Ag Ext 1 (Principles of Agricultural Extension and Communication)

Module 8 (Planning Sustainable Extension Programs)

PLANNING SUSTAINABLE EXTENSION PROGRAMS a social system (Rogers 1969). There are three
steps in social change:
This chapters deals with the understanding of the
process of planning sustainable extension 1. Invention is the process of creating new ideas.
programs. It discusses the detailed steps in 2. Diffusion is the process of communicating these
extension program planning within the concepts of ideas into the social system.
sustainable agriculture. 3. Consequences is the resultant change occurring
in the system.
EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Categories of social change:
At the end of the unit, the students are
expected to: 1. Immanent planned change when inventions take
place within a given social system with little or no
1. Describe change and change process; external influence.
2. Selective contact change when new ideas are
2. Identify the primary function of communicated by outsiders to members of a social
change/extension agents in facilitating system and the latter interpret and select these
development and change; ideas according to their needs.
3. Direct contact change when change is caused by
3. Explain the concepts of sustainable agriculture; outsiders who, on their own or as representatives
of programs of planned change, introduce new
4. Discuss planning and the process of extension ideas to achieve definite goals.
program planning; and
Change can occur at individual or societal levels:
5. Analyze the factor to be considered in planning
successful change process. 1. Individual level is called modernization.
2. Societal level is termed development.
NATURE OF CHANGE
NATURE OF CHANGE AGENTS
Change is the only permanent thing in this world
(Heraclitus). It happens to anyone, anywhere at Change agent is usually a professional who
anytime at an accelerating pace. influence or facilitate innovation-decisions in a
direction deemed desirable. Sometimes they are
Societal change is process of transformation of the called community organizers (CO) or field
total or its particular institutions from one form to facilitators.
another. It can be planned or unplanned.
Primary functions of change agents:
a. Unplanned change is a transformation caused
primarily by natural phenomena or disturbance in In development, change agents function as:
the physical environment.
1. Teacher
b. Planned change is almost always human-made. 2. Community organizer includes value formation
and community commitment;
PROCESS OF SOCIAL CHANGE 3. Planner
4. Farm Management Adviser
Social change is the process by which 5. Linker
alternation occurs in the structure and function of 6. Facilitator/Catalyst
7. Researcher
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Goal is a specific target that a person tries to

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE achieve or a condition that the person wants to
exist in the future.
Sustainable development is maintaining or
prolonging the productive capacity of the natural Importance of Planning
resource base meet human needs (Sajise, et al.,
1990). It is the natural resource and the orientation 1. Planning helps achieve substantial long-term
of technological and institutional change that goals.
ensures that attainment of a continued satisfaction 2. Planning increases satisfaction when agreed
of human needs to present and future generations. targets are met.
It conserves land, water, plant and genetic 3. Participative planning helps ensure efficient and
resources and is environmentally non-degrading, just allocation of resources, thus maximizing
technically appropriate, economically viable and achievements and minimizing conflicts.
socially acceptable. It involves adjustments 4. Formal planning allows opportunities for
between the natural resource base, socio-cultural involving the community in the process.
factors and technology to attain a dynamic 5. Plans and their documentation increase group’s
equilibrium towards a condition of non-negative ability to influence the community.
trend in the capacity of the resource base to 6. A written plan helps ensure continuity of
provide intra-and-inter-generational goods and activities.
services. It is continuing productivity of agriculture 7. A written plan helps group explain its activities
while maintaining the resource base by minimizing to visitors, new members and funding bodies.
its adverse impacts.
EXTENSION PROGRAM PLANNING
Sustainability simply means to prolong and to
maintain. Program plan is a written working plan that
consists of a description of the general situations,
9 Features of sustainable agriculture: needs and problems of the people in the area. It is
developed by the community with the help and/or
1. Environmentally-sound guidance of the change agent. It is the basis for
2. Productive undertaking extension or development activities in
3. Economically viable the area.
4. Culturally acceptable
5. Biodiversity-oriented Extension program planning is a process used by
6. Socially just and promotes equity local people to decide their major problems and
7. Resilient and low risk assemble all available forces and resources for
8. Participatory improving the farm, home and community.
9. Grounded on holistic science
Characteristics of a good program plan:
Sustainable land management refers to the
capacity of land users to maintain the ecological 1. Sound program planning is based on analysis of
services of the land. the situation.
2. Sound program planning selects programs based
PLANNING on needs.
3. Sound program planning determines objectives
Planning is the process of establishing goals and and solutions that offer satisfaction.
objectives and figuring out how to achieve them. It 4. A good program has permanence with flexibility.
is an attempt to manage the future. 5. A sound program has balance with emphasis.
6. A good program has a definite plan of work.
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Plan of work is an outline of procedure so

