6.2 Organizational Issues in Extension Agencies

Under this sub topic four different forms of extension organizations and their distinguishing feature will be discussed. The extension organization embodies different aspects of an extension system, and it provides the management framework for the extension service. This is a policy issue because it affects the scope, magnitude, and structure of the extension system, including factors such as control, cost-effectiveness, and the impact of the extension service. For purposes of illustration, examples of different countries will also be discussed. The other policy issues needed to address in a national extension programs includes the quality and number of the technical and professional staff in the organization, stability, and funding.
 
• Forms of Extension Organizations

Such organizations can either be:

a. Centralized organizations-Function from the top down. Central planning and control dominates, and clientele participation and feedback in the programme are generally limited.

b. Decentralized organizations- It is characterized by de-centralized extension planning and programming, management, and the control of activities and resources are vested in regional or local government

c. Cooperative types of extension organization and funding- A unique feature of this form of extension organization is the partnership between the national and local governments in funding, programming, and managing the activities and resources of extension.

 

  • Pluralistic forms of a National Extension System
This is an emerging form of extension organization by which many publicly and/or privately funded organizations, including nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), are broadly involving in agricultural extension programmes.
« Previous | Next »

Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 License

This Learning Resource was Created by the Regional MSc AICM Program at the Haramaya University RDAE Department with Support of AgShare Project.