1) Extension remains a key link between agricultural innovation and productivity gains for smallholder farmers but faces new challenges with the transformation of food systems and the emergence of private sector extension. 2) Extension policies and programs need to be tailored to countries' stages of agricultural development and transformation from agriculture-based to transformed economies. 3) Building the value case for extension requires assessing factors like relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, impact and equity at the individual, organizational, and systems levels.