What are their typical duties and what are they trained to do?
Although there are many different ways to organize extension and the activities of agents, agents generally work with farmers to identify and solve their problems. To gain credibility with their clients, agents have to have a deep understanding of farming and the problems faced by farmers, such as crop rotation, pesticide use and responses to crop diseases like wheat rust and rice blast. Given the range of knowhow required to advise farmers, however, they must also know when to turn to experts to solve a farmer’s problem. Thus, agents have to be diagnosticians, farming experts and information brokers simultaneously. Agents have to be technically sound as well as reliable, honest and respected. They need strong people skills and a commitment to the community. Although the ability to access technical knowledge may be the basis of the relationship between farmer and agent, how an agent manages that relationship determines his or her ability to have long-term impact.