The functional and organizational activities of the Cooperative Extension Service in the United States can be an appropriate means for providing a new image and concept to the kind of extension service that is needed in developing nations and Sri Lanka in particular. The problems of the extension program in developing nations are inherited and related to the manner in which the extension service is organized and delivers services to clients. Generally speaking, the following problems are associated with unsuccessful extension services in developing countries: lack of a formal functional relationship between extension and relevant educational institutions, a top-to-bottom-based program planning process, a lack of unified job descriptions for extension workers, and an inefficient support system. The following strategies should be adopted to address these problems: (1) extension programs should be linked with institutions similar to the U.S. land-grant universities, (2) program planning should start at the local level, (3) extension agents should avoid nonextension activities, and (4) an extension support system focusing on information should be developed. (MN)