Assessment of Core Competencies of Agricultural Extension Professionals in Nepal

Agricultural extension services are under pressure to improve their services and contribute more to agricultural development. Extension services require human resources that are competent both technically as well as in process skills. Little is known about whether and how competent extension professionals are to serve in the changing context and as demanded by their clients. Examining the competencies of extension staff members is vital to management being cognizant of training and educational needs of their staff members as well as being able to effectively mobilize them to accomplish extension tasks. This four-paper dissertation seeks to assess how Nepalese extension professionals perceive extension core competencies. Using extension experts' input and information drawn from a literature review, the first paper identifies areas of core competency that the agricultural extension professionals in Nepal need to possess to effectively deliver extension services to farmers. The eight core competency areas identified are communication, program planning, program implementation, personal and professional development, education and informational technology, diversity, program evaluation, and technical subject matter expertise. The second paper uses self-administered in-person and web based survey data and discusses the perceptions of importance of core competencies of extension professionals. Respondents perceived core competencies to be very important to their work are those related to personal and professional development, followed by communication skills. The third paper examines extension professionals' levels in the core competencies. The findings show a moderate level of competency among extension professionals and a clear gap exists between the perceived level of importance and current level of competency. The widest such gap is in educational and informational technology followed closely by technical subject matter expertise and program evaluation. The fourth paper assesses respondents' perceptions of level of competency pertaining to demand-driven extension and ways to acquire competencies. Respondents felt only moderately competent to demand-driven extension competency. Generally, all four ways in-service, preservice, basic induction and workshop/seminar/webinar seem to be appropriate to acquire core competencies, but in particular, respondents from government organizations preferred in-service and/or basic induction training to acquire core competency than respondents from non-governmental organizations did. The study has several implications for the preservice and in-service agricultural education and training in Nepal. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]