Importance of Professional Competency of Extension Personnel

Abstract

Professional and practice-based learning is a procedure which shows itself in a wide range of structures. It varies by close to home attributes of the students, levels of their callings, fields of training, deliberateness of their learning, and formalization of the learning exercises. Ideas of skill have entered this assorted practice from numerous points of view. The inquiry is whether originations of expert ability have helped the act of expert and practice-based learning. In this section it is contended this is without a doubt the case.
Albeit different endeavors to actualize capability based proficient learning projects were vigorously scrutinized, later improvements in fitness hypothesis and research gave new bits of knowledge which underscored the integrative significance of ability inside expert
practice. It helped in mapping proficient fields from a domain specific just as a nonexclusive conduct point of view. This part goes into the underlying foundations of the skill development, and assesses the commitments of these to the field of expert and practice-based learning. This is additionally outlined with instances of various callings in which ability models have been and still are a viable way to delineate for expert practice and to direct the assessment and advancement of expert and practice based learning
programs. What worked and did not work is then clarified by recognizing three methodologies of conceptualizing skill which have been utilized in various settings, and which have wide ramifications for expert and practice-based learning. The section closes
with the case that present fitness originations help mapping, centering and surveying proficient and practice-based learning.

Full text

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Review Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.810.182
Importance of Professional Competency of Extension Personnel
Manoher Saryam1* and Pooja Jena2
1Department of Extension Education, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,
BHU, Varanasi (U.P.), India
2Department of Extension Education, College of Agriculture, Rewa (M.P), India
*Corresponding author
A B S T R A C T
Introduction
The concept of competence is probably as old
as humankind. Homo sapiens have always
been desiring to master skills and to find ways
to solve practical, professional and scientific
challenges. Certain individuals always
received the prerogative to perform certain
activities which had a highly symbolic
meaning. The attribution of authority was
originally strongly related to tradition but that
gradually moved to cognition and ability. In
the current meritocratic society, people are
generally allocated to jobs based on
educational achievement and their profile of
capabilities and other personal characteristics.
International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences
ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 10 (2019)
Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com
Professional and practice-based learning is a procedure which shows itself in a wide range
of structures. It varies by close to home attributes of the students, levels of their callings,
fields of training, deliberateness of their learning, and formalization of the learning
exercises. Ideas of skill have entered this assorted practice from numerous points of view.
The inquiry is whether originations of expert ability have helped the act of expert and
practice-based learning. In this section it is contended this is without a doubt the case.
Albeit different endeavors to actualize capability based proficient learning projects were
vigorously scrutinized, later improvements in fitness hypothesis and research gave new
bits of knowledge which underscored the integrative significance of ability inside expert
practice. It helped in mapping proficient fields from a domain specific just as a
nonexclusive conduct point of view. This part goes into the underlying foundations of the
skill development, and assesses the commitments of these to the field of expert and
practice-based learning. This is additionally outlined with instances of various callings in
which ability models have been and still are a viable way to delineate for expert practice
and to direct the assessment and advancement of expert and practice based learning
programs. What worked and did not work is then clarified by recognizing three
methodologies of conceptualizing skill which have been utilized in various settings, and
which have wide ramifications for expert and practice-based learning. The section closes
with the case that present fitness originations help mapping, centering and surveying
proficient and practice-based learning.
Ke yword s
Professional
Competency,
Extension,
Learning, Education
Accepted:
12 September 2019
Available Online:
10 October 2019
Article Info

