Agricultural extension in Papua New Guinea: the challenges facing demand-driven extension from the perspective of practitioners

Abstract

Purpose

Agricultural extension has played a central role in building the capacity of smallholders for decades. In efforts to improve extension outcomes, demand-driven approaches have emerged to better align extension content with smallholder context. The aim of this paper is to explore the challenges facing demand-driven extension in Papua New Guinea.

Design/methodology/approach

Exploratory case study methodology was used to explore the challenges facing demand-driven extension from the perspectives of 11 practitioners experienced in community engagement in Papua New Guinea.

Findings

Although there is great potential for demand-driven extension, this research found extension services in Papua New Guinea are ill-equipped to introduce and sustain a resource-intensive approach like demand-driven extension. It further found that rural farmers who extension organisations have long neglected lack the necessary skills and trust to gain from these services.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of this research is that it only reflects the opinions of practitioners working in Papua New Guinea. Further research featuring a broader sample of value chain actors connected to extension would provide a more complete understanding of the potential challenges to demand-driven engagement in this context.

Originality/value

With a growing interest among development projects to utilise demand-driven engagement with farmers, this research is the first study to explore the challenge facing this promising approach in Papua New Guinea.

Citation

Hainzer, K., O'Mullan, C. and Brown, P.H. (2023), "Agricultural extension in Papua New Guinea: the challenges facing demand-driven extension from the perspective of practitioners", Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JADEE-06-2022-0131