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Transcript

Hello friends. Welcome you all to this course on Fundamentals of Agricultural Extension. In our very first interaction let us try to understand, what extension is. When you come across the term ‘extension’ for the first time. I hope you are not visualizing it as a discipline and as a profession. You might have come across this word in the context of an extension area or box of electric extension or a file extension in case of computers. The third extension, the concept extension what we are going to discuss about is nothing to do with these meanings that you are aware of. It is something different from the connotations that you are carrying with. But it is as a profession, and as a concept, as a model of service. In this context let us come to the literal meaning of the term ‘extension’. It is having its Latin roots. Ex means out and tension means stretching. When we try to stretch out something from an academic institution or the research institution. What can we stretch about? Obviously it has to be something about information or a technology which the society needs or the end users need.

The discussion on this particular issue started way back in mid of 1800’s, wherein the age old universities of United Kingdom. The universities of Cambridge and Oxford started thinking about so how to make use of the technologies that are being generated at the university level. And how a common man can get the benefits of that, so that we can develop some scientific temperament among the people and involve them into this particular process, for which they started organizing the popular lecture series for the benefit of the common man wherein they used to simplify the complex research messages for the benefit of common man. And this concept they called it as university extension. This particular concept of university extension has seen good number of modifications over a period of time. And the concept of extension that what we are going to discuss as a part of this course is having one prefix as well as one suffix. The prefix that you are already aware of that is we said that this is a course on agricultural extension. The prefix is we are dealing with most of the messages related to agriculture. And the suffix that is education along with extension. That agricultural extension and education. So what all these terms about, that we will be discussing.

So as far the origin of this term is considered, as I have already discussed. So it has its origin from the Oxford and Cambridge universities. Wherein they started the popular lecture series in the form of extension. And in 1873, the Cambridge University used the term ‘extension education’, wherein they started interacting with the common man, with the loaded information about the research and development activities. Now coming to the terms like extension and extension education and education. The term ‘extension’ means the actual work done by extension agents at various levels of management. It means basically it is dealing with the service component. What are the benefits that what we are giving to the people out of the technology generated out of the research information that is generated, which is beneficial for the society. Education refers to the process of bringing in desirable changes in the behavior of an individual. So it is a part of extension, wherein we are dealing with educational aspect. But education itself is a different ocean, wherein we are emphasizing on the change in the behavior of an individual, which is deliberate in nature and one has to involve into that process. That’s what is your educational process.

Coming to the term ‘extension education’. It refers to the body of knowledge connecting that work practice. It means we are identifying it as a discipline. We are identifying it as a profession, wherein we are making use of the learnings for the benefit of the society. Coming to the term ‘agricultural extension’, wherein we are emphasizing on the extension education. Maybe it is a service or a professional activity which aims at extending scientific knowledge of agriculture to the farming community. It means we are specifying ourselves. So when we talk of the technologies and the developmental issues related to agriculture. It means, it is agricultural extension. Similarly by changing the prefixes, so there are various disciplines, and the specializations that have been developed as a part of extension education that include the agricultural extension, we have already dealt about this. The veterinary extension, I hope you can easily understand the issues associated with the animal sciences and animal husbandry is being dealt by the veterinary extensionist. Similarly the dairy extension, wherein the people associated with, the farmers associated with animal husbandry will be provided the dairy extension services. Similarly home science extension, fishery extension, forest extension, sericulture extension; so on.

So these are the specializations. But the concept of extension remains common in all these disciplines. The thing that is going to change is the, as per the prefix, the subject matter. The person who has specialized in these subjects is involved in extending the technology or extending the information, extending the science for the benefit of common man is being dealt by these disciplines. Now the question comes, why we should have this concept of extension, especially in the issues related to agriculture and allied sciences. So it is being said that you cannot use yesterday’s technique today and be in the business of tomorrow. So constantly there is change in technology and the changing situation demands some modifications in the technology. There are changes in the climate. There are changes in the soil. There are changes in the demographic factors. There are changes in the need. How to meet out these changes in the society. It is only through providing appropriate information that is relevant for that point of time and that is how extension science is an evergreen science that we can say, it’s need is there always because as we have said you cannot use yesterday’s techniques today and be in the business of tomorrow.

Now coming to the literal meaning of the term ‘extension’ in India as well as in different countries. In case of Dutch they said that the term ‘extension’ means Voorlitching. The literal meaning of this Dutch term is lighting the lamp for the benefit of common man. It means, you are trying to show him the way, direction that he or she can move. In Malaysia the meaning of the term ‘extension’ is showing the torch. In case of U.K it is advisory work. Basically similar works are being done in all the countries. But they have attached different meanings to the term ‘extension’. In case of Germany they said that extension means enlightenment. It means when you are loaded with information, appropriate technology. It means you are going to change your behavior. And that is what we are going to term it as enlightenment. In case of USA the term ‘extension’ means education. We have discussed these terms in a different way. But USA tries to emphasize on extension means education and education means extension. In both these concepts we are emphasizing on the change in the behavior. In case of Austria it is furthering and in case of Korea it is rural guidance. And in France it is vulgarization. The French term ‘vulgarization’ means simplifying the complex message for the benefit of common man. And in Spain it is known as capacitation. We are trying to emphasize on building the capacities of the common man, so that he can be able to take up the difficult tasks in a simpler way. So that’s what is the process of capacity building. And in Indian context it is popularly known as the process of technology transfer. The research institutes, the agricultural universities; they are going to develop good number of technologies. And when it is taken to the benefit of common man; so that process is known as extension in case of  India.

With this now let us conclude by telling that ki extension is the science of making people innovative. Because we are constantly giving you the updated information, the new information. Extension deals with the people’s knowledge and resources, and how we are dealing with the knowledge and resources. That we will be coming to know in further discussions. And it encompasses all aspects of life. So it is not only for one particular growth of men or women. It encompasses all aspects. There are programs for male, there are programs for female, there are programs for youth, there are programs for different sections of the society. And that is how it embraces all aspects of the society. And extension emphasizes on behavioral change of target communities. And that change that what extension intends to in the entire community, so that the community can take up the decision. They can solve the problems of their own on their own. This is all about what exactly the term ‘extension’ is. In our next class we will be discussing about what is not extension. There are some misconceptions about the concept of extension, that we will be dealing with in our next class.

Thank You.