19 pages, The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected people's lives around the world, including agricultural extension workers. To date, few studies have been conducted to understand the adaptation of extension services in Latin American countries during the pandemic. This mixed-methods study explored Latin-American extension professionals’ preparation to implement knowledge-sharing activities and sought to understand extension professionals' responsiveness to COVID-19. The results revealed significant differences in extension responsiveness, between field extension workers and in-office extension workers. Delving into this difference revealed that field extension professionals perceived lower responsiveness because they were not able to continue their pre-pandemic, face-to-face activities in the field with farmers; on the other hand, office extension workers were able to complete and respond to their annual program objectives by increasing institutional partnerships by virtual means. Resilience was found in the two phases of this study. Extension professionals were viewed by farmers as a reliable resource for addressing COVID-19 challenges. Extension professionals began using new communications technologies to train farmers, even though they were not trained in these technologies themselves. It will be important to begin formally incorporating the use of new technology, and alternative communication strategies with communities during crises, as part of preparation for field technicians.
Gadewar, A.U. (author), Singh, Y.P. (author), and Agricultural Extension, National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad, India; Agricultural Extension, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
1994
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 99 Document Number: C08348
Abbott, Eric A. (author) and Gregg, Jennifer L. (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2000
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C29077
Notes:
Pages 229-256 in Peter F. Korsching, Patricia C. Hipple and Eric A. Abbott (eds.), Having all the right connections: telecommunications and rural viability. Praeger, Westport, Connecticut. 348 pages.
