Purpose: To analyze the Brazilian experience in designing and implementing a recent extension policy reform based on agroecology, and reflect on its wider theoretical implications for extension reform literature. Design/methodology/approach: Using a critical public analysis we characterize the evolution of Brazilian federal extension policy…

Purpose: To reflect on the opportunities that a systems understanding of innovation provides for addressing gender issues relevant to women, and to provide some insight on how these might be tackled. Approach: Review of literature relating to gender issues and how they relate to achieving, on the one hand, equity and efficiency goals, and on the…

Purpose: Agricultural advisory services are perceived by many actors involved in rural development as a key driver behind innovation processes in agriculture. However, changes in national and global contexts cause dramatic changes in the orientation of advisory services, their organisation and their methods of intervention. This article aims to…

The goal of this paper was to develop a theory of organization/environment interaction by examining the impact of perceived environmental uncertainty on organizational processes and on organizational goal attainment. It examines theories from the organizational environment literature and derives corollaries that are empirically tested using a data…

The institutions and practices of agricultural extension in Australia are changing to meet the changing needs of rural people and communities. Issues and challenges facing rural people include the declining relative economic importance of agriculture; the declining agricultural workforce; and the shift in agriculture from a purely production…

This paper examines trends and issues in international agricultural extension and offers seven reasons for the establishment of extension systems after World War II. It makes the case that, although the general situation is somewhat similar today, three current developments color and shape extension and may cause its demise: (1) institutional…

This overview is composed of four major sections. Part I is a map of agricultural extension's "territory," that is, the definitions and systems. It discusses extension functions in agricultural production institutions and varying institutional settings, describes types of extension systems, and considers farmers' degree of influence on extension…

This paper focuses on intensified information transfer activities in rural areas of Nigeria: community development work, agricultural extension service, mass media (newspapers, television, radio, problems of communication), and the role of the library (reinforcing messages, repackaging information, acquiring specialized materials, coordinating…

This paper provides an overview of research policy considerations and conceptual analyses for the South for three economic development issues: the relationships of Southern agriculture to rural areas and communities; trends and adjustments underway and having an impact on economic development in the region; and the directions economic development…

Discusses forces promoting privatization of agricultural extension. Discusses experiences of privatization and commercialization of extension and related problems in various countries, particularly developing countries. Suggests that the state will continue to play an important role in agricultural extension in many countries and that…

This paper offers suggestions for providing accelerative opportunities for rural gifted students. Guidance is provided on overcoming local barriers and the chronic lack of sufficient resources in rural areas. Strategies incorporating telecommunications, cooperation with other districts and universities, faculty inservices, and community mentoring…

This discussion of the impact of information services on the agricultural development of the developing countries of Africa. Covers the importance of information and problems of literacy; sources of agricultural information (extension services, radio, films, publications, friends); and the role of library services. Footnotes are included. (EJS)

Focusing on contributions of educational resources to the growth of nonfarm enterprises in small towns and sparsely populated areas of the Southeast, this paper discusses four major problems which are at least partly amenable to educational solutions and examines various educational means for overcoming those problems. Research and development…

Agriculture and the rural economic bases in mining, fisheries, forestry, and natural resource extraction are experiencing major social and economic changes. The farm and rural crises of the 1980s are not short-term aberrations, but symptoms of long-term trends that were partially hidden by the relatively good times for agriculture and rural areas…

A review of the information provided by rural sociologists and agricultural extensionists regarding the adoption of new and/or improved farm practices in Nigeria in order to determine their contribution to the transfer of technology to farmers indicates that a great deal of attention had been paid to communication variables and to personal and…