Advisory support and learning on non-technical aspects of farming: a key topic for extension and education research

Abstract

The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension publishes research on a broad variety of topics within the field of extension and education, applying diverse theoretical lenses and methodological approaches. Studies published in the Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension range from analysis of micro-level issues, such as student and farmer behaviour in relation to educational and advisory interventions (Hall, Turner, and Kilpatrick 2019; Kalule et al. 2019; Zaremohzzabieh et al. 2022) and farmers’ knowledge networks (Koutsouris and Zarokosta 2021; Kvam, Hårstad, and Stræte 2022; Mrnuštík Konečná and Sutherland 2022), to macro-level analysis of the institutional settings and organisational arrangements within national extension and education systems (Birner et al. 2006; Klerkx et al. 2017; Rijswijk and Brazendale 2017; Turner et al. 2021), as part of broader rural or agricultural knowledge and innovation systems. As regards the focus of extension and education interventions, provided through for example advisory services (Hoffmann and Thomas 2003), formal and informal training (Gerster-Bentaya, Knierim, and Herrera Sabillón 2022; Wanjiku, Mairura, and Place 2010), farm demonstrations (Sutherland and Marchand 2021), peer learning structures (Faysse, Sraïri, and Errahj 2012; Klerkx and Leeuwis 2009), many studies report on interventions related to technical topics such as soil management, plant and animal health management, and the implementation of farm mechanisation. While attention to how extension and education support learning and innovation on technical topics is and remains important, farming entails much more than managing technical issues. A range of social, economic, financial, and human resource issues as well as physical and mental health factors of farmers and other farm workers come into play in overall farm management. How these topics are addressed by extension and education has been the subject of articles in the Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension and elsewhere, with publications on extension and education related to topics such as human resources and finance (Berde and Piros 2006; Dockès et al. 2019; Hilkens et al. 2018; Mattila et al. 2007; Sasidhar and Van Den Ban 2006; Sh. Al-Rimawi et al. 2006), physical and mental health and safety of farmers, farm workers, and students (Azzi et al. 2022; Inwood et al. 2019; O’Connor et al. 2021), and learning how to deal with controversial issues and license-to-produce (Pfeiffer et al. 2021). While this area of research is represented in the Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, as indicated in an earlier editorial (Klerkx 2020) there is ample scope for more research on these topics. This is especially relevant because farmers, advisors, educators, and students face new challenges, in the current context of rapid change induced by issues and trends such as climate change, digitalisation and other ‘Agriculture 4.0’ technologies (da Silveira, Lermen, and Amaral 2021; Herrero et al. 2020; Klerkx and Rose 2020; Rose et al. 2021), developments towards an ‘ecologisation’ of agriculture with a host of concepts (Schnebelin 2022; Sumberg and Giller 2022), and other trends in the socio-economic and policy environment. Hence, connecting to the concept of ‘humanised extension’ (Cook, Satizábal, and Curnow 2021) and broadening the interpretation of this term, there is scope for more work on how