Going Public: A New Extension Method

Contemporary agricultural extension uses intensive face-to-face communication, especially for teaching farmers about pest and disease management. Development scholars are increasingly concerned about the cost of these programmes, and some are trying to reach more farmers through mass media. Small media is another recent option. We have developed a novel method of face-to-face extension, which we call Going Public. It makes use of places where farmers meet spontaneously, such as markets, bus terminals and other public places, to create a two-way learning channel. Going Public allows scientists, extensionists and farmer experts to show things to people, answer questions, run short experiential learning exercises and potentially to distribute material, as in any other face-to-face method, but it is quick and it allows contact with people from many areas at once. It also allows scientists to gather feedback from farmers in a social setting where the farmers are comfortable, surrounded by their friends and neighbours, but where they are also free to come and go.