Journal of Applied Science and Agriculture

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1 AENSI Journals Journal of Applied Science and Agriculture Journal home page: Paradigm Shift from Conventional Agricultural Extension to Public-Private Partnership Extension in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Pakistan 1 Ikram ul Haq, 2 Md Salleh Hassan, 3 Naeem Shah, 2 Abdul Razaque Chhachhar 1 Department of Agricultural Extension Education. & Communication, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan. 2 Department of Communication, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia 3 Institute for Development Studies, the University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan. ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 20 October 2013 Received in revised form 23 November 2013 Accepted 28November 2013 Available online 1 February 2014 Keywords: Agricultural extension and private partnership Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Pakistan ABSTRACT Agricultural extension services have a pivotal role in agricultural and rural development throughout the globe and Pakistan is no exception to this fact. It serves as a tool for the education of farming community and dissemination of technologies and improved crop production techniques for a judicious use of natural resources. As the present public extension systems, in many countries failed to address the issues and concerns of small and poor farmers, which necessitate a search for new extension model that is more effective, efficient, and responsive to different categories of farmers. The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa initiated a new public-private partnership extension program in the province during the year This emerging system branded locally as Farm Services Centers (FSCs) has mandated with the inputs delivery, market facilitation, exchange of experiences and knowledge to target community. However, extent to which this public-private partnership is instrumental in developing and dissemination of agricultural technologies is yet to be established. This study tried to fill up that information gap by analyzing strengths and weaknesses of FSCs through SWOT analysis. To carry out the SWOT analysis, out of 24 districts of KPK, two districts Swabi and Lakki Marwat selected randomly for data collection regarding FSCs. From the two districts, 491 farmer respondents were selected for interview from the registered farmers in the respective FSCs. The results showed that the most important strength of FSC was managed by farmers bodies with mean value of 4.05, SD 1.29, while that of AED was Delivers extension messages effectively. The weaknesses of both extension systems, as diagnosed by the respondents were no sale arrangements for surplus produce with mean value of 4.12, SD 1.22 & 2.0 respectively. Government should ensure the mandated activities at FSC forum particularly the facilitation by line agencies and NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar as is committed under the PC-1 and by-laws of FSCs; it should be a forum of technology dissemination, market orientation for surplus production and cooperative farming. Department should provide more facilities to the staff indulged in FSC activities to motivate their working efficiency in coins and kind. Facilitate the stakeholders demand for separate meeting place for female members to ensure participation and effectiveness of skills trainings AENSI Publisher All rights reserved. To Cite This Article: Ikram ul Haq, Md Salleh Hassan, Naeem Shah Abdul Razaque Chhachhar., Paradigm Shift from Conventional Agricultural Extension to Public-Private Partnership Extension in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Pakistan. J. Appl. Sci. & Agric., 8(7): , 2013 INTRODUCTION Pakistan s economy is predominantly agriculture based which accounts for 20.9 percent of GDP and employs 43.4 percent of the total work force. Agriculture contributes to growth as supplier of the raw materials to industry as well as market for industrial products and it contributes substantially to exports earnings. Almost 66.7 percent of country s population lives in rural areas and thus, directly or indirectly linked with agriculture for its livelihood (Govt, PK, 2007). The crop production in Pakistan is lowest as compared to the world s averages (Khan, 2004). However, nature bestowed this country with a wide agro-climatic range fit for field crops as well as for fruit crops production. Along with other provinces, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa KPK province has the unique agro-ecological zones fit for different types of crops. The province is sheltering a population of more than 20 million people, out of which 83% reside in rural areas under meagre situation that exerts tremendous pressures on resources. The major crops of the province are wheat, rice, barley, maize, sugarcane, tobacco, rape and mustered groundnut, pulses, vegetables and fruits (Govt KPK, 2005). Corresponding Author: Md Salleh Hassan, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia. mdsalleh@upm.edu.my; Phone

