Introduction
Agriculture sector is the backbone of economy for many nations especially in the third world. In addition to this, the sector is also the sole responsible for ensuring food security globally. So the importance of agriculture is of core importance for developed as well as for underdeveloped nations.
As we all know, agriculture has several branches or agencies in which it is divided. One of these is the Agriculture Extension. The department of agriculture extension has the pivotal role in the development of agriculture sector as a whole.
Agriculture extension office is not only responsible for dissemination of technology and innovation to the farmers, but also aids in providing solutions to the problems of farming community. Agriculture extension services provided are basically act as bridge of communication between the scientists and farmers. Thus to ensure advancement in agriculture sector of any country, department of agriculture extension needs to be updated regularly.
Education and Agriculture Extension
Agriculture extension is basically educating the farming community. So basically, it uses the principle of education to teach farmers about farming techniques. Farmers are just like students in this system and making them learn is the objective. So it is important to look at what is the concept of education in agriculture extension.
As we all know, education is sum of all activities and procedures that are carried out to bring the desirable changes and mold human behavior according to the need. The education is divided into three categories according to the environment in which it is provided. These three categories are;
- Formal education
- Non-formal education
- Informal education
In agriculture extension, these types of education are either provided by department of agriculture extension in universities or training institutes or by agriculture extension office in the respective districts. However the aim of both is to provide state of the art and modern agriculture extension services to their farming community for prosperous agriculture sector.
Let us study a brief about all three types of education system to get deep insight about the topic.
1 Formal Education
As the name portrays what could be the meaning of formal education in agriculture extension? In this type of education, a well-structured system of education exits, provided in the teaching institutes and universities by the department of agriculture extension. This type of education is provided within the four walls of teaching institute.
Characteristics: The characteristics of formal education include a proper dress code, attendance system for the learners, examination at the end of a session, students are provided with degrees and diplomas, homogeneous audience (age), prescribed syllabus, and usually one way flow of knowledge.