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The drive of individuals to learn to perform in
certain fields of activities, however, never
changed, and is to a large extent based on
eagerness to master certain skills, become
independent and get recognition. This is very
well visible in babies and toddlers when they
want to turn in their cradle, crawl on the floor
and walk in the room, stimulated by their
parents who are cheering when the first steps
are taken. Young children constantly move
around until they are able to do what they
desperately want at the end of the day: to gain
independence; or: to become competent. For
gaining an independent position in society
nowadays, individuals need to pass through
formal education trajectories and complete
examinations. The higher the education levels
students achieve, the higher their chances of
getting a good position at the labour market
and an appointment in a better-paid and stable
job. Independence, however, is a relative
notion. In society, people are interdependent
by definition, but individual ego development
is necessary for getting a personal identity in
the first place and a professional identity later
in life, for which recognition is needed, by
getting an appropriate education qualification,
and subsequently by being appointed in a job,
being promoted, rewarded, and having a
career perspective. Development opportunities
are the top priority of graduates from higher
education and considered to be a major labour
condition. Because of the massification of
education, it became an industry. And because
of its limited innovation capacity, it somehow
alienated from society. Getting a diploma
became a goal in itself, many educational
institutions were not well-aligned to societal
demands anymore, and became pedagogical
islands. Sometimes this process is called the
„diploma disease‟, but it can also be named the
„competence crisis‟, as the big issue was
whether graduates who were qualified really
were able to perform according to standards in
the profession and expectations in the working
situation. Having a college degree was no
guarantee for being able to perform well on
the job or in society in general.
The increasing changes in and demand for
high quality and quantity of farm produce
made on agricultural based institutions and
farmers in the 21st century have had a
considerable impact on roles and job
performance of extension workers. As a result,
the traditional subsistence agriculture is
gradually been replaced by market-oriented or
commercial agriculture. This is probably due
to factors including rapid economic growth in
both developing and developed countries,
introduction of new technologies, market
expansion, market liberalization, increased
demand for food, decreasing farming
population as result of urbanization,
liberalized and open economic policies,
bilateral and multilateral economic
agreements, developed infrastructure facilities
in farming areas and government agricultural
policies (Mahaliyanaarachchi and Bandara,
2006). Improvement in general agricultural
production, productivity and sustainability
will depend on farmers‟ willingness and
access to new technology.
Agricultural extension and advisory services
play an important role in addressing this
challenge. Agricultural extension services play
a pivotal role in ensuring that the farmers have
access to improved and proven technologies
and that their concerns and needs are properly
addressed by relevant service providers.
Agricultural extension contributes to
improving the welfare of farmers and other
people living in rural areas as extension
advisory services and programmes forges to
strengthen the farmer‟s capacity to innovate
by providing access to knowledge and
information. However, the role of extension
today goes beyond technology transfer to
facilitation; beyond training to learning, and
includes assisting farmer to form groups,
dealing with marketing issues, addressing

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public interest issues in rural areas such as
resource conservation, health, monitoring of
food security and agricultural production, food
safety, nutrition, family education, and youth
development and partnering with a broad
range of service providers and other agencies
(USAID, 2002). This has led to increasing
emphasis on the development of core
competencies necessary for the extension
workers to perform at maximum. Competent
extension professionals are the assets of
agricultural extension services. Diverse and
dynamic agricultural systems, advancing
science and technologies, changing socio-
demographics, increasing globalization and
growing competition for resources demand
agricultural extension professionals to be
proficient in the technical aspects of their
areas of expertise, as well as in the processes
and delivery of the services (Cochran, Ferrari,
and Chen, 2012; Gibson and Brown, 2003;
Maguire, 2012; Melak and Negatu, 2012;
Rivera et al., 2009; Swanson and Rajalahti,
2010). In other words, the need and demand
for extension professionals to demonstrate a
higher level of professionalism in their
services are growing.
The scope of agricultural extension services
(AES) has been widening, and the need to
adapt to changing contexts is also growing.
AES should work in sustainable agricultural
development and play coordinating and
leadership roles among agricultural
stakeholders (Rajalahti, 2012; Swanson,
2008). The challenges include offering new
services, ensuring the quality of services, and
strengthening collaboration and synergy
among extension service providers (Sulaiman
and Davis, 2012). Furthermore, AES should
become more participatory, demand-driven
and pluralistic (Rivera et al., 2009). This
means that, in order to thrive, extension must
understand and adjust to rapid changes and
emerging challenges (ECOP, 2002). These
calls for organizational changes and new tasks
indicate the need for multi-skilled human
resources in extension services (Cochran,
2009).
Therefore, the effectiveness of an Extension
organization is determined by the ability of
extension agents to design, deliver, and
evaluate effective educational programs,
because they are directly serving the needs of
the people. Their ability to perform extension
tasks is a function of their job competencies.
To (Severs et al., 2007), future extension
professionals need to be more skillful and
futuristic to serve the needs of diverse
audience. Extension staff must learn new
knowledge and skills, since it is only
knowledgeable and skillful individual who can
play a vital role in the success of an
organisation in today‟s technological
environment. According to Swanson (1996),
high value should be placed on core
competencies in business and industry,
primarily referring to their knowledge and
expertise in these fields. To be a successful
extension staff today, one must be competent
not only in technical matters, but also in areas
such as management, programming
communication, human relations, and. As a
result, it is necessary to investigate
competencies of extension staff and how that
leads to better delivery of extension services
for a sustainable rural development.
What is professional competence?
Professional is competent when he/she acts
responsibly and effectively according to given
standards of performance. One can also say
that this professional possesses sufficient
competence.
Professional competence is seen as the
generic, integrated and internalized capability
to deliver sustainable effective (worthy)
performance (including problem solving,
realizing innovation, and creating

