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Privatization of Agricultural Extension Services in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh

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Title Privatization of Agricultural Extension Services in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh
 
Creator SRAVANTHI, B
 
Contributor GOPI KRISHNA, T
 
Subject Privatization, Agricultural, Extension, Services, Guntur, District, Andhra Pradesh
 
Description Extension has been traditionally funded, managed, and delivered by the
public sector all over the world. The public sector monopoly came under increasing
threat in the 1980s as many professionals started questioning the desirability of this
situation on economic and efficiency grounds. Increasing restraints on government
finances and emergence of new extension arrangements offered by the private and
voluntary sectors have accelerated the process of limiting the role of government in
extension. Decentralization, cost sharing, cost recovery, withdrawal from selected
services, and contracting are some of the options exercised by various governments
in privatizing extension services. There is a need to sensitize the total extension
system.
Hence, the present study “Privatization of Agricultural Extension Services
in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh” executed by selecting the Cotton, Chilli and
Paddy crops using descriptive research design. Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh
was selected purposively. Six mandals from the district namely Amaravathi and
Thadikonda mandals were selected for Cotton, Veldhurthy and Gurazala were
selected for Chillies and Bapatla and Nekarikallu mandals for Paddy were selected
purposively as these crops occupy highest area under cultivation. Two villages from
each of the selected mandal were selected randomly covering to a total of twelve
villages. For each crop, forty farmers were selected by following proportionate
random sampling constituting the total sample size to one hundred and twenty
(n=120).
Data was collected through Interview schedule, which was subjected for
statistical analysis and interpretation. Findings emerged out of the study were
presented as below.
The findings of the study revealed that majority of the Cotton and Chilli
farmers preferred privatization of agricultural extension services in the areas of
input supply followed by advisory services and hire services. Majority of the Paddy
farmers preferred privatization of extension services in input supply.
Majority of the respondents preferred privatization in input supply such as
supply of seeds, fertilizers, fungicides and pesticides. Among advisory services
private agencies were preferred for providing information related to market
intelligence, integrated pest management, integrated disease management and soil
testing and analysis. Among hire services, private agencies were preferred in supply
of farm implements for preparatory cultivation, labour management, storage go-
downs and ginning.
Majority of the respondents had favourable attitude towards privatization of
agricultural extension services followed by least favourable and most favourable
attitude categories.
In all the three crops, Cotton, Chilli and Paddy, government agencies were
preferred in providing advisory services in the areas of cropping pattern, seed usage
and treatment, insecticides and disease related information, seed supply and training
and demonstrations. Private agencies with government assistance were preferred in
providing advisory services in the areas of soil testing and analysis, market
intelligence, rodent control, input services such as seed supply, hire services
pertaining to farm implements for preparatory cultivation and implements for
intercultural operations. They preferred to have the role of private agencies without
government assistance in the areas of integrated pest management and disease
management, supply of fungicides, insecticides/ pesticides, fertilizers and seed
treatment chemicals.
In all the three crops for advisory services, majority of the respondent’s
preferred cost-sharing approach by village extension contract system. For input
supply and hire services, they preferred extension contract system. Mode of
payment may be in the form of cash or kind based on their convenience and based
on the services provided either per visit or per crop or per season.
Important problems elicited are poor socio-economic status of farmer,
competition among private agencies, possibility for increase in cost of production,
spurious and adultered products, lack of demand for many services, problematic
land holding, possibility of withdrawing input subsidies and illiteracy of people and
lack of government certification agencies to screen the professionals and
agricultural inputs.
Important suggestions given by the respondents are; charges should be
reasonable, cost of production should be reasonable, reputed private agencies should
be encouraged, government should screen the professionals, farmers should be
educated, certification of products by government agencies, no adulteration of
chemicals with government checkups, importance of various services should be
known to farmers and proper information and communication technologies should
be made available at village level.
 
Date 2016-06-29T15:11:43Z
2016-06-29T15:11:43Z
2011
 
Type Thesis
 
Identifier http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/68265
 
Language en
 
Relation D9021;
 
Format application/pdf
 
Publisher ACHARYA N.G. RANGA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY