Purpose: Enhancing the relevance of rural extension services requires aligning extension education to the roles, tasks, activities and competencies of smallholder farmers. The objective of this study is to follow up on previous competence studies and to construct a validated competence framework. Design/Methodology/Approach: Competence frameworks…

Purpose: In this study, we use a self-determination theory (SDT) approach to understand farmers' attitudes toward, and intentions for, participation in competence development projects (CDP). Design/methodology/approach: By applying SDT, we developed two measures. The first one assessed the degree to which the three basic human psychological needs…

The purpose of this study was to analyze farmers' experiences with and perceptions of agricultural extension courses and their instructors in Esfahan, Iran. This study is part of a larger project on the development of a competency profile of extension instructors. Many attempts have been made to develop competency profiles for professionals (Shim,…

The impact of HIV/AIDS on food security and rural livelihoods is still insufficiently understood. It is evident, however, that rural development professionals need to respond to the changes that have taken place in rural areas due to the pandemic. This article explores competencies that they need in order to deal with the complex HIV/AIDS issues…

This article aims to study the design and the organization of auditing systems to develop environmental or quality assurance schemes at the farm level and the role that extension services could play in these processes. It starts by discussing the issue of combining auditing and advisory activities and developing auditing competences. Empirical…