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transformation) in a certain professional
domain, job, role, organisational context, and
task situation.
Competence consists of various competencies.
A competency is a part of generic
competence; it is a coherent cluster of
knowledge, skills and attitudes which can be
utilized in real performance contexts. For
instance, in a crime scene investigation a
forensic expert needs to produce a DNA
profile of a piece of evidence. This requires
knowledge (disciplinary knowledge), skills
(working with artefacts) and attitudes
(accuracy, coping with pressure, integrity).
Together these constitute professional
competence. Or traders at a flower auction:
they require knowledge (about the products,
quality indicators, market developments,
prices), skills (multi-tasking, processing
information, instant decision making), and
attitudes (stress-tolerance, feeling for sales).
These are elements of professional
competence as well.
What has not yet been discussed often it the
twofold meaning of competence in terms of
capabilities and rights. These two are
different, yet go together. Competence as
capabilities is the field professionals feel
comfortable with. Because of their education
and experience in practice they have gained a
certain level of competence, which goes
together with a feeling of confidence, self-
efficacy and professional identity. But
educational institutions have declared
graduates to be competent by approving their
completions. The diploma is the formal piece
of evidence of the competence level of the
graduate, which is nowadays more transparent
because of the education levels specified in
the European Qualification Framework and
printed on diplomas or in diploma
supplements. Professional associations also
declare individuals as competent when they
comply with certain standards. Educational
institutes and professional associations have
the right to do so if they are acknowledged by
the relevant institutions. We can also say that
educational institutions have the competence
to take decisions regarding the licensure of
candidates who complete educational
programs. Other institutions may have other
rights, such as law courts and European
institutions. Examples of institutional
competencies of law courts were already
described in the dissertations of Viruly (1890)
and Roes (1885) at the University of Leiden in
the Netherlands. (Both dissertations counted
31 and 41 pages respectively). Individuals
who have received a professional licence of an
educational institute or a professional
association, or the state, also have certain
rights to act (e.g. as teacher), perform
interventions (e.g. as medical expert), and take
decisions (as lawyer). Citizens also have their
rights (to vote, to raise children, to move in
freedom), but if there are grounded reasons to
do so, the legal system can also deny these
rights by declaring people incompetent. The
meaning of competence discussed above is
mainly related to professional competence, as
used in key competencies, competence
domains, competence clusters, enabling
competencies, and competency dimensions or
competency components. However, there is
also a branch of literature in which
organizational competence is being discussed.
The most prominent source of this is probably
the work of Prahalad and Hamel (1990) on the
core competence of organisations. Core
competencies are capabilities of organisations
in which they excel, with which they earn
most of their profits, and which cannot easily
be copied by competitors. This is an
interesting line of research, and at
organisational level core competencies should
be included in the corporate strategy, which
should be aligned with corporate human
resources management strategy, which in turn
should be related to the corporate competence
development strategy.

