The Cost and Performance of Paid Agricultural Extension Services: The Case of Agricultural Technology Transfer in Nicarag

No AccessPolicy Research Working Papers21 Jun 2013The Cost and Performance of Paid Agricultural Extension Services: The Case of Agricultural Technology Transfer in NicaragAuthors/Editors: Ariel Dinar, Gabriel KeynanAriel Dinar, Gabriel Keynanhttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-1931SectionsAboutPDF (0.3 MB) ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Abstract:Experience in Nicaragua with paid extension services-also known as private, commercial, or cofinanced extension services-shows that even poor farmers are willing to pay for a service that improves their economic efficiency and ability to earn a living. Budgets for extension services have been reduced in many countries. One response to these reductions in public services in some countries has been to privatize extension services-with extension services provided, for a fee, by either public agencies or private companies. Under the new approach, producers become clients instead of beneficiaries. Dinar and Keynan examine ways to measure the cost of providing paid-extension services and its performance and apply these indicators to data on Nicaragua, where paid extension has existed for several years. Data were insufficient to compare the quality of privately and publicly provided extension services, but available data suggest that the costs of extension have declined over time. Results suggest that paid extension is feasible and has a positive impact, even in a relatively poor country such as Nicaragua. The national system for agricultural technology-transfer services was redesigned to include three main modules: ° Mass media and free demonstrations. ° Cofinanced extension services. ° Private extension services. The relatively high cost recovery rates in Nicaragua and the economic performance of the two paid programs show that even poor farmers are willing to pay for a service that improves their economic efficiency and ability to earn a living. To the surprise of everyone involved, Nicaragua's producer clients understood that without cost-sharing, the system would not endure. This paper-a joint product of the Sector Leadership Group, Latin America and the Caribbean Region, and the Rural Development Department-is part of a larger effort in the Bank to implement policies in the context of the Agricultural Technology and Land Management Project in Nicaragua. The authors may be contacted at [email protected] and [email protected] Previous bookNext book FiguresReferencesRecommendedDetailsCited ByInternational Journal of Social Economics, Vol.46, No.9Does agricultural extension promote technology adoption in Sri LankaInternational Journal of Social Economics, Vol.44, No.12Innovation Diffusion of New Technologies in the Malaysian Paddy Fertilizer IndustryProcedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol.109Cost-sharing of Agricultural Technology Transfer in Nigeria: Perceptions of Farmers and Extension ProfessionalsThe Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, Vol.13, No.1Evaluating the impact of agricultural extension on farms' performance in Crete: a nonneutral stochastic frontier approachAgricultural Economics, Vol.36, No.2How can the poor benefit from private investment in agricultural research? A case study from BoliviaDevelopment in Practice, Vol.15, No.3-4Transforming top-down agricultural extension to a participatory system: a study of costs and prospective benefits in EgyptPublic Administration and Development, Vol.22, No.41 January 2002 View Published: June 1998 Copyright & Permissions Related RegionsLatin America & CaribbeanRelated CountriesNicaraguaRelated TopicsAgricultureEnergyFinance and Financial Sector DevelopmentInformation and Communication TechnologiesPrivate Sector Development KeywordsAGENCIESAGRICULTURALAGRICULTURAL EXTENSIONAGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICESAGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGYAGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERAGRICULTUREEXTENSIONISTSFARMERSFUNDINGFUNDSINFORMATIONLIVESTOCKLOW INCOMEMANAGEMENTPRODUCTIONPRODUCTSPUBLIC SERVICESRESEARCHRURAL DEVELOPMENT PDF DownloadLoading ...