Pluralistic Extension System :: Politics, Government Programs

Definition Pluralistic extension system is provision of extension services for a community which is conducted by more than one source of extension services (Okorley, Grey, & Reed, 2010). According to Rivera & Alex (2004), pluralistic extension system may hold complex providers like non-governmental organizations, private companies, farmers’ organizations, commercial individuals, extension specialists’ associations, and public extension services at municipal, state, and national. Non-pluralistic extension system, by definition, is single provider of extension service which is conducted by only public extension agents. It is clear that pluralistic extension system do not eliminated the public extension workers from the system, but the system adds other potential extension agencies along with the existing public extension agency. Why is it necessary? There are several reasons why pluralistic extension system is required. One of the reasons is that previous single provider of extension system, mainly Training and Visit (T&V system) was criticized for its limited advantages. As the case in India, the T&V system was blamed for only boosting commodity and supply-driven but not generate income. It was also criticized as the cause of the fall of commodity price, disintegration among sub-sectors, and poor focus on farmer organization development (Singh & Swanson, n.d.). Former extension system was occasionally considered as inefficient, having unclear and incompatible objectives of state intervention, vague rules for implementation; it also provides limited incentive for extension workers, and lack of financial transparency (Rivera & Alex, 2004). Moreover, the pluralistic extension system is expected to reduce financial burden of national government due to large institutional structures and perceived ineffectiveness of former extensio n system (Swanson & Rajalahti, 2010). Earlier extension system was also blamed for not giving much attention in involving farmers to define and solve their own problems, while having poor linkage of extension-research-farmer system (Davis, 2008). The support of farmers’ group as possessing power for extension provider comes from Davis’ research in Kenya (n.d.), in which she found that farmers’ groups were considered by local farmers as credible source of agricultural information provider (Davis, n.d.) What are the main dimensions? Rivera & Alex (2004) maintain, â€Å"extension is not necessarily a government program, but rather the complex set of institutions whereby rural people obtain new knowledge and information† (p. 339-340) and it allows the possibility of differences extension system among different countries. This proposition has led to the implication that the dimension of (pluralistic) extension system could cover variety of issues like policy implementation (for rural change or mobilization), information collection, particular salient issues (like health problem: HIV/AIDS, etc.