This was a project, completed in 2017, that was established to address the national issue of fragmentation in the Australian agricultural extension system. Which affects the efficiency of extension delivery in Australia.
The project identified insights, issues and national trends within the current system of agricultural extension in Australia that the project team concluded are largely consistent with the literature, they are summarised as follows:
- An increasing demand from farmers for extension services
- An imperative for increasing industry and government co-ordination
- An increasing requirement for leadership and expertise
- An increasing need for new arrangements in the structures of R D and E projects and programs that support co-innovation
- A need for continued support for building extension capability and supporting development of best-practice extension approaches
Key Issues and Suggested Strategic Actions
The project identified principles for an adaptive extension system, outcomes to be sought and strategic actions to achieve them.
Funded under the Australian Government’s Rural R&D for Profit Programme, it was an ambitious project that aimed to reverse some of the drivers of fragmentation that are impacting on delivery, to evaluate the extension system, and to consolidate extension knowledge.
The report can be read in full here.