3 Review(s)

Agricultural extension is an important tool for rural development especially in less industrialised countries; extension workers play a vital role in educating farmers to produce better crop and more productive animals at lower cost. The new edition continues to present principles which can be applied to all situations in which extension agents can find themselves but has been revised and updated to take account of developments that have occurred since the first edition was published in 1988 These have included a change of emphasis: an ever-increasing yield no longer the only goal - environmental conservation through sustainable farming practices is now an essential part of extension work. Competition free enterprise and the role of non-governmental organisations are much more Important than previously information technology iS more widely available in developing countries and participation (empowerment•) and the value of indigenous knowledge are emphasised. About the Author Dr A W van den Ban was formerly Head of the Department of Extension Education at the Wageningen Agricultural University in the Netherlands. His co-author Dr H S Hawkins has been the Senior Lecturer in Agricultural Extension at the University of Melbourne Australia. Both have had several decades of experience with extension consulting and training programmes in Africa Asia and South America as well as with university undergraduate and postqraduate courses and research at their home Institutions.