This is Prakashkumar Rathod from India again, responding to different points in Message 66 by Datta Rangnekar. Regarding the limitations of current extension systems, I would prefer to say that it's not the problem only with the extension system but also with our research, extension and farmers linkage which is very weak. In the older systems, the roles of research scientist, extension agent and farmer were well defined and seen as unproblematic: researchers generated the technology, extension officers communicated it, and farmers adopted (or failed to adopt) the solutions to their problems(Scoones and Cousins, 1989).But, over the years with the changing times and trends, the technologies generated lose their importance due to the fact that most of them are not field based and hence are inappropriate. However, it has been realized that there is also a lack of awareness on the part of the researchers and extension agencies regarding the farmers' priorities. Hence, it is essential to appreciate and recognize the perceptions and priorities of the farmers before contemplating development programmes (Rao et al.,1995). These things will obviously lead to poor adoption of technologies. Only a shared vision among the researchers, extension personnel, farmers and the policy makers can help to evolve suitable strategies for increased production and prosperity(Rao et al.,1995). Regarding women in agriculture, producer organizations in the form of cooperatives, self-help groups etc. have been highly successful with the membership and support of women farmers in India and few developing countries. Since agriculture and dairying in India is feminized, there is a need to create matching programmes and budgeting for women to promote their participation accordingly. There is a need for women extension workers to act as para-extension workers for a community or village both in formal and informal mode with a minimum honorarium. This can help the women to access better extension and advisory services. With regards to the traditional models of information dissemination, it is very interesting that many of the villages in India (maybe in a few other countries also) are still not connected by roads and electricity. Under such conditions the traditional modes like one-act play and folk songs would be more successful and the farmers even feel more comfortable with such kind of information dissemination mechanism. But reaching large number of farmers may be a difficult task through that method. Maybe we need a mix of both modern and traditional methods for dissemination without hurting the sentiments of the rural masses. Dr. Prakashkumar Rathod Research Scholar Division of Extension Education, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar India e-mail: pkrkvafsu (at) gmail.com References: - Rao, S.V.N., Rangnekar, D.V., Dey, R. and Van Den Ban, A.W. (1995). Farmers’ perceptions of innovations. In 'Handbook for Straw Feeding Systems', pp. 107-18. http://edepot.wur.nl/37411 (540 KB). - Scoones, I. and Cousins, B. (1989). A participatory model of agricultural research and extension: The case of vleis, trees and grazing schemes in the dry south of Zimbabwe. Zambezia, 16 (1): 45-65. http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/African%20Journals/pdfs/Journal%20of%20the%20University%20of%20Zimbabwe/vol16n1/juz016001004.pdf (600 KB). [To contribute to this conference, send your message to [log in to unmask] For further information, see http://www.fao.org/nr/research-extension-systems/res-home/news/detail/en/c/264776/ ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the RAS-L list, click the following link: https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=RAS-L&A=1