seeds, chemicals– Private agribusinesses with

outgrower schemes and marketing arrangements

• Coordination• Competition and collaboration

Extension staff planting a soya demonstration farm near Tamale, Ghana

Examples of pluralism • United States

– Cooperative extension– Private farm and crop and soils

consultants– the internet– Private seed and input companies– Services and advice from farmer led

organizations – cooperatives, Farm Bureau

• Coordination• Competition • Collaboration• Defining roles, changing role for

University-based extension

Women’s farmer group meeting in Tajikistan

• List reasons Extension program staff with local farmer conducting field trials of potato varieties from CIP in Tajikistan

Why do we observe multiple extension actors?

How does pluralism affect the way we manage and do extension?

• List the ways pluralism affects extension management and implementation

Early morning at a milk processing cooperative in Nepal (Nepalganj area)