AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION IN SOUTH-AFRICA
Actors Involved in Agricultural Extension
Prior to 1994, Department of Agricultural Development of
the House of Assembly, which was the largest Department,
was responsible for servicing while agricultural
services for the white in South Africa during apartheid in
seven agro-ecological zones. The ‘Black agriculture;’ was
serviced by the departments of agriculture of the Homelands’
and independent states. Following the change to a
democratic South Africa in April 1994, all agricultural
activities fell under one department (Van-Nickerk, 1995).
However, the agricultural development remains uneven
between the whites who own commercial farms and the
black who are subsistence farmers. As such, South
African agriculture has a strong commercial production
sector which provides a foundation for national food
security and even international trade, thus making a
significant contribution to the national economy. This
success was due to the agricultural policies and extension
approaches adopted to date in South Africa (Worth,
2002). Agricultural extension officers or advisers are
employed by departments of agriculture, cooperatives
and some marketing organizations. A whole host of private
firms and non-governmental development agencies
also provide advisory services. However, information
dissemination through extension services is yet to get to
all farmers who will need the information.