arranged as to enable efficient execution of the A strategy is a combination of means to achieved
entire the program objectives and goals.
program. The strategy may include the following:
7. Program planning is a continuous process. a. Selecting the approaches for change
8. Program planning is a teaching opportunity. b. Determining alternative solutions to problems
9. Program plan is a coordinating process. c. Choosing appropriate extension and
10. Good program planning provides for evaluation communication techniques (as either individual,
of processes and results. group, mass media or combination)
d. Setting up the organizational structure and staff
PROCESS OF EXTENSION PROGRAM PLANNING e. Preparing the budget
f. Enlisting community support
1. Analysis or assessment of the situation. g. Establishing linkages with other agencies
Does the project need some form of assistance?
The information obtained from the community
would serve as basis for: 4. Planning the program of activities
a. Defining the environment where change is to
occur. It includes the plan and calendar of work of the
b. Identifying the entry point for the community- project or the scheduling of the carious project
based program. activities.
c. Formulating the goals and objectives associated
with meeting the needs and problems. A plan of work is the outline of activities so
d. Establishing and benchmarks from which to arranged as to enable execution of the entire
judge the performance of the project and the program. It answers the questions how, when,
change made. where and by whom the work is to be done.
e. Utilizing the available resources in the
community development programs. A calendar of work is a plan of work arranged
chronologically.
2. Setting program objectives and goals
5. Evaluation
Objectives and goals are derived mainly from the
problems identified that are considered of primary This takes place throughout the whole program
importance or of immediate concern for t=both the planning activity. As one goes through the various
clientele and the planners. stages of the planning process, alternatives have to
be discussed and decisions have to be made. Each
An objective is defined as a direction of movement. alternative needs to be assessed first before
General objectives – are more definite social making a decision.
statements expressing the general purpose of the
extension organization. SPIRAL MODEL OF PLANNING

Attribute of a good objective: As a teaching process, previous experiences,

S – specific/simple successes and failures can help extension workers
M – measurable to plan bigger, better and greater things in the
A – accurate/attainable future (Figure 8).
R – realistic
T – time bound Target Group Target Group
Content Goal Goal
Content
3. Designing the strategy Methods
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Methods 6. Development must respect the integrity of the

Organization Orgnization
environment.
7. Development must be planned.
Figure 8. Spiral planning process 8. Development must be directed towards a just
and equitable social order.
9. Development must be democratic.
10. Development must not insulate less developed
FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN PLANNING countries or regions into ‘reservations’.
SUCCESSFUL 11. Development must be innovative.
EXTENSION PROGRAM PLANS

Four Factors for a Successful Change Project: 12. Development planning must be based on a
realistic definition of national needs.
Pressure for Change
Naisbitt (1985) observed Ten Megatrends affecting
Clear Shared Vision Agriculture Worldwide:
CHANGE
Capacity for Change
1. From industrial society to information society.
Actionable First 2. From forced technology to high tech/high touch.
3. From national economy to world economy.
Possible situations/feelings if any of the above 4. From short term to long term.
requisite is missing: 5. From centralization to decentralization.
6. From representative democracy to participative
democracy.
+ VISION + CAPACITY + FIRST STEPS 7. From institutional hierarchies to institutional
= Change is of low priority networking.
8. From north to south.
PRESSURE + + CAPACITY + FIRST 9. From whether/or to multiple options.
STEPS = Change is directionless 10. From institutional help to self-help.

