Agricultural extension in the context of the Covid-۱۹ pandemic: Issues and challenges in the field

The extension is an active procedure requiring contact between the extension worker and the individual to establish a behavior change process. This study examines the revival of the notion of extension, the difficulty of extension in the period of the COVID-۱۹ epidemic, and the problems of extension in the future. The revitalization of the meaning of extension includes: (۱) extension is not just conveying information messages to the target (farmers) but is an activity of delivering messages until there is a behavior change (knowledge, attitudes, and skills) of message recipients/target communities; (۲) extension is not just a transfer of technology, but it is a process of activities carried out between extension workers and target communities to solve problems faced by farmers; (۳) extension is not just an activity that is partial and sporadic in the short term but is carried out as a whole with very long and continuous stages; (۴) extension is not based on the mere interest of the extension worker but is based on the needs of the target community. Furthermore, the challenges of extension in the age of the COVID-۱۹ epidemic are: (۱) the low level of cosmopolitan farmers makes the information collected delayed; (۲) farmers with all their constraints find it challenging to adjust to changes; and (۳) the radius of confidence of farmers is minimal. Thus, the challenges of extension in the future are: (۱) how to generate an entrepreneurial spirit for farmers; (۲) the introduction of social media and web applications is mandatory as new media that extension workers should use; and (۳) future extension services should be able to synergize conflicts of interest between stakeholders.

کلیدواژه ها:

Covid ، Counseling problems ، Ecosystem ، Farmers ، Revitalization