An analysis of Farm Services Centre (FSC) approach launched for agricultural extension in NWFP, Pakistan.

摘要

Agricultural extension services have a pivotal role in agricultural and rural development. Globally, the public-private partnership approach in agricultural extension is considered more effective, efficient, and responsive to different categories of farmers. In Pakistan, the government of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) has initiated a public-private partnership extension programme in the province. This is locally called as Farm Services Centre (FSC). This approach has the inbuilt mechanism of input delivery, market facilitation, exchange of experiences and diffusion of knowledge and technology. However, the extent to which this public-private partnership is instrumental in achieving the aforementioned objectives is yet to be established. The present study analyses this public-private partnership approach by measuring its strengths and weaknesses. For this purpose, out of 24 districts of NWFP, two districts, namely Swabi and Lakimarwat, were selected randomly. From these two districts, 491 FSC member farmers were randomly selected as respondents for interview. The analysis showed that the most prominent strength of FSC was "farmers' empowerment", while that of the Agriculture Extension Department (AED) was "effective message delivery". As per respondents, the major weakness of both (FSC & AED) systems was "no marketing facility". It is essential that the government ensure the mandated activities at the FSC forum particularly the facilitation by line agencies and the NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar. It should be a forum of technology dissemination, agricultural produce marketing and cooperative farming. The Agricultural Extension Department should provide more facilities to the staff involved in FSC activities to increase their efficiency through special allowance and honorarium. As pointed out by the respondents, a separate meeting place should be provided for female farmers for an effective training and efficient utilization of the acquired knowledge in relevant fields.