Introduction
Climate change threatens the food security and livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers, especially in the Global South. As extension systems enter a new era of “Extension 4.0”, their role must extend beyond technology transfer to foster adaptive capacity and resilience. However, even well-intentioned interventions can cause maladaptation, increasing vulnerability or degrading systems. Using the Trojan Horse metaphor, this research critiques top-down extension paradigms and argues for Resilient and Responsible Adaptation grounded in participatory systems thinking, institutional ethics, and feedback learning.
Purpose and objectives
This analytical review aims to examine how agricultural extension services may unintentionally contribute to maladaptation and to propose ways to enhance their adaptive effectiveness. Specifically, it seeks to identify and systematize the mechanisms through which extension activities can promote maladaptive outcomes, and to present a conceptual framework for “Resilient and Responsible Adaptation” to guide the redesign of extension consultations. The main objectives are:
- Critical Review: To analyze and synthesize existing literature on maladaptation and the involvement of extension systems.
- Assessment of Current Practices: To evaluate current extension approaches and identify their potential maladaptive risks.
- Conceptual Framework Development: To introduce a new framework for “Resilient and Responsible Adaptation” grounded in systems thinking, participatory processes, ethics, and feedback loops.
- Practical Insights: To formulate actionable recommendations for extension professionals, educators, and policymakers to embed maladaptation awareness within advisory and training programs.
The New Compass (Conceptual Framework)
The RRA framework is a dynamic, ethical, and holistic approach built upon four mutually reinforcing pillars:
1: Systems Thinking
Shift: From reductionist “input-output” to viewing the farm as a complex socio-ecological whole .
Focus: Optimizing system resilience and well-being, not just maximizing single yields.
2: Participatory Approaches
Shift: From technology transfer to co-learning and mutual exchange.
Methodology: Use Participatory Action Research (PAR) to build farmers’ capacity to find their own context-specific solutions.
3: Ethical Awareness & Climate Justice
Imperative: Trust is the bedrock of cooperation. Adaptation must translate into a commitment to Climate Justice by actively ensuring equitable access and disrupting entrenched inequalities.
4: Feedback Mechanisms
Engine: Move from static evaluation to continuous learning and Adaptive Management.
Practice: Implement participatory M&E to capture both intended benefits and unintended “co-harms” (e.g., social inequity) and feed data back into policy.
Implementation (Strategic Pathways)
This review calls for rethinking agricultural extension—from a channel of information delivery to a platform for collective learning and adaptive transformation. It urges integration of systems thinking, ethics, and participation into both theory and practice.
Key Recommendations:
- Reforming Extension Professionals:
Redefine the role of extension agents from technical experts to facilitators of co-learning. Update agricultural education curricula to include soft skills, systems thinking, and maladaptation awareness. - Institutional & Policy Transformation:
Establish participatory governance that shares decision-making power. Design equitable financial and digital mechanisms to reduce inequalities and prevent structural maladaptation. - Adaptive Management:
Develop monitoring and evaluation systems that track both co-benefits and co-harms, ensuring continuous learning and responsive policy adjustment.
Conclusion
The persistence of maladaptation represents the “Trojan Horse” of outdated extension paradigms—well-intentioned actions that deepen vulnerability. Transitioning toward Resilient and Responsible Adaptation (RRA) transforms agricultural extension from reactive problem-solving to proactive capacity-building. By embedding ethics, equity, and feedback learning, extension systems can empower farmers not only to cope with climate risks but to reshape the structural conditions that create vulnerability.
This paradigm shift points toward a more resilient, just, and sustainable future for agricultural communities.