Abstract

Participatory Extension Approach (PEA) is an extension methodology where farmers are empowered to take charge of their own development. It grew out of the idea that for development to be lasting it must be democratic and based on the needs of the people. The Government of the Republic of Indonesia was among leading developing nations, especially in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to embrace the participatory construct. In 2006, it introduced a law requiring the country’s 34 provinces, covering 17,508 islands and stretching over 3,181 miles to practice participatory extension. This study was conducted in the Malang Regency in East Java Region and examined how effective the policy is working eight years after.  We interviewed 153 extension agents, from 33 sub-regencies (kecamatan) using a written questionnaire. In general, we found that extension workers had great awareness and interest in the strategy. However, they expressed a lack of communication skills to effectively involve farmers and other stakeholders in participatory extension. Thus, we recommend communication training for extension workers under the rubric of “Communication for Development” (C4D), which, according to the World Bank, is an academy and profession for addressing communication concerns in development, such as participation, integration and capacity building.

Key Words: Communication for Development, Participatory Extension Approach, Indonesia Extension, Rapid Rural Appraisal, Agricultural Development, Extension Workers

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*Dr. Robert Agunga, Ph.D., is of the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education & Leadership, The Ohio State University, 2120 Fyffe Road, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.

**Dr. Edi Dwi Cahyono, Ph.D. is of the Agribusiness Department, Faculty of Agriculture,University of Brawijaya, Jalan Veteran, Malang, East Java, Indonesia.

***Dr. Emily Buck, Ph.D., is of the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education & Leadership, The Ohio State University, 2120 Fyffe Road, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.

****Dr. Scott Scheer, Ph.D., is of the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education & Leadership, The Ohio State University, 2120 Fyffe Road, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.

^JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 8, No. 1, Sp. 1, May 2016, 20 – 45