Extension activity is one of the important roles of researchers, as researchers are considered experts in their technical fields, thus, their extension activity is one aspects to benefit from their technical expertise.
The study aimed : to determine the degree of participation of researchers in extension activities, and its relationship with the independent variables studied, and to Identify the problems facing researchers when they perform extension activities, and to identify mechanisms to enhance the extension activity of researchers.
Data were collected by interviewing respondents using a pre-tested questionnaire the study sample was drown randomly 65 researchers in research stations at: Sids; Etay El-Baroud; Mallawy; Fayoum. During January and February 2012. Frequencies, percentages tables, arithmetic means, and pearsonian correlation coefficient were used for data presentation and analysis.
The mains results showed that: Participation of more than a quarter of the respondents (around 29.2 %) was low in extension activities, while about a half of them (around 46.2%) fall of the medium category of extension activities
Significant relationships, were found at 0.01 level, between the degree of participation of researchers in extension activities and: each of: Years of experience in the research work, participating in work team, and the attitude towards agricultural extension. also significant relationships, at (0.05) level were found between the degree of participation of researchers in extension activities and each of: Number published research papers, and motivationfor achievement.
The most important problems facing researchers when their participation in extension activates were as the following: The problems related to the relationship between the research station and the extension system, in the first rank; the problems related to the extension system, in the second rank; and The problems related to the researchers, in the third rank.
The most important mechanisms required to enhance the extension role of researchers were as the following: first: Establishment of the High Committee for Research and Extension, Consisting of the director of research Station as a head, and extension managers in the governorates which served by the research station as members, and some of the local farmers leaders as members; Second: Establishment of a communication unit in each research institute for the transport and delivery of agricultural research results to the agriculture extension system; third: Holding regular meetings between the researchers and leaders of extension work and farmers, and strengthen the Achievement motivation among researchers and Extension workers in establishing the relationship between research station and the agricultural extension system.