Thailand : agricultural extension outreach project

The project was a success, as shown by the 1980 DOAE decision to expand from the 33 targeted to all 71 Changwats in Thailand. As a result, pre-service training - focusing on enabling extensionists to respond to farmers" needs - was attended by more than 5,900 (vs. 3,893 targeted) people; the training also facilitated interaction between the DOAE and other Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives units. DOAE staff were able to initiate training programs with minimal assistance; however, the ambitious training schedule negatively affected training quality. The number of village-level extension agents increased dramatically (the extensionist-farmer ratio decreased from 1:1,700 to 1:1,100). On the other hand, recruitment of Kaset Tambons was hampered by the low number of qualified applicants, and only 2 of 5 targeted subject matter specialists were hired. The DOAE rejected the contractor-developed monitoring system in favor of its own, which has not yet been proved. DOAE extensionists have successfully established demonstration plots on (in 1982) 75,810 farms and have identified contact (model) farmers (exceeding the project goal of one per village); the latter have been developing good relationships with extension workers, particularly with Kaset Tambons. Nonetheless, research-extension-farmer linkages must be further strengthened. Crop modules were developed for 5 target crops and farmer handouts were developed, but not yet distributed. Clearly farmers are adopting new practices, especially improved seed varieties. The targeted 85% adoption rate is unlikely to be achieved, but DOAE research shows that 40% of farmers in the Northeast now turn to extension agents for problemsolving. Other data show that contact farmer yields are 10-25% higher than the yields of others. Lessons learned are: a full pre-project institutional analysis of all participating agencies should be required; to assess training programs, baseline data should be collected on potential trainees; expectations as to project timeframe and the personnel involvement should be realistic; care must be taken in using training techniques from different cultures; and the adoption of research results is related to numerous social and other external factors.