PRESSURE + VISION + + FIRST STEPS SUGGESTED STUDENT ACTIVITY

= Feeling of anxiety, Loss of opportunity
In a group, students will present a proposed
PRESSURE + VISION + CAPACITY + training design for a certain barangay/village. The
= Change is haphazard, false start, proposed training should be based on a situation
uncoordinated efforts analysis/description of the barangay as well as on a
duty conducted and analyzed training needs
12 MUSTS FOR DEVELOPMENTS assessment (TNA).

According to former UN Secretary General Joao de MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Costa, there are 12 ‘MUSTS’ for Development:
DEFINITION OF TERMS
1. Development must be total.
2. Development must be original. Evaluation comes from the Latin word “valuare”
3. Development must be self-generated. meaning ‘to find the worth of something’. It is a
4. Development must be self-determined. program activity designed to obtain information
5. Development must be integrated. about program or project activities to assess their
effectiveness, significance and efficiency. In the
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context of agricultural extension is the process of number of participants, meeting hours, items
systematically examining and making judgments prepared.
about the relevance of the objectives to the 6. Careful analysis and interpretation of findings
purpose, the extent which the objectives are being should be considered when an evaluation study is
achieved, the effectiveness of the methods being being planned.
used and the efficiency of the use of resources.
PURPOSES OF EVALUATION
Agricultural extension evaluation is the assessment
of the overall effects of an agricultural extension There are three general purposes of evaluation:
program or project in terms of production levels
and farmers’ welfare (Valera, Martinez & Plopino A. Operational purposes these include verifying the
1967). extent to which project is achieving or has achieved
intended output and effects and to determine the
Monitoring is a management technique in which critical factors involved. This aims to provide
extension agents collects data on the way in which justification for the continuation, modification or
the extension program is implemented and the supervision of project; and to provide objective
problems it faces in trying to stay on the right tract and analytical information for accountability report.
(van den Ban & Higgins 1996). It is determining
whether activities are conducted, inputs are B. As an analytical tool to improve project design,
delivered, outputs are accomplished, and other evaluation aims to improve and sharpen project
required actions are taken according to plan objectives and design; verify project assumptions
(PCARRD 1997). and make them more explicit; and serve a
framework to review the entire process of means
IMPORTANCE OF PROGRAM EVALUATIONS and ends to achieve desired goals.

Why do we evaluate? C. For policy purposes, evaluation aims to ascertain

the validity of a given development strategy,
1. We evaluate to economize on effort. approach, assumptions or hypothesis; explore
2. We evaluate to improve programs. and/or to gain more knowledge about the
3. We evaluate to get support for the programs. interrelationships of several actions or policy
4. We evaluate to determine change in conditions decisions that affect the efficiency and
or behavior. effectiveness of a group of projects, approaches or
5. We evaluate to provide personal satisfaction and strategies on a comparative basis.
security.
GENERAL TYPES OF EVALUATION
Basic principles in effective evaluation:
1. Pre-test and Post-test
1. Evaluate of extension work should be well- 2. Formative and summative evaluation gathers
planned and clearly defined in scope as to what information for development of program and
phase of a program is to be evaluated. measure end results.
2. Extension personnel themselves should take part
in evaluation. Specialized Types of evaluation:
3. Everyday evaluation should be continuous and
integrated with the program development process 1. Program planning evaluation includes
from planning stage to the end. information on the nature, extent and scope of a
4. Reliable and effective devices should be used. problem in order to decide which program should
5. Evaluation should be more concerned with the be initiated, supported or continued.
achievement of behavioral changes than with the
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Techniques to be used in identifying target

population and scope of problems: 2. CIPP Model (Context, Input, Process and
a. Key informant approach – knowledgeable Product/Impact) Evaluation.
leaders and experts.
b. Community forum approach – open town Context evaluation is used to define the
meeting. environment, define and assess needs and
c. Surveys & censuses – yield accurate and direct delineate the problems responsible for the needs.
data on target problems & population.
Input evaluation assesses system
2. Program monitoring evaluation aims to capabilities, available input strategies and methods
determines whether or not, and to what extent, of implementing these strategies.
the target client is reached or served by the
program; and whether goods and services were Process evaluation used to detect or predict
delivered on time, were satisfactory to clients and defects in procedures or management during the
we were according to plan. implementation stages through public feedback.

