PRIVATIZATION OF EXTENSION

Promoting private extension and privatization of extension services are two approaches used by national governments worldwide to improve the delivery of extension services. Private extension is not a single entity, but includes a wide range of service providers. The first type is entirely private and they use their own revenues to promote technologies, inputs and services. Most of the private profit oriented actors belong to this category. The second type consists of organizations that receive funds from government and other donors for implementing extension programmes and they are mostly of the "not-for profit" type. The third type consists of membership organizations that raise some resources from members ( e i k r as membership fee or service fees) for providing services.

Though private extension and privatization of extension are totally different aspects, both are often viewed similarly. While private extension indicates the extension activities of private individuals or organizations, privatizations is a public policy decision taken by the Government to reduce its role in an activity and encourages private sector to take up these roles.

Privatisation of extension can take place broadly in two ways:

i) Dismantling

ii) Controlled privatization

i) Dismantling Privatization

In this case, public sector extension organization is closed down or abandoned and the services of the existing staff are terminated. Several European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand, have largely privatized their public extension system. In most cases, these newly constituted private extension organizations received public funding on a declining basis while they attempted to shift the cost of advisory services to users in the form of user charges.

ii)Controlled Privatization

In this case, the public sector extension agency is transformed to become more efficient and effective by changing ownership, governance and funding pattern. And the options include:

i) Contracting: Government contracts the private companies or the NGOs to offer specific extension services. (eg: Government contracting experienced and well recognized NGOs for training officials and farmers on new technologies/approaches such as Integrated Pest Management and Watershed Management.

ii) Franchise agreements: Government grants private entities authority to provide a particular service. Users receive and pay for the services directly, but the government may monitor performance (eg: Use of paravets to offer A1 services and animal vaccinations).

iii) Vouchers: Government provides certificates to producers that they could exchange with qualified service providers for services. The service providers can then returns the voucher to the government for reimbursement. (eg: Extensively tried in Uganda through the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) programme).

iv) Self-help: Government encourages individuals or groups to organise their own services for development (eg: Government organizing farmer interest group and commodity based groups and supporting them to access services and information)

v) Subsidy arrangementslgrants: Government makes a financial contribution to private organizations to facilitate the provision of services at reduced or zero cost (eg: Government contracting NGOs to provide services to farmers in specific locations).

Sulaiman and Gadewar (1994) based on a review of experiences from  privatisation of extension in different countries lists major disadvantages arising out of extension privatisation as follows:

i) contradictory message flow.

ii) negative impact on sustainabjlity.

iii) sidelined educational role.

iv) lesser contact between farmers and extension.

v) high cost of technologies.

vi) increase in regional imbalances.

It is worth mentioning here that the public sector extension is not totally free from many of these limitations. Katz (2002) noted that reforms in public extension organisations such as decentralisation, transformation to independently functioning units, or the introduction of payment for services in the private interest and other cost-sharing agreements, coupled with capacity building for personnel, appear in general just as promising as privatisation.

PRIVATE EXTENSION INITIATIVES IN INDIA

Many of the private extension initiatives in India emerged without any active state support. Quite often they emerged in response to deficiency in public extension service provision. 

The private extension service providers in case of agriculture extension include the following:

1.     Input agencies (dealing with seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, equipments).

2.     Large agri-business firms (involved in manufacture and sale of inputs and

3.     Purchase of outputs).

4.     Farmer organisations and producer co-operatives.

5.     Non-governmental organisations (ngos).

6.     Media (print, radio and television) and web based knowledge providers.

7.     Financial agencies involved in rural credit delivery.

8.     Consultancy services.

Input Agency Extension: Many agro-input companies perform some extension functions. This may also be viewed as one function of marketing and often it is the marketing officers I who oversee the extension-related functions. Major categories of agro-input Vcompanies include, those dealing with seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and agro machinery. All these agencies publicize their products through billboards, wall paintings, leaflets and advertisements in newspapers, farm magazines and television channels. A few of them also take up few demonstrations to publicize new products. These companies generally do not provide any extension support to individual growers or farmer groups as they employ only limited manpower in their target area.

Unlike the case of seed companies, the extension activities of fertiliser companies are more visible and diverse, though it is difficult to fully differentiate market promotion and extension activity. Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-o~erativeL imited(IFFCO) and Krishak Bharati &-operative (KRIBHCO), the two major fertiliser co-operatives in the country are actively involved in organising several extension activities.