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Abstract
An innovative methodology in the Paraguayan context was implemented to
train rural extensionists in the Department of Caazapá. It aimed at the empowerment
and the transformation of rural extension practices, looking for a more horizontal and
participatory model of interaction. In order to reach these objectives, eight monthly
training modules were implemented, in which reflexive processes about the problems faced
by rural extensionists in their practice and spaces aimed at the construction of proposals to
overcome them were implemented. In this article, the implementation, as well as the impact
of the training process in the rural extensionists’ beliefs, are described and evaluated at a
qualitative and a quantitative level. Evidence shows that the implemented methodology
significantly transformed the way in which practitioners perceive their role in the context
of extension work. Now, they conceive themselves as facilitators that have to work jointly
with farmers, instead of those who have to bring them all the solutions.