This document discusses pluralism in agricultural extension systems. Pluralistic extension involves multiple providers of extension services, often with different funding sources and approaches. This can raise issues around coordination, roles, and competition/collaboration. The document provides examples of pluralistic extension in Ghana, the United States, and other countries. It also discusses reasons why multiple extension actors emerge and how pluralism affects extension management and implementation, such as the need for coordination between different groups.

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)