Resilience Building in Agricultural Extension Programmes: Application of a Resilience Framework and Development of a Farmer-Focused Assessment Tool

Purpose: Participatory extension programmes (PEPs) are a well-known approach to achieve change on an on-farm level. This study examines whether there is a change in on-farm resilience due to PEP participation, by identifying whether participation leads to an increase in resilience capacities, and which aspects of the programme contribute to this. Design/Methodology/Approach: A case study was selected in Aotearoa New Zealand, where 33 interviewees had participated in a 3-year PEP. Findings: Findings show that participation in the PEP led to an increase in the resilience capacities "robustness" and "adaptability." Attributes via which the PEP contributed to this are: (i) increasing "openness" by connecting to others in the community and learning collectively, (ii) increasing "diversity" by using new tools and diversifying land use, and (iii) improving "system reserves" by building labour and feed resources. robustness adaptability openness diversity system reserves Practical implications: A resilience framework is applied to evaluation that helps decision-makers identify the multifaceted effects of PEP participation. Insights from the study also contribute to future design of agricultural PEPs, by enabling resilience-building attributes through a novel 'resilience wheel' assessment tool. Theoretical implications: Novel theoretical insights from this study include that PEPs can be evaluated by using a resilience framework and show which resilience attributes are specifically important to establish change via PEP participation. Originality/value: This research is the first to evaluate the effect of PEP participation from a resilience perspective.