The agricultural economics, extension and gender research directorate is one of the five research directorates of the institute and is accountable for ensuring the inclusion of the social and economic dimensions into agricultural technology generation and transfer process. The directorate generates agricultural information that can be used for research planning, policy decision, and for research and extension system improvement. Furthermore, it conducts on-farm technology evaluation, demonstration, scaling up/out and popularization activities that improve agricultural technology dissemination and adoption.

The directorate likewise executes important roles in generating an operative linkage among research, extension and utilizer sub-systems.

The research works run by the directorate is organized into three research programs specifically, agricultural economics, agricultural extension and gender research programs. Moreover, these research programs are implemented under three research center level namely, Abobo, Lare and Godere. Currently the directorate has 22 researchers (4 MSc and 18 BSc holders) working in institute and 3 research centers.