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The relationship between competence and
professional performance is complicated.
There are multiple connections between the
two at various levels of aggregation and
relationships between detailed competencies
en specific performance results are not
exclusive. Utilizing criterion differentiation
and canonical correlation in the search for
common dimension of competence and
performance as suggested by Bartram (op cit)
is nevertheless useful.
Emerging Roles of Agricultural Extension
Services
Scholars have highlighted the need for active
participation of farmers in extension
processes, including decision making, so that
farmers can voice their needs and can demand
and get programs that they deem appropriate
(Rivera et al., 2009). Others have emphasized
participation, collaboration and cooperation
among extension service providers in various
aspects of extension services, such as in
knowledge, information and resource sharing
(Swanson &Samy, 2002; ECOP, 2002).
“Extension” means to extend education or to
educate people with the aim of bringing
positive behavioral changes and improving the
quality of life among those targeted (Qamar,
2005). Dwarakinath (2006) said that
communication and adult education are two
facets of extension education. Extension
professionals need to have knowledge of
andragogy — how adults learn. Suvedi and
McNamara (2012) underscored that
communication and coordination between
extension and research are crucial in
agricultural services. Extension professionals
should know about ongoing research and
research findings, and researchers must know
what field-researchable problems are.
Moreover, demand for information and
communication technologies (ICTs) in
agricultural extension services is ever growing
(Aker, 2011). The use of ICTs makes
information dissemination quicker, easier and
cheaper. Extension professionals should be
cognizant of the new ICTs and use them in
their work. Facilitating farmers in marketing
their products and educating community
members to mitigate the risks of climate
changes are other tasks that extension agents
are now asked to do. It is difficult for
extension professionals to accomplish these
tasks on their own. Extension services will be
sustainable if they follow a farmer-centered
(demand-driven) approach, encourage
participation of farmers and other stakeholders
in extension processes (participatory), and
involve NGOs and farmer cooperatives as
extension service providers (pluralistic).
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals
Adapted from Liles and Mustian (2004),
Maddy et al., (2002), Ohio State University
(2015), Suvedi (n. d.), Vandenberg and
Foerster (2008), and the studies from
developing countries in Asia and Africa, core
competencies and associated competencies are
listed below that Nepal may consider adapting
for its extension professionals. However, the
need for competencies is context-specific
(Mulder, 2014) and culture-specific, and
extension education is a lifelong learning
process (ECOP, 2002) whose core
competencies are subject to change as new
situations unfold.
Program planning and implementation are
important skills that extension professionals
need.
In a study done among extension agents,
Gibson and Hillison (1994) found program
planning rated as the most important
competency need. Extension professionals not
only have to understand planning and do
planning within their organizations, they also

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have to facilitate their clients in doing the
same. It is thus important that extension
professionals should be able to:
Understand policies, programs and
strategies of agricultural development
Comprehend demographics, economic and
human activity systems of the communities
they serve.
Assess the needs of farmers and other
stakeholders.
Identify, acquire and allocate resources to
programs according to their priority.
Establish working relationships with partners.
Design and implement programs with
stakeholders‟ participation.
Use appropriate educational design to respond
to local learning needs.
Apply adult learning principles to extension
education and training.
Provide input to and seek feedback from
participants/learners/clients.
Communication skills
Communication is one of the pillars of
extension because extension professionals
have to communicate effectively with their
clients and stakeholders. Extension
professionals should:
Know various types and styles of
communication and be able to use them.
Engage in adaptation of new technologies.
Demonstrate good speaking skills.
Demonstrate effective listening skills.
Be able to create concise reports and proposals
of their extension programs.
Select and practice communication tools and
methods that suit recipients and their needs.
Be aware of local dialects and cultures while
communicating with clients.
Education and informational technology
The use of appropriate methods, messages and
tools of education and information is of
paramount importance in extension.
Competency of extension professionals will be
evaluated on the basis of how familiar they are
with various and emerging ICTs and other
communication tools and methods and how
effectively they use these tools and methods in
their routine work. Extension professionals
should be able to:
Use computers for word processing,
information access, data storage and analysis.
Provide information via local radio stations,
the Internet and mobile phones.
Effectively use audiovisual materials for
teaching adults.
Use television and radio to communicate
information to clients.
Design and use educational materials on the
basis of clients‟ needs and contexts.
Leadership
A large number of stakeholders are involved
in and/or associated with agricultural services.
Extension professionals have the challenge to
lead, coordinate and facilitate these diverse
stakeholders. Extension professionals should
uphold stakeholders‟ participation and

