Knowledge management working tool for agricultural extension practice: the case of Ghana

Resumen

The study adopted the knowledge conversion model by Nonanka and Takeuchi (1995), and the codification-personalization knowledge management strategies by Hansen et al. (1999) as the benchmark for proposing a circular knowledge management model for agricultural extension practice. This model recognizes tacit and explicit knowledge forms as complementary in informing decisions regarding agricultural extension services. An empirical assessment of agricultural extension services in Ghana provided the foundation for the development of such a knowledge management model for agricultural extension practice. Some 160 farmers from four farming communities in Ghana constituted the sample for the study. The three-stage multi-sampling procedure was adopted for this purpose. The data gathered via interviews were analyzed descriptively. It is recommended that agricultural extension experts adopt the circular Knowledge management model based on the knowledge conversion and the codification-personalization models by Nonanka and Takeuchi (1995), and Hansen et al. (1999) respectively. Such an approach will bring farmers together in search of knowledge, as well as intensifying the collaboration between farmers and extension experts as change agents. This will significantly bridge the cultural and knowledge divide between the communities of farmers and extension experts.