Introduction









This manual is addressed to front-line agricultural extension work-
ers-agricultural assistants primarily, but also to other divisional
or district level staff who are engaged in face-to-face communica-
tion with farmers.
It is about communication skills-those skills which make all the
difference between success or failure in the extension worker's
efforts to encourage farmers to increase their production and
improve their quality of life.
It has been written in support of the Kenya Ministry of Agricul-
ture's campaign to reduce serious grain losses by advocating and
demonstrating efficient post-harvest pest-control and storage tech-
niques. So the examples of technical topics are drawn mainly from
these fields. But the information and advice on communication
processes contained in this manual will be relevant for the full
range of agricultural extension messages-and it should also be
applicable in countries other than Kenya.
The manual begins with a discussion of some fundamental factors
influencing communication. It reviews the functions and responsi-
bilities of the front-line workers and identifies the key communica-
tion competencies they need for effective job performance. It consid-
ers the position of the farmers themselves, explores the conditions
under which they will be prepared to consider and accept changes
in their habitual ways of doing things. It returns to the extension
workers and analyzes the means by which they can influence the
motivation and receptiveness of the farmers.
The manual then takes up in turn the main kinds of communication
activity-visiting a farm, speaking in public, giving a demonstra-
tion, leading a group discussion-and identifies the factors which