This paper distinguishes two pathways in the various proposals for innovative reforms of public sector agricultural extension. The two "pathways" involve the participatory trends toward democratization and farmer association and, in contrast, the push toward capitalistic commercial attitudes toward agriculture as business. The introduction reviews a range of issues surrounding current extension reforms. The body of the paper highlights the pathway tensions that exist between several extension reform measures. The first is between demand-led privatization measures and participatory extension. Privatization is then examined alongside the call for institutional pluralistic extension systems. Finally, the contemporary pressure to expand extension program purposes to include issues such as health, family planning and environmental protection is reviewed.