Review on Roles and Challenges of Agricultural Extension System on Growth of Agricultural Production in Ethiopia

Abstract

Agricultural extension work in Ethiopia began in 1931 with the establishment of the Ambo Agricultural School which is one of the oldest institutions and the first agricultural high school offering general education with major emphasis on agriculture. In the recent development of the Ethiopian Agricultural Extension System, the participatory approach is complemented by a scaling“-up” of technologies or the establishing of best practice for technology transfer at larger scales. Agricultural extension staffs are involved in multiple activities of agriculture and rural development. In Ethiopia, for example, the goal of extension goes beyond implementing the national agricultural development goals of achieving food security, improving rural livelihoods, and Natural Resource Management (NRM). In many countries of the world, agricultural extension services had been transformed from training and dissemination of specific innovations to farmers’ group formation and partnership-building with various service providers such as credit institutions. In Ethiopia, despite the massive amount of resources being put into the system by the state, the agricultural extension system faces a number of serious challenges. Improving access to agricultural inputs and technologies that assist farmers in boosting production are among opportunities of Ethiopian agricultural extension system. Agricultural extension service could be the government agency or ministry responsible for promoting the adoption and utilization of new scientific farming practices through educational procedures.

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