Mid-career agricultural extension professionals constitute the backbone of the extension system, as they occupy critical leadership, coordination, and implementation roles at district, state, and national levels. Their decisions and competencies directly influence the effectiveness, reach, and impact of extension interventions. Continuous professional capacity building is therefore essential to ensure that these professionals remain relevant, competent, and responsive to emerging and complex challenges. However, many mid-career personnel were trained under earlier extension paradigms that emphasized top-down approaches, and they now require systematic reorientation to address contemporary priorities such as digital and AI enabled advisory services, climate-smart agriculture, market-led and value-chain-based extension, impact assessment, and inclusive, gender- and youth-sensitive development. In this context, the Mid-Career Professional Development Training on Advancing Agricultural Extension is conceived as a strategic capacity-building initiative.
The training aims to bridge the gap between traditional extension practices and modern, innovation-driven, farmer-centric extension systems. By fostering strategic thinking, problem solving abilities, interdisciplinary perspectives, and leadership capacities, the programme seeks to empower mid-career professionals to design and implement responsive, resilient, and future ready extension strategies that effectively address the evolving needs of farmers and accelerate sustainable agricultural development.
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