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ownership in the programs. Moreover, they
should:
Understand group dynamics, work in a team
and encourage teamwork in their
organizations.
Understand basic approaches to conflict
resolution.
Understand facilitation and the role of
facilitators.
Identify major political forces that operate in
the communities.
Use a variety of leadership approaches
depending on their work contexts.
Practice consensus decision making among
clients and stakeholders.
Understand barriers to participation and/or
learning.
Be able to interact successfully with diverse
individuals and groups to create partnerships
and networks.
Delegate tasks to staff members.
Diversity, pluralism and multiculturalism
Most developing countries, are home to many
races, cultures, religions and ethnicities.
Gender-related issues, such as gender
disparities in services, are frequently raised in
these countries. If extension professionals
need to be familiar with the diversities of the
communities they serve. Specifically, they
should be able to:
Demonstrate sensitivity to the diverse needs of
various cultural groups in the community.
Engage and enhance the participation of
various ethnic and sociocultural groups in
extension programs.
Ensure that women and farmers from rural
areas and marginalized groups participate in
the extension programs.
Identify, understand and appreciate the needs
of diverse staff members and clients.
Understand and update diversity and
multiculturalism issues.
Ensure that other service providers (e.g.,
private sector agencies, NGOs, farmer
cooperatives, etc.) collaborate in AES and/or
provide extension services to the clients.
Program evaluation and research
Monitoring and evaluation of programs are as
important as program planning. Funders and
stakeholders are eager to know whether the
extension programs yield expected outcomes.
Program evaluation is the most studied among
the core competencies for extension
professionals (Rodgers et al., 2012). Scholars
have found program evaluation to be one of
the important competencies required for
extension professionals (Khalil et al., 2009;
Namdar et al., 2010).
Extension professionals should have
information about what, where, how and when
extension programs are delivered and how
successful these programs have been. In light
of these demands, extension professionals
should also:
Understand theories of monitoring and
evaluation.
Understand and adopt formative and
summative evaluations.

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Do regular monitoring of extension programs
and services.
Apply quantitative and qualitative data
analysis tools, techniques to analyze and
interpret monitoring, and evaluation data.
Communicate monitoring and evaluation
findings to clients—farmers, researchers,
educators, line agencies and departments.
Improve and/or redesign programs on the
basis of evaluation results.
Remain current with extension-related
research findings and research approaches.
Extension and organizational management
To deliver extension programs effectively,
extension organizations need to function well.
Extension professionals should therefore
establish structure, organize processes,
develop and monitor resources, and lead
change to obtain extension outcomes
effectively and efficiently (Maddy et al.,
2002). They should also:
Understand and be able to convey information
about the vision, mission and goals of the
extension services.
Communicate effectively with staff members
and clients.
Conduct staff appraisal and keep staff
members informed of their performance.
Effectively implement reward and punishment
systems in their respective offices.
Find out staff needs — human resource
development and others — and address them.
Organize staff meetings in a timely manner
and seek staff input.
Professionalism
Extension professionals should:
Have a strong work ethic.
Be committed to continuous learning and
career advancement.
Have a positive attitude about extension work.
Be accountable to their clients.
Adhere to their professional norms.
Maintain transparency.
Demonstrate critical thinking and problem-
solving skills.
Be able to work independently.
Technical subject matter expertise
Together with the process skills, extension
professionals should be proficient in their
subject matter. They should:
Demonstrate that they have basic knowledge
in their discipline.
Understand the new technology being
promoted -- what it is, and why and how it
works.
Be able to educate community members about
risks and uncertainties due to climate change,
market fluctuations, disasters, etc.
Refer to and make use of publications,
research reports, etc.

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Demonstrate basic knowledge of
agribusinesses and help entrepreneurship
development among extension clients.
The development of a unified approach to the
determination of the essence and structure of
global competence and its place in extension
professional competence will help to organize
national (regional) strategies of development
of policies and Programme with a focus on the
challenges and prospects of the age of
globalization.
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How to cite this article:
Manoher Saryam and Pooja Jena. 2019. Importance of Professional Competency of Extension
Personnel. Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci. 8(10): 1563-1573.
doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.810.182