From Extension to Communication for Innovation 219fruits of science. The belief then was that by adopting science-based innovations,
and by grounding their practices and decisions in rational scientific insight and
procedures, farmers and agriculture would benefit almost automatically. In view of
the experiences of the last decades, however, science has nowadays become much
more contested and the belief in science as a neutral and objective engine to
progress has eroded significantly (Knorr-Cetina, 1981; Callon et al, 1986; Van der
Ploeg, 1987; Beck, 1992). Although science has contributed significantly to agri-
cultural change and production increases in high potential areas, its impact in
other regions has remained much more limited. Moreover, science-based agricul-
ture in high potential areas was accompanied by a number of serious problems
related to, among other topics, the environment and health. Furthermore, even in
high potential areas scientists regularly produced innovations and recommenda-
tions that were of limited use to many farmers. It was realized that successful inno-
vation required as much input from farmers themselves as from scientists.
In line with ‘enlightenment’ thinking, there was great concern in the 1950 to
1970 period with the ‘adoption and diffusion’ of science-based innovations. Exten-
sion scientists developed an interest in so-called adoption decisions. In the context
of diffusion, it was also recognized that farmers could gain a lot from each other’s
knowledge and experience (regarding new technologies, among other topics) when
solving agricultural problems (Van den Ban, 1963). Inspired by such interests and
insights, the emphasis in definitions of extension shifted slightly from ‘education’
to supporting decision making and/or problem solving:
Agricultural extension: Assistance to farmers to help them to identify and analyse their
production problems and to become aware of the opportunities for improvement.
(Adams, 1982, pxi)Extension is a deliberate and systematic attempt – by means of the transfer of knowl-
edge and insight – to help and/or develop someone in such a way that the person is able
take decisions in a specific situation with a maximum level of independence, conscious-
ness, and conformity with his own interest and well-being. (Van Gent and Katus, 1980,
p9, translated by the authors)Extension involves the conscious use of communication of information to help people
form sound opinions and make good decisions. Van den Ban and Hawkins, 1996, p9)The last definition is the one which was used in the predecessor of this book (Van
den Ban and Hawkins, 1996). Like most definitions presented so far, it still carries
the idea that extension is mainly about ‘help’ in the interest of the farmer.
Intervention definitions of extension
The definitions mentioned so far are in essence normative definitions, in that they
indicate what the authors feel extension should be and/or should do. In other words,
they ‘prescribe’ what the authors would like extension to look like ideally, e.g. as a