Agricultural extension is an important mechanism for translating agricultural research, climate information, improved technologies, and public policy into practical knowledge for farming communities. In The Gambia, the effectiveness of extension services is particularly important because many smallholder farmers depend on rain-fed production and face interacting constraints involving soil fertility decline, irregular rainfall, drought, flooding, salinity, limited access to inputs, weak market linkages, and restricted access to finance. This review examines the contribution of agricultural extension to sustainable agricultural development and climate resilience in The Gambia. It synthesizes evidence from peer-reviewed literature, development-agency reports, national climate-resilience documents, and agricultural project materials. The review argues that extension should move beyond one-way technology transfer toward pluralistic, demand-driven, gender-responsive, market-oriented, and climate-informed advisory systems. Farmer field schools, participatory demonstrations, mobile-based agro-meteorological advisories, strengthened farmer organizations, and closer coordination among government, research institutions, civil-society organizations, private service providers, and development partners are identified as important pathways. Particular attention is given to women and youth, whose access to land, finance, information, and productive assets can shape the distribution of extension benefits. The paper proposes an integrated framework linking extension quality, access to productive resources, technology adoption, resilience, productivity, and livelihood outcomes. It concludes that extension investments are most likely to generate sustained benefits when advisory services are combined with timely inputs, affordable finance, irrigation and water management, functional markets, and locally relevant climate information. The manuscript provides a research and policy agenda for strengthening agricultural extension in The Gambia.
Keywords:Agricultural extension; The Gambia; smallholder farmers; climate-smart agriculture; farmer field schools; agricultural innovation