Gamification in Agricultural Extension: A Review of Impact, Challenges, and Emerging Opportunities

Agricultural extension is changing because the old practices are failing to maintain farmers' interest and to effect behaviour change. Gamification has been identified as a potential tool to improve communication, motivation and knowledge transfer in agriculture. This paper undertakes a systematic review, following the PRISMA 2020 protocols, to analyse the applications, impacts, and best practices related to gamification in agricultural extension. Twenty-three (23) studies published between 2017 and 2024 were analysed. The results indicate that gamification is beneficial in terms of motivation, involvement, retention, and behavioural modification, and it promotes cooperation and collaborative learning. Both the digital and analogue methods prove to be effective, but their application in the developed and developing regions differs. Best practices identified include customising interventions to the needs of the audience, incorporating experiential and participatory design, making them accessible with the help of low-cost tools, and aligning gamification with the sustainability objectives. The review comes to a conclusion that gamification is a context-sensitive and flexible tool that can be used to reinforce agricultural extension and further the cause of sustainable agricultural practices. It recommends policy makers and extension practitioners to use a blended digital and analogue gamification approach that is context-specific to the realities on the ground to optimise inclusiveness and effectiveness. The contribution of this paper is that it synthesises evidence systematically across high- and low-technology strategies, and suggests a detailed model of integrating gamification into agricultural extension.