2 1156 Md Salleh Hassan et al, 2013 Weak industrial base increases dependence on agriculture and at this crossroad where almost all the available cultivable land and water are being used, an immense pressure has been brought to bear on the available natural resource base and it is further shrinking on account of high level of urbanization (Govt KPK, 2004). This situation highlights the need for agricultural development in the province. It requires an aggressive and innovative farming approach for increasing the productivity to satisfy the need of ever-increasing population of Pakistan. In this scenario, a more valid and sensible proposition for an improved farming seems intensive agriculture meaning thereby increasing yield per unit area. Government of KPK took different steps for the improvement of agriculture but these schemes could not fully succeeded to accelerate the tempo of agricultural development to keep pace for meeting the challenges in the province due to one or other reasons. So far, Agricultural Extension has been successful in providing technical advice and transfer of known technology to the farmers to some extent, but the crucial needs of the farmers are material based, such as seed, fertilizers, machinery etc. This situation further aggravates and becomes complicated due to top-down and linear approach of planning. In order to address these problems, the only way to develop agriculture of the province is to take grass-root level steps by involving local community with bottom-up planning. Government of KPK has initiated a new public private partnership extension program in the province during the year This emerging system locally called as Farm Services Centers (FSCs) where inputs delivery, market facilitation and exchange of experiences and knowledge are the main activities of the system. However, there is still information gap about whether this public-private partnership will be beneficial and helpful in agricultural development. The present study intends to fill up this information gap by analyzing prevailing public-private partnership extension system by measuring its strengths and weaknesses. At the time of planning this study, it was anticipated that the results of the present study will help in designing more flawless program for agricultural development that will ultimately provide better results for farming community of KPK especially and for Pakistan in general. Main objectives of the study: 1. To investigate the strengths of Farm Services Centers (FSC) and Agricultural Extension Department (AED) in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2. To identify the weaknesses of both the extension systems mentioned in objective No. 1 above 3. To highlight the policy implications based on the strengths and weaknesses of both the extension systems and, 4. To suggest an improved extension model for sustainable agriculture MATERIALS AND METHOD The study is bases on primary data collected from the Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Province of Pakistan served as universe of the study because both the systems under study i.e. FSC and AED are working in all the 24 districts of the province. KPK is located on both the banks of the river Indus at North-west corner of Pakistan. It embraces wide range of agro-climatic zones fit for different types of the crops and due to its soil and climate, KPK known as the California of Pakistan (Shah, 1992) KPK comprises of 24 districts and all the districts have FSCs for the farmers facilitation. A multistage sampling technique was applied (Hussain et al., 2004; Ogunjuyibe et al., 2005; and Siddiqui et al., 2005). Out of 24 districts of KPK, two districts Lakki Marwat and Swabi selected randomly as study area. Only two districts selected due to time and resource constraints and physiography of the province. Each randomly selected district had five numbers of FSCs. Again two out of five FSCs from each district were selected randomly which served as population of the study. All the members (farmers) of selected FSCs served as respondents of this study. Sample size for farmer respondents was 491, which was determined with the help of table designed by Fitzgibbon (1987) for determining sample size from the given population. Data were collected with the help of interview schedule by using 5-points Likert scale. To some extent 1 to below average extent 2 To an average extent 3 To above average extent 4 To high extent 5 Data statistically analyzed by using computer software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 18) and Microsoft Excel. T-test used for comparison. