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Overview of CTAHR Cooperative Extension Service

The CTAHR Cooperative Extension Service (CES) is a part of the world’s largest non-traditional education system, the Cooperative Extension System, which can be found in almost all of the 3,150 counties in the 50 states as well as all of the U.S. Territories. CES is the third major component of land grant universities, along with instruction and research. It is a partnership between federal, state, and local governments and has responsibility for providing science-based information and educational programs in agriculture, natural resources, and human resources.

Each county’s extension program is overseen by a CTAHR administrator who is responsible for all CTAHR resources and activities in the county. About 65 dedicated county extension agents and specialists currently conduct our extension work, with the assistance of many additional support personnel throughout the state.

Most of the extension agents and many of the specialists are University of Hawai‘i faculty members who work from off-campus extension offices. County agents are available for individual consultations and can provide educational workshops and short-courses covering topics in agriculture, home economics, family living, 4-H and other youth activities, nutrition, and health. Educational materials such as brochures, publications, and videos are also available at county extension offices for use by the general public. Services provided by county agents are generally free of charge, but workshops and other organized activities may have a nominal fee.

CTAHR’s Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center provides insect identification, nematode counts, and disease diagnosis; soil, plant, water, and feed analysis; and sales of seeds of vegetable and papaya cultivars developed by the college.

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If you require information in an alternative format, please contact us at: ADA-contact@ctahr.hawaii.edu