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

1. 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

2. Outline
• What is pluralistic extension?
• Why do we see it?
• How do we utilize it for improved
services?
• Conclusions

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. Why do we observe multiple
extension actors?
• List reasons Extension program staff with local
farmer conducting field trials of potato
varieties from CIP in Tajikistan

7. 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)