CHAPTER TWO:

HISTORICAL ANTECEDENT
OF EXTENSION EDUCATION

Mr Idani Lichilo
 Objectives:
By studying this unit, students are expected to:
Understand the development of extension education in the
world
Learn about the factors or antecedents of extension education
Appreciated the development of extension services in Zambia
History of Extension Education in the
World
The word “Extension” was first time used to describe the concept of
taking teaching and learning outside the walls of university in the
form of “University Extension” or “Extension of the University” in
Britain in 1840.
Many scholars and academics in Europe and elsewhere used the
word Extension to describe the concept of extending university
education to the working masses
who by the virtue of their work could not be on university campus to
obtain university education.
In his report entitled “suggestions for the Extension of the university”
in 1850
William Sewell of Britain used the word Extension in calling for the
need to take teaching and learning outside the boundaries of
university campus so as to provide opportunity for the working
population to obtain university education and benefit from
knowledge generated in the various universities and other
educational institutions of higher learning.
Also, James Stuart of Trinity College, Cambridge University in 1867-
68, used the word extension when he was addressing “Women
Association and Working Men’s Clubs” of North England.
 Again in 1871, he appealed to the officials of the Cambridge
University to establish Extension centres under the supervision of
university
 So that these centres can be used as a platform to deliver lecture to
the people.
Cambridge University in 1873, London University in 1876 and Oxford
University in 1878 developed Extension system, which worked among
people.
In 1880, James Stuart work came to be known as “Extension
movement”.
According to Webster’s dictionary the term “Extension” means
“Branch of a university for student who cannot attend the University
properly”.
In other words, the word ‘Extension’ is used in the context which
signifies an out of school system of education.”
In the 8TH decade of the 19th century, the word Extension was used in
the form of Extension education in U.S.A.
This was to respond to the problem of rural people migration to urban
areas which characterized labour mobility in the latter half of the 19th
century.
This phenomenon created two major problems in U.S.A.:
(i) The migration of rural people to cities created labour constraint in the
rural area and hence, the agricultural sector suffered a setback, and
(ii) The increase of urban population created education, employment and
housing related problems.
Therefore, in curtailing this problem, the Philadelphia Committee was
established in 1785.
The committee recommended the institutionalization of “Out of school
education” in order to keep rural people in rural areas.
Also in 1862 President Roosevelt established a “county commission” under the
chairmanship of Liverty Hydevelle.
Its objectives were:
(i) How to stop migration of rural people to cities?
(ii) How to engage rural people in agricultural and rural development programmes?
The above recommendations were arrived at based on the fact that
industrial development is not possible without agricultural
development
for that matter the rural areas must not be deprived of the needed
human resource to help in the agricultural development.
The implementation of the above recommendation required
institutionalization of out of school educational institution to organize
extension education.
The passage of Smith Leaver Act (1914) provides the legal framework
for the establishment of out of school educational institution to
organize and manage the dissemination of knowledge and practical
skills to the rural population.
 The passage of the Act also led to the integration of cooperative
Extension service by which out of school education was organized.
As a result, rural people were able to bring about developments and
progress in farming and housing.
This type of education comes to be known as Extension Education
Historical Perspective of Agricultural Extension in Zambia

Agricultural extension activities in Zambia started in the 19th century

by the early missionaries and foreign owned companies whose main
focus was in the production of export crops such as Tobbacco
 Therefore all extension activities were organized to provide
information and inputs on only these export crops to farmers.
Little or no extension activities were carried out on food crops and
livestock production except maize
Agricultural Extension Services in Zambia have been delivered
through a number of approaches over the years.
Before independence in 1964 a command or military type approach
to extension delivery was used to target specific progressive individual
farmers who were told which crops to grow.
This colonial individualized farm visits extension approach
particularly promoted the staple maize crop in order to feed migrant
workers who were concentrated in the CB Province.
Following independence in 1964,
Government policies to increase agricultural output and ensure
national food self sufficiency led to an increase in the number of rural
households taking up agriculture.
This necessitated the Government to improve on the
colonial individualized farm visits extension approach by
establishing :
1)Farmer Training Centers (FTCs)
 2)Livestock Service Centres
3) Farm Institutes (FIs). Farmer Training Centers were
constructed in a number of agriculturally strategic districts
and each of the country's then nine provinces had a Farm
Institute built.
FTCs were established for purposes of commodity
demonstration and to facilitate farmer training in improved
farm management practices
while FIs catered for in-service training of extension staff
and provision of higher level training to improved small scale
farmers.
During this time extension was traditionally focused on
crops production with not much on livestock and fisheries.
In the early 1980s, Zambia became one of the first sub- Saharan
African countries to import the Training and Visit (T&V) approach to
extension.
The T&V extension approach was characterized among others by
systematic fortnightly trainings of field extension staff by Subject
Matter Specialists (SMSs)
Extensive use of contact farmers
 Concentration of extension messages on the staple maize crop and a
unified command for livestock, crops and fisheries extension services.
At the same time as T & V was being implemented
 The Farming Systems Research (FSR) approach was introduced as a
more holistic diagnostic process for researchers to elicit better
understanding of farm households, family decisions and decision
making processes
 But could not take firm root into the main stream extension system.
Towards the 1990s the Zambia extension realities pointed to the fact
that agricultural challenges transcended the levels of individual farms
or farm households.
Extension Service had to face such issues as management of
collective natural resources, value chain management, collective input
supply and marketing.
These new issues typically required new forms of coordinated action
and cooperation among farmers, between farmers and stakeholders.
In the year 2000, Participatory Extension Approach (PEA) was
proclaimed as the main vehicle for delivery of extension services
Following a World Bank supported Government study to look at ways
of revitalizing extension services delivery in Zambia.
 PEA is a systematic learning process focusing on cumulative joint
learning using both indigenous and modern knowledge systems. It
emphasizes on facilitation rather than teaching.
Public extension services delivery in Zambia is based on the
principles of communication and adult learning psychology
Under PEA extension and advisory services are further
distinctively delivered under four main paradigms namely;
1) Technology Transfer
2) Problem solving
3) Education
4) Human Development
(i) Technology Transfer:
 Extension is a means of proactively changing voluntary behavior in
the form of the adoption of externally developed, tested or proven
technology or management practice.
This is achieved by convincing people of the value of adoption
through the use of:
 agricultural shows,
 field demonstrations,
field days
 extension materials and
 presentations.
(ii) Problem solving:
Extension is a means of assisting individuals to find solutions to
technological or
 management problems
which arise and are inhibiting their desire to improve unit performance and
productivity.
(iii) Education:
 Extension is a means of proactive informal education which seeks to
assist individuals and groups to better understand their situations,
and to be able to make choices
and take actions to improve their situations
(iv) Human Development:
Extension is a means to facilitate and stimulate individuals and
communities to take the initiative in problem definition and seeking
solutions to individual and societal concerns.
The assumption is that given an opportunity and interactive
framework, individuals and communities will best improve their
situation.