Extension as a practice has a long history both ancient and modern. It can be argued that extension dates back to times when human civilization started farming. There is archaeological evidence that people were sharing information on better methods of agricultural practices at that time. An example of this is the Mesopotamian civilization, a success story that led to the transformation of agriculture and rural areas in many parts of the globe. Extension has evolved in different forms with different purposes over time. In the end the extension has evolved into a formalized public service that receives huge budget and human resources and is undertaken by governments with the objective of improving the abilities of rural people to adopt technologies and new practices so as to adjust to changing conditions and societal needs.

 

The modern history was related to certain problems faced by farming community which led to the birth of more or less organized form of extension. For instance outbreak of potato blight in Europe in 1845 has led to existence of extension service. The other example is the births of modern structured extension service in USA come to existence because of Morrill Act of 1862, the second Morrill Act in 1890, and the passage of the Smith-Lever Act, 1914 with establishing the Cooperative Extension Services.

 

Note-Click on the following hyperlinks to access additional notes on:

 

1.Evolution of Extension

 

2.The History of Extension in Ethiopia

 

3.Look at the Video showing the History of Extension in Haramaya