Abstract

LANDINI, Fernando Pablo. Expected role of psychologists in rural extension in the Argentine Northeast. Corpoica cienc. tecnol. agropecu. [online]. 2017, vol.18, n.2, pp.233-245. ISSN 0122-8706.  https://doi.org/10.21930/rcta.vol18_num2_art:630.

Rural extension is a complex practice that involves the provision of technical assistance and advisory services to farmers and other rural actors with the aim of improving agricultural production as well as organizational and commercial dynamics. Thus, rural extension as an interdisciplinary practice that requires contributions from different social sciences. In consequence, it can be argued that psychology has a great potential to contribute to rural extension. Nonetheless, it has been mentioned that its contributions to the topic have been scarce. Aiming to understand the potential role of psychologists in the context of rural extension, a qualitative, exploratory-descriptive research was conducted. A total of 40 extensionists from the Argentine northeast provinces were interviewed. Interviews were recorded and latter analyzed following grounded theory's guidelines and using Atlas Ti software. The findings allow concluding that most rural extensionists consider that psychology could contribute to their practice, but without being able to clarify its specificities. Additionally, extensionists highlight potential contributions in the area of group dynamics, conflict management and the understanding of farmers' behavior.

Keywords : Extension workers; Family farming; Rural development; Groups; Psychology.

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