This article attempts to critique the current process of extension through an investigation that seeks to demonstrate and analyze the perceptions held by farmers and rural agents about some aspects of tobacco cultivation in the municipality of Arvorezinha (Little Tree) in southern Brazil. The research has been taking place during the last four years, using qualitative and ethnographic methods, involving participant observations and semi-structured interviews with families of farmers, extension agents, teachers, nurses and businessmen. As part of our research on the perceptions held by tobacco farmers and rural agents, it is necessary to check if the old problems highlighted by and criticized in Freire's work "Extension or Communication?" still persist. Lastly, when presenting the narratives of adherence to planting tobacco and resistance to change to environmentally sustainable practices, the study of the perceptions is relevant as an aid to policy makers. (Contains 1 footnote.)