Abstract At a global level, there is a growing concern about the sustainability of agricultural production models. In particular, the impacts and environmental passives derived from the implementation of the principles of the so-called Green Revolution. In contrast, agroecology gain supporters in the context of a different productive model, though limited due to lower levels of agricultural productivity. Nevertheless, for any of these models to come into practice, it has to go through farmers’ decision making. Thus, acknowledging the key role played by rural extensionists in farmers’ decision-making process, in this article the extensionists’ personal positioning and that of their institutions are analyzed in the context of the contrast between agroecology and conventional agriculture. A total of 583 rural extensionist that work in the National Institute of Agricultural Technology, the Subsecretariat of Family Farming and Territorial Development and other Argentine institutions replied an online questionnaire. It included sociodemographic questions and asked to position oneself and one’s institution using a five level Likert type item, in which agroecology and conventional agriculture were the poles. Results show that, in average, extensionists have a tendency towards the agroecological pole, while they situate their institutions halfway between both agricultural models. In general, women, who have no university degree, and who hold a degree in social sciences, are more oriented to the agroecological pole.

Resumen A nivel mundial existe creciente preocupación por la sustentabilidad de los modelos de producción agrícola. En particular, por los impactos y pasivos ambientales de la aplicación de los principios de la denominada revolución verde. En contraste, la agroecología gana adeptos en el marco de un modelo productivo diferente, aunque limitado por su menor nivel de producción por unidad de superficie. Pero para que cualquiera de estos modelos se convierta en una práctica productiva es necesario que pase por el tamiz de la toma de decisiones de los productores. Así, atendiendo al rol clave que juegan los extensionistas en la toma de decisiones de los productores, en este artículo se analiza su posicionamiento personal y el de las instituciones de las que forman parte en el marco del contraste entre agroecología y agricultura convencional. Se encuestó a partir de un cuestionario online a 583 extensionistas que trabajan en el Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, la Subsecretaría de Agricultura Familiar y Desarrollo Territorial y otras instituciones de nuestro país. El cuestionario incluía preguntas sociodemográficas y pedía posicionarse a uno mismo y a la institución de pertenencia en un ítem tipo Likert de cinco niveles en el cual agroecología y agricultura convencional moderna constituían los polos. Los resultados muestran que, en promedio, los extensionistas tienen una tendencia hacia el polo agroecológico, mientras que ubican a sus instituciones en una posición intermedia entre ambos modelos productivos. En general las mujeres, quienes tienen un título en el área de las ciencias sociales y quienes no tienen título universitario, poseen una mayor orientación hacia la agroecología.

Extension is evolving, and extension workers' roles and attitudes are changing with global realities. The purpose of this study was to examine South African extension officers' perceptions of their job, views on the objectives of extension, and conception of agriculture. A questionnaire was developed consisting of general demographic and Likert-scale questions regarding perceptions of extension. The survey was emailed to all South African based members of the South African Society for Agricultural Extension (SASAE). The study found that most extensionists considered extension as a professional or technical practice to improve farmer practices followed by those who consider it as "helping farmers" to improve their well-being. The most preferred methods and the area of actual practice were first group and second individual approaches. According to the respondents, productive modernisation aimed at productivity and profitability was the highest extension objective, followed by increasing farmers' knowledge through training. In addition, results provide evidence that extension institutions tend to support conventional agriculture, while extension workers are more concerned with potential negative impacts. Finally, the Likert-scale responses show that while much South African extension work is based on dialogue and horizontal coordination using a participatory approach, transfer of technology still exists, and farmers are blamed for their problems.

Resumo A psicologia tem a potencialidade de contribuir com a extensão rural. Não obstante, as características de seu papel, assim como as necessidades específicas em diversos países, ainda não têm sido esclarecidas. Procurando analisar de maneira diferencial as expectativas que os extensionistas rurais de 12 países latinoamericanos têm sobre a psicologia, a enquete foi implementada. Dos 654 extensionistas rurais enquetados, 585 disseram que a psicologia poderia contribuir com seu trabalho. Conclui-se que as expectativas nos diferentes países são diversas, mas têm elementos compartilhados. Existem dois tipos de expectativas: aquelas como a gestão de grupos e processos participativos com os agricultores e a capacitação e o assessoramento dos extensionistas, as quais podem ser utilizadas para guiar os trabalhos dos psicólogos; e aquelas que tendem a pôr aos agricultores no lugar de objetos de intervenção e não de sujeitos de transformação, as quais têm que ser postas em discussão junto aos extensionistas.

Abstract Psychology has potential to contribute to rural extension. Nonetheless, the characteristics of its role, as well as the specific needs in different countries have not been yet clarified. Thus, aiming at analyzing Latin American rural extensionists' differential expectations of psychology in 12 countries, a survey was conducted. Of 654 surveyed extensionists, 585 considered psychology could contribute to their work. Expectations from psychology in the different countries are diverse, despite the fact some of them are shared. There are two different types of expectations: those such as the management of farmers' groups and participatory processes, and the training and advising of extensionists, which can be used to guide psychologists' practices; and those that place farmers in the position of objects of psychologists' interventions and not of subjects of transformation, which has to be put up for discussion with extensionists.

Resumen La psicología posee potencialidad para contribuir con la extensión rural. Sin embargo, las características de su rol, así como las necesidades específicas en diversos países aún no han sido clarificadas. Buscando analizar de manera diferencial las expectativas que extensionistas rurales latinoamericanos de 12 países tienen sobre la psicología, se realizó una encuesta. De los 654 extensionistas encuestados, 585 consideraron que la psicología podría contribuir a su trabajo. Se concluye que las expectativas en los diferentes países son diversas, aunque poseen elementos compartidos. Existen dos tipos de expectativas: aquellas como la gestión de grupos y procesos participativos con productores y la capacitación y asesoramiento de extensionistas, que pueden ser utilizadas para guiar el trabajo de los psicólogos; y aquellas que tienden a poner a los productores en el lugar de objetos de intervención y no de sujetos de cambio, las cuales necesitan ser puestas en discusión junto con los extensionistas.