Approaches that could be used: Product or impact evaluation aims to relate

A. Use of records. the results to the objectives, context, input and
b. Survey of program participants – special survey process to measure and interpret outcomes.
of participants.
c. Community surveys – a community sample Characteristics of a good evaluation instrument
survey.
1. Reliability is the extent to which measurements
3. Program impact evaluation – aims to determine are repeatable by the same individual using
whether the program produced the desired change. different measures of the same attribute. This is
synonymous with dependability, accuracy,
Prerequisites for assessing project impact: consistency, stability, predictability.
a. The project goals are sufficiently well articulated
to identify measures of goal achievement. 2. Validity refers to the ‘truth’ or the ‘meaning’ of
b. The invention has been sufficiently well the measurement (e.g. indicators are valid
implemented so there is no question that critical measures).
elements have not been delivered to appropriate
targets. LEVELS FOR JUDGING AN EXTENSION PROGRAM

4. Economic efficiency evaluation, when funds are Bennett (1976) and Bennett and Rockwell (1995)
limited, choices need to be made continually in developed seven sequential steps in evaluating
allocating scarce resources to ensure optimal use. effectiveness of extension programs which include
This can be done through cost-benefit analysis inputs and resources; activities; people
(relationship between costs and outcome in involvement; reactions; changes in knowledge,
monetary terms) and cost-effectiveness analysis attitudes, skills and asppirations (KASA); changes in
(quantifying costs and benefits not in monetary farm practice and end results. Using these steps, an
terms). extension program could be assessed by its process
(inputs and resources, activities, people
EVALUATION MODELS involvement, reactions and KASA) and performance
(changes in farm practice and end results). Similarly,
1. Merit Evaluation establishes certain criteria or the IMPROVE (Instrument for Measuring Progress
minimum standards as bases for analysis and of Value to Everyone) model of Claridge and Frank
decision making. (1998) utilized the same steps in evaluating process
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of an agricultural program. Bennett (1976) argued

that the higher you climb the hierarchy, the clearer
you could see whether the program is successful or
not(Figure 9).

7. End result: Performance

Consequences for society
Evaluation
6. Changes in farm practice consequences
for target group

5. Behavioral changes in target group: change

In KASA

4. Reactions: farmers’ opinion about extension

activities

3. People involvement: farmers’ participation in activities

2. Activities: implementation of the program

Process
1. Inputs and resources
Evaluation

Figure 9. Levels of evaluating extension programs (Adapted from Bennett and Rockwell 1995)

Who should evaluate extension programs? In order to ensure validity and reliability of results, extension
program can be evaluated by:

1. Extension agent
2. Evaluation experts/specialist
3. Independent research workers

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LADDER OF FARMER PARTICIPATION IN EXTENSION EVALUATION

In participative extension management, farmers need to be involved in program implementation

and evaluation. There are five levels by which farmers could participate in extension evaluation, to wit:

Level 5. Farmers conduct their own evaluation of extension in cooperation with extension managers
and report their findings to policy makers.
Level 4. Farmers carry out evaluation of extension in cooperation with extension managers and make
decisions regarding changes in providing extension services.
Level 3. Farmers received evaluation results and other information from extension staff and are
asked to given reactions and recommendations for improving extension processes and resources.
Level 2. Farmers received information, evaluation summaries, feedback on extension performance
from extension staff, but are not asked to react.
Level 1. Farmers provide data and evidence of their achievements along with their reactions to
extension without being involved in evaluation efforts.

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