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Abstract

The focus of this paper is the Third World and the changes in thinking on the concept and practice of extension that have emerged over the past decade. Given the fact that the majority of the population of Third World countries in the three continents Asia, Africa, and the Americas continue to depend on some form of agricultural production for a livelihood, extension continues to play a dominant role in agricultural development. Indeed, it could be argued that agricultural extension is the fundamental instrument of agricultural development in most Third World countries and that any failing to achieve this development should be laid at the door of extension services. Most Third World countries have some form of agricultural extension service, and these services are the constant attention of academics and professionals who seek to improve their delivery; yet, improvement in this delivery seems despairingly to elude us. Few will deny the commitment to agricultural extension, the potential in terms of the production of technology that is continually generated, or the professional expertise that guides and directs the delivery, but unquestionably all of this seems to have little impact on the miserable livelihoods of the vast majority. The World Bank more euphemistically concludes that the economic achievements of the past decade or so do not seem to have led to a better standard of living for the vast majority of poor people in the Third World. (23)

Abstract

Agricultural technology development and dissemination methodologies through on-farm research have advanced to the point that they can be blended into a highly efficient process that serves most farming systems in a community simultaneously. These methodologies can improve the social distribution of the benefits from public investment in agricultural research and extension and, at the same time, improve the efficiency of these activities.

The objectives of Kentucky's Sustainable Nursery Production Practices Extension Program are for 1) the Kentucky nursery industry to continue sustained growth and 2) Kentucky growers to produce high quality plants, efficiently use pesticides, be stewards of their land and Kentucky's environment. Sustainable Nursery Program Components are 1) Integrated Pest Management (IPM): Nursery Scouting, Scout Training and Scouting Education for growers, Extension workers, and students; 2) Best Management Practice (BMP) Workshops: BMP VI: Disease Demolition Workshop; 3) Production Practice Demonstration: Pruning Training, Pesticide Handling, and Safety and Environmental Stewartship. 4.) Research: Pruning protocols; Media and media amendments; Precision Fertilization and Irrigation. The Kentucky Nursery Crops Scouting Program scouting guidelines were developed and contained: a weekly scouting/trapping guide; a listing of which pests to look for and on what host plants, and a detailed methodology of precisely how to look for the pest, its damage, and how to record this information such that comparisons could be made across nurseries and seasons.