A co-learning approach to extension: soil nitrogen workshops in Queensland, Australia

摘要

The article sets out to identify factors which explain the success of a co-learning approach to extension of the Queensland Department of Primary Industries. Curriculum-based 'Nitrogen workshops' were developed in consultation with farmers and researchers (sponsored by agribusiness) in response to the decline of soil fertility. Facilitated by extensionists, farmers engaged in soil sampling, observation and interpretation. The objective is not the adoption of solutions, but the empowerment of farmers to learn. A stalemate was resolved which had resulted from extension using a transfer of technology approach. The article examines assertions of stakeholders from a constructivist perspective using participant observation, interviews, text analysis, literature and a questionnaire. Key success factors were facilitation of group enquiry, tailoring technical infromation to the socio-economic context, making the invisible visible. Researchers learned to speak a transparent language. The co-learning process provided fertile ground for both learning and crops.