Role of Private Advisory Services in Agricultural Extension: A Review

Abstract

Services that make new knowledge available to farmers and assist the farmers to develop their farming and management skills are known as agricultural advisory services. Agricultural extension and advisory services which were traditionally funded, managed and delivered by the public sector are in transitory phase worldwide. They are under increased pressure to reform their purpose as the nature of the agricultural and rural sectors is changing leading to demand for broader support from extension and advisory services. Technology transfer system has to become more demand driven and responsive to farmers need and helping farmers to organize themselves as well as linking them to markets. The advisory services has to also support other pertinent areas besides production such as value addition, market access, trade, agribusiness management, natural resource management, gender, climate change etc. It is in this light that the private advisory services are complementing, supplementing or even replacing the public advisory services. National Agricultural policy (2000) had envisioned that private advisory services promotion through contract farming will allow accelerated technology transfer, assured market, and capital inflow for horticultural and other cash crops like cotton and oilseeds.  Agricultural companies are providing services through payment by contract farming, marketing of high value crops by commercially export companies, Value addition and charged based service centres for farmers. Several corporation at present  involved in agro-commodity trading, processing, exports have tried to establish systems to ensure timely and consistent supply of raw material of desired quality and at low cost. Some of the agri-business companies like e-choupal, Mahindra Samriddhi, Mahindra Shubhlabh, Tata Kisan Kendra, Chambal Uttam Bandhan in their unique model are also involved in transfer of technology with market support. Emergence of paid extension services in agriculture is a   recent development, where, professionals   have been providing paid consultancy to farmers on technical, especially in high value crops like fruits and flowers. . These agri-consultant are mostly  retired professors of State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), extension professionals, financial institutions and also provided by Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centers (ACABCs)  trained by the MANAGE.