Once commitment for change had developed in the extension department, operationalisation of participatory extension approaches became a major challenge. This reform required substantial changes in the organisational culture, roles, relationships and attitudes of indiViduals and groups. Changes of that nature are presently being addressed in an organisational development programme within the extension depattment, which includes a learning process to facilitate behavioural qnd attitudinal changes.
The paper concludes that the institutionalisation and operationalisation of participatory approaches takes far more than simply the training of staff in participatory methods. These are complex interventions which require considerable commitment from all actors, sound strategies, flexible methodologies, a conducive atmosphere for learning and a focus on human relationships rather than technical and formal issues.