Poor extension service affects productivity

Extension service is a very important function of any organisation,an official says.
Chairman of Rural Industries Council of PNG, Sir Brown Bai said extension service have always been an important part of any organisation as it helps in the growth and development of the organisation.
He told The National that agriculture extension services has not performed well for many years especially in the rural areas of PNG.
“Most farmers in rural areas do not have the benefits of learning about new ways of cultivation and operating their business because extension services link between farmers and other stakeholders who are involved with development is lacking,” he said.
“As a result, farmers do not obtain maximum production from the crops which in general amounts to decline in overall production.”
“In addition to extension problems,most farmers suffer from lack of concessionary credits, infrastructure,information on markets as well as the problems of law and order,” he said.
Bai said all these factors made it very difficult for PNG farmers to generate maximum production.
“The biggest challenge in agriculture was to attend to these factors.Extension services has been lacking for many years,” he said.The role of extension services was invaluable in teaching farmer show to improve their productivity.
Extension was also critical to move research from the lab to the field and to ensure a return on investment in research by translating new knowledge into innovative practices.
Also known as agricultural advisory services plays a crucial role in promoting agricultural productivity,increasing food security, improving rural livelihoods, and promoting agriculture as an engine of pro-poor economic growth.
Extension is the application of scientific research and knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education. Generally, agricultural extension can be defined as the delivery of information inputs to farmers.
Extension services are classified into three types;Technology transfer – the traditional model of the transfer of advice,knowledge and information in a linear manner.
Advisory – used by farmers of an area as a source of advice in relation to specific problems faced by them.
Facilitation – the aim of this model was to help farmers to define their own problems and develop their own solutions.