Improving public extension practitioners’ technical farm management knowledge and service delivery: evidence from small-holder farmers in Thulamela municipality of South Africa

Poor-quality extension service delivery motivated the introduction of the Extension Recovery Plan (ERP) in South Africa. The paper assesses the influence of the ERP on field-level, public extension practitioners’ technical farm management knowledge and delivery of farm management information to small-holder farmers in the Thulamela municipality following their qualifications’ upgrade. Methods: The study used a mixed-methods approach and employed a cross-sectional survey design. Due to logistical challenges, 80 out of 135 targeted farmers were available, and thus purposely selected for this assessment. Descriptive and inferential analytical methods were used. Findings: The findings showed that extension practitioners’ technical farm management knowledge had improved; furthermore, there was a positive relationship between extension practitioners’ qualifications’ upgrade and the delivery of improved technical farm management information as attested to by respondents. Conclusions: The findings indicate that the ERP has a positive influence on extension practitioners’ technical farm management knowledge as well as the delivery of improved management knowledge to producers in Thulamela Municipality.