SEA Working Paper 97/03 - Abstract
What
we think we know about extension,
and why its not enough for Landcare.
Sally P. Marsh and David J. Pannell
Agricultural and Resource Economics, The University of W.A., Nedlands, 6907
Abstract
A great deal of money is being invested by governments, agribusiness and farmers in extension efforts to encourage farmers to adopt practices which will stop continuing land degradation. The Landcare movement in Australia has done a great deal to raise awareness of land degradation issues and show ways in which they can be tackled. However, despite this awareness, the rate of uptake of conservation practices by farmers in general is slow, and less than desired by both governments and committed farmers. In this paper we look at the reasons why Landcare technologies are different from the other innovative technologies that farmers make decisions about using. We contend that adopting Landcare technologies involves difficult and different economic decision problems for farmers. We argue that only by acknowledging and looking realistically at these problems can progress be made in getting Landcare practices widely adopted.
Citation: Marsh, S.P. and Pannell, D.J. (1997). What we think we know about extension, and why its not enough for Landcare. Paper presented at Western Australian Landcare Conference, Geraldton, September 1997.
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