Resumo

RAIDIMI, E. N.  e  KABITI, H. M.. A review of the role of agricultural extension and training in achieving sustainable food security: a case of South Africa. S Afr. Jnl. Agric. Ext. [online]. 2019, vol.47, n.3, pp.120-130. ISSN 2413-3221.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2413-3221/2019/v47n3a520.

The aim of this paper was to investigate the role of agricultural extension and training for sustainable food security. Improvement of a country's human capacity for productivity is a prerequisite for social and economic development. This study is a review of the envisaged role of agricultural extension and training for sustainable food security amongst smallholder farmers in South Africa. Findings revealed that agricultural extension can contribute to sustainable food security through knowledge dissemination to farmers, for informed decision making. However, for the extension personnel to be better equipped for knowledge dissemination and to realise the goal of sustainable food security, sustained agricultural extension human resource development through investment in education is a prerequisite. Moreover, institutions of higher education need to play a developmental role through establishing linkages with research, extension and farming communities in order to promote sustainable food security, and to increase the relevance of information and technology passed down to farmers. As such, there is a needfor extension educators to ensure that training is responsive to the current needs offarmers. There is a need for models of extension education which are flexible enough to adapt to the environmental, social, economic and physical changes. Therefore, the findings of this study provide guidelines for reforms in extension education systems. This is of importance for informed policy crafting towards improved public extension services.

Palavras-chave : Agricultural education; Agricultural production; Climate variability; Public extension; Smallholder farmer.

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