Future-Proofing Extension Education in Agricultural Universities: Stakeholders’ Perspective

Context: With on-going advancements in knowledge and technology, extension professionals must efficiently relay these updates to end users. Agricultural universities are crucial in training future extensionists. Objective: To forecast the competencies required for future extensionists and assess the limitations of current ext. edu. in SAU from stakeholders’ perspectives. Methods: An exploratory approach was adopted for this study, conducted from 2023 to 2024. Utilizing the Delphi technique, the research forecasted the competencies needed for future agricultural extensionists, involving a panel of experts, including agricultural extension professors from ICAR, SAUs, SMS from KVK, and extension scientists. Additionally, Garrett ranking was employed to analyze the limitations of extension education in agricultural universities based on insights from 120 stakeholders, including PG and Ph.D. students, professors, and extension scientists. Results and Discussion: By the third round of the Delphi technique, high consensus and high importance was achieved on 21 competencies. Key limitations included insufficient field visits, a lack of specialized skills among educators, and a shortage of faculty in agril. ext. edu.depts, which were ranked as the top three limitations of extension education in agricultural universities. Significance: These findings uncovered the specific gaps (limitations) and areas for improvement (competencies) in extension education at university level and offer valuable insights for policymakers, academicians, and extension organizations to develop strategies that will future-proof extension education and better equip extension scholars to address future challenges effectively.