The agricultural extension services in the United States have been highly effective, especially in the past 40 years, in diffusing agricultural technologies to farmers, thus creating a so-called “agricultural revolution.” The results include a much higher agricultural productivity and a sharply decreased farm population. Here we review the history of the agricultural extension model, showing how its various elements developed gradually over time. We also analyze extensions of the agricultural model to Third World nations, to which the model was inadequately transferred, resulting in less-than-maximum benefits.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BENOR, D.
and JAMES Q. HARRISON (1979) Agricultural Extension: The Training and Visit System. Washington, DC: World Bank.
2.
EVELAND, J. D.
(1986) “Diffusion, technology transfer, and implementation: thinking and talking about change.”Knowledge: Creation, Diffusion, Utilization8(2): 303-322.
3.
HIGHTOWER, J.
(1973) Hard Tomatoes, Hard Times: The Failure of America's Land-Grant College Complex. Cambridge, MA: Schenkman.
4.
RICE, E. B.
(1974) Extension in the Andes. Cambridge: MIT Press.
5.
ROGERS, E. M.
(1983) Diffusion of Innovations. New York: Free Press.
6.
ROGERS, E. M.
, J. D. EVELAND, and A. S. BEAN (1977) Extending the Agricultural Extension Model. Stanford, CA: Stanford University, Institute for Communication Research.
7.
von BLANCKENBURG, P.
(1982) “The training and visit system in agricultural extension: a review of first experiences.”Q. J. of Int. Agriculture21: 6-25.
8.
WARNER, P. D.
and J. A. CHRISTENSON (1984) The Cooperative Extension Service: A National Assessment. Boulder, CO: Westview.
