ABSTRACT

Purpose

To analyse and compare the extension objectives of individual extension agents across nine countries.

Design/methodology/approach

Extension agents from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Paraguay, and South Africa were surveyed using convenience sampling (n = 2707). A typology of extension agents with different profiles of objectives was built using data from five of the countries.

Findings

The most frequent individual extension objectives were to increase farmers’ knowledge through training, and productive modernisation of farms. Four types of extension agents were identified: the socially-engaged extension agent; the agricultural production and business expert; the trainer of subsistence farmers, and the pro-poor practitioner.

Practical implications

Researchers can use these results to analyse specific institutional settings, and extension institutions to reflect on the type of extension agent that best fit their institutional goals and to select practitioners accordingly.

Theoretical implications

Productive modernisation persists as a fundamental individual extension objective in many countries. Individual extension objectives are not stand-alone preferences but clusters of interrelated priorities, which do not necessarily coincide with those of extension institutions or national policies. Practitioners’ agency plays a key role in realising (or not) a fit between extension service offerings and demand for extension services, and contributes to a wider repertoire of advisory styles in extension systems than implied by extension institutional objectives.

Originality/value

This research adds to the literature by examining individual extension agents, rather than the institutional extension objectives, and providing a typology of agents with different profiles of objectives.

中文翻译：

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推广代理目标和类型学构建的国际比较

摘要

目的

分析和比较九个国家的个人推广代理的推广目标。

设计/方法/方法

使用便利抽样调查了来自阿根廷、澳大利亚、巴西、智利、墨西哥、新西兰、尼日利亚、巴拉圭和南非的推广人员 ( n  = 2707)。使用来自五个国家的数据建立了具有不同目标概况的推广代理类型。

发现

最常见的个人推广目标是通过培训和农场生产现代化来增加农民的知识。确定了四种类型的推广代理： 社会参与的推广代理；农业生产经营专家；自给农民的培训师和扶贫实践者。

实际影响

研究人员可以使用这些结果来分析特定的机构设置，并使用推广机构来思考最适合其机构目标的推广代理类型，并相应地选择从业者。

理论意义

在许多国家，生产现代化仍然是一个基本的个人推广目标。个别推广目标不是独立的偏好，而是相互关联的优先事项集群，它们不一定与推广机构或国家政策的目标一致。从业者代理在实现（或不）推广服务产品和推广服务需求之间的匹配方面发挥着关键作用，并有助于推广系统中比推广机构目标所暗示的更广泛的咨询风格。

原创性/价值

这项研究通过检查个体扩展代理而不是机构扩展目标来增加文献，并提供具有不同目标配置文件的代理类型。