Seven good practices for effective extension

In this episode, we’re revisiting one of our earlier discussions about good practice in extension. When we first shared this, there were 10 good practices. Since then, we’ve used them in some workshops and gathered some helpful feedback. As a result, we’ve refined the list and today we’re excited to share our updated seven good extension practices! 

As you may recall, we discussed the difference between best practice and good practice in the original episode. Best practice can sound like there’s just one perfect way of doing things, but in extension, context matters. What works well in one place or with one group may not work at all in another. That’s why we focus on good practices, tested and reliable approaches that can be adapted to suit the needs of different farmers, regions, and situations.

So, let’s dive into our updated seven good practices for effective extension. 

1. Build trust and know our audience. Effective extension begins with building trusted relationships and truly understanding the diverse motivations, goals, and contexts of farmers. There’s no such thing as a typical farmer—so one-size-fits-all approaches don’t work. By investing in relationships, and using tools like segmentation and behavioural insights, we can design extension approaches that are relevant and effective. Once we’ve built that trust and understanding, we need to think about how people actually learn. This leads us to number two.
2. Use adult learning and participatory approaches. Extension is most effective when it aligns with how adults learn, making it relevant, self-directed, and experience-based. Adult learning principles encourage us to connect new knowledge to real-life needs, build on prior experience, and create supportive environments. Participatory approaches, like group learning and peer-led activities, take this further, and help build engagement and ownership in the work.
3. Tailor and co-design. Co-designing programs with farmers and other stakeholders ensures greater ownership and more relevant outcomes. Tailoring approaches to local conditions, such as farm type, enterprise goals, or digital access, is essential for adoption. It’s about developing flexible approaches that allow us to meet the needs of the people and communities we work with.
4. Leverage social learning and peer influence. Farmers often learn best from other farmers. Peer-to-peer learning draws on existing relationships, normalises new behaviours, and fosters shared problem-solving. Discussion groups and communities of practice are great ways to accelerate adoption by making learning more timely, relevant, and trusted.
5. Use a mix of targeted extension methods. No single method suits all situations. Using multiple methods helps reinforce key messages and reaches different audiences. This might mean combining one-on-one visits with online training, field days, or podcasts. Techniques like stacking, linking, and networking, that we covered in an earlier episode, help us strengthen impact and support farmers more effectively.
6. Adopt the role of innovation broker. Extension has shifted from simply sharing information to brokering knowledge and supporting innovation. Modern enablers of change are connectors, facilitators, and network builders. By linking farmers with researchers, funders, policymakers, and peers, we help strengthen innovation ecosystems. This role requires those essential soft skills like listening, empathy, and the ability to work across disciplines. And to keep improving in that role, we need to keep learning ourselves. This brings us to number seven.
7. Evaluate, reflect, and adapt. Extension works best when there is continuous learning. Monitoring and evaluation should never be an afterthought. This is what helps us reflect on what’s working and adapt as we go. Building in reflection points allows both extension practitioners and farmers to co-learn from successes and failures, improving practice over time.

So, there you have it, those are our seven updated good practices for effective extension. We’ve streamlined the list, but we think the idea behind good practices remains the same. These help us build strong relationships, design learning that’s relevant and participatory, reminds us to use a range of methods, and that we need to always keep reflecting and adapting.

We’d love to hear your thoughts! What do you think of this more streamlined list? Which of these good practices have you found most useful, and what would you add? Share your experiences in the comments below.

Thanks for joining us for this Enablers of Change episode. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future updates, and if you found this useful, please share it with your colleagues and friends. We can’t wait to catch up with you next time!