Model Sites: A New Direction towards Cooperation among Extension Agents, Field Experts, Researchers, and Farmers

Participatory approaches have been advocated as ways of increasing knowledge through technology transfer to farmers. Model sites as a participatory approach consist of a Main Unit (MU), owned by the extension local assistant or facilitator, and about 25 subordinate units belonging to the surrounding farmers. These sites disseminate technical knowledge through the MU among the subordinate units. This approach seeks to create synergies among researchers, extension agents, field experts, and farmers to improve the quality and quantity of agricultural products. This investigation, carried out in the production units of Extension Local Assistants (ELA) along with the participation of farmers through the dissemination of knowledge, benefits from the results of a survey through researchermade checklists. The sample population consisted of 724 farmers in Khuzestan Province, Iran, selected through census method, 34 of whom were extension local assistants and the rest (as large as 690) included ordinary farmers. The results showed that the farmers participating in the sites had gained significantly higher quantity and quality of field crops, horticulture, and vegetables production. Degrees of reduction in water consumption, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides application were observed in MU sites and subordinate units. Moreover, in each site, some new technologies were transferred to subordinate farmers. The sites could be considered as demonstration farms for nonmember farmers. This study brings new insights into the impact of synergy between all stakeholders in the form of new agricultural extension approach to improve quantity and quality of field crops, horticulture, and vegetables production, using the capacity of local communities