Power, Positionality and the View from within: Agricultural Advisers' Role in Implementing Participatory Extension Programmes in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract

This article examines the experience of implementing a participatory model of public extension advisory programme in the Republic of Ireland. Focusing specifically on the role and experiences of extension advisers, it draws evidence from an evaluation of the 'Options for Farm Families Programme'. It is argued that, while participatory approaches are increasingly promoted from an institutional perspective, they also raise a number of dilemmas for extension advisory staff that are ultimately damaging to the operation of such extension programmes if they remain outside the discursive framework within which the programme is shaped. Drawing on aspects of Habermas's theory of communicative action and Foucault's perspectives on the nature of power and power relations, this article attempts to provide a framework for understanding the apparent difficulties experienced by advisers in embracing participatory approaches in the case of the Options Programme and their tacit adoption of what might be described as adaptive strategies that have effectively seen the participatory element of the programme circumvented. It is contended that, while participatory approaches open up important new dimensions in extension practices, they can only be successfully applied when cognisance is taken of the full context in which advisers currently operate and when the advisers' own conceptualisation of extension is clearly established.

Stakeholder Interaction in Participatory Land Restoration in Iceland: Environmental Officers’ Challenges and Strategies

“…It can therefore be argued that relatively loosely planned interaction assignments can, at least in part, be beneficial because they offer opportunities to reflect-in-action (cf. Forester 1999;Bergeå and Ljung 2007;Stenseke 2009;Mahon et al 2010).…”

“…One factor the officers mentioned was inadequate allocation of time and other resources for the SCSI's local operations and for maintaining satisfactory levels of stakeholder contact. Limited resource allocation seems to be a common problem in participatory undertakings (see e.g., Lowndes et al 2001;Senecah 2004;Mahon et al 2010). Some interview statements indicated that in the SCSI's case it was a matter of priority, and mirrored a certain lack of recognition within the organization of the role stakeholder interaction played in achieving the agency's objectives.…”

Going beyond FADN: The use of additional data to gain insights into extension service use across European Union Member States

“…Private sector planners also provide extension services. Since the mid-1990s, Teagasc has moved towards a model of participatory extension which sees farmers as full collaborators in research and extension (Mahon et al, 2010). One such form of extension is that of discussion groups, which consist of a group of local farmers who meet regularly on farms to see, discuss and learn about technologies and practices that may be applied on their own farms.…”

Agricultural extension in Latin America: current dynamics of pluralistic advisory systems in heterogeneous contexts

“…This paper connects to an observation by Birner et al (2009) that in the analysis of extension system reform and the discussion on 'best-fit' extension systems political economy aspects should not be underestimated, an issue which has been addressed by a number of papers in recent years (Parkinson 2009;Mahon, Farrell, and McDonagh 2010;Berhanu and Poulton 2014). In their paper, Diesel and Miná Dias analyze the implementation of a nationwide extension program focused on an agro-ecological transition and endogenous development, delivered decentrally through state-civil society partnerships.…”