Supporting sustainable agriculture through extension in Asia

There are widespread concerns about the environmental impact of agricultural technologies and over the long-term sustainability of farming systems in Asia. Although the content of extension programmes includes sustainable technologies, extension approaches and methods in the public sector continue to reflect a technology transfer paradigm. In the frequent situations where mass media and extension materials contain relatively little information to help farmers to decide how to adjust their farming practices in the interests of long-term sustainability, national and donor policies can enhance the sustainability of agriculture by increasing the complementarity between extension providers and encouraging changes in extension approach, extension worker training and mass media treatment of agricultural and environmental issues.