"scientists are not necessarily good extension workers"

If research work by agricultural scientists do not make an impact in stakeholders' lives, then all that research has been in vain. In a world where agriculture is becoming more and more knowledge-intensive and technology-driven, farmers (who are not as well-educated as these scientists) may not understand the advances in agricultural science that could help them grow more produce with less investment and less environmental damage on increasingly limited land.

Thus, one of the most important people in scientific discovery and application is the agricultural extension worker.

One of the presenters during the GRiSP Global Science Forum was Phil Abrahams, the market development director of CABI. CABI is a non-profit company that aims to bridge the knowledge gap between the scientists in the lab and the farmers in the fields. It thus functions as an extension worker. During his presentation, Mr Abrahams mentioned that scientists are not necessarily good extension workers.

I agree with what he said.

Scientists are trained to perform well on the technical aspects of research. However, not all scientists are  good communicators, particularly with non-scientists. Hence, scientists may not be the best people to answer non-technical people's "So what?" and "How will these scientific breakthroughs help me?" questions. This is where the extension worker comes in.

Agricultural extension workers act as links between the scientist and the farmer. He/she translates scientific breakthroughs into information that a farmer can use in his/her farm and then disseminating the information through training programs and publications. Before, extension work has been limited to actual field visits and on-farm training. These days, extension work can also be done over the internet and by mobile phone.