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3 1157 Md Salleh Hassan et al, 2013 The responses recorded by various stakeholders of the study collected as primary data from the study area. After analysis of the data all the results obtained presented under subtitles as per relevance to the established objectives of the study. For analysis, Likert scaling used to draw some conclusions regarding the paradigm shift in the existing Agricultural Extension Services. Strengths of FSC and AED: As depicted in Table-1 below the most important strength of FSC is its management includes representative of farming community. The statistical analysis showed that this farmers empowerment through their involvement in the process of decision making at FSC forum is ranked as 1 st by the respondents with mean value of 4.05 and SD The facilitations provided in the shape of one window operation and linkages with Government Departments followed as rank 2 nd and 3 rd strengths of the public-private partnership with mean 4.00 and 3.71 along with SD 1.12 and 1.25, respectively. Research studies show that when inputs made available, the yield increased (Mesic et al., 2007, Reman et al., 2007). The results of the present study proved that when farm machinery and other inputs provided to farmers, the yield increased and farm expenditures decreased due to one window facilitation. Furthermore this study endorses that through empowering the farmers by involving them in farm management decisions resulted in an increase in the crops yield. Contrary to the results obtained for FSC, the mean and SD for AED for the same strength are significantly very poor. Which forecast that AED technology approach is not as good as one adopted by this new model of public-private partnership in the shape of FSC. This ability of farmers empowerment ultimately accelerates the diffusion process. Table 1: Comparison regarding mean, standard deviation (SD) and rank order of the respondents response about the existence of strengths of FSC and AED S No. FSC AED Strengths Mean SD Rank order Mean SD Rank order t-test 1. Need-based technology * 2. Timely extension services * 3. Effective massage delivery * 4. Awareness programs * 5. Linkages with GOs * 6. Professional trainers * 7. One window operation Farmers empowerment t-12value at p 0.05 NS= Non-significant *Significant FSC AED Need-based technology Timely extension services Effective massage delivery Awareness programs Linkages with GOs Professional trainers One window operation Farmers' empowerment Weaknesses of FSC and AED:

4 1158 Md Salleh Hassan et al, 2013 Table-2 provides a sleek view of the weaknesses of public-private partnership. In this regard it shows the following major weaknesses of the FSC: i. Lack of marketing facilities ii. Gender mobilization iii. Storage facilities iv. M & E Table 2: Comparison of mean, standard deviation (SD) and rank order of the farmer responses about the weaknesses of FSC and AED Weaknesses FSC AED t-test Mean SD Rank order Mean SD Rank/ order Farmers representation * Feedback system * M & E system NS Marketing facilities * Leadership development * Gender mobilization * Appropriateness of extension programs * Linkages * t-value at p 0.05 NS= Non-significant *Significant Comparison of mean, standard deviation (SD) and rank order of the farmer responses about the weaknesses of FSC and AED Farmers' responses means FSC AED Farmers representation M & E system Leadership development Weaknesses Appropriateness of extension programs These weaknesses are placed in order of their importance to farmers as 1 st, 2nd and 3 rd in ranking and so on. The farmer respondents were very concerned about marketing, gender mobilization and storage facility at FSC. However, they also complained about the non-professional approach of gender mobilization. In contrast to FSC, the major weaknesses of AED were lack of marketing facilities, no female staff and no storage facility ranked as 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd with mean 4.23, 4.13 and 4.07 along with SD 0.83, 1.01 and 1.16, respectively as reported by farmers respondents. For AED, the extent of responses varied between average extents to high extent. The t-test results showed a positive difference between FSC and AED, where AED had more powerful weaknesses as compared to FSC. Every program has some weaknesses along with its strengths and the same is the case with FSC. The smart return of produce is the objective of farmers and it is only possible with established marketing system. But still no sound step has been taken by the government in this regard which leads to instability in the rates of produce due to which all efforts of the farmers go in vain (CEEC AGRI POLICY, 2007; and Turner and Wibberlay, 2007). This instability results in low interest of farmers in different extension activities, which weakens the farmer-extension worker or farmer-research relationship (Amanor and Farrington, 1991). Different studies show that learning become easy with the good sitting arrangements and basic infrastructure (REMAN et al., 2007), but FSC still lacks these basic requirements like training halls and offices for staff especially for women farmers. The quality of a program can be improved and weaknesses can be

5 1159 Md Salleh Hassan et al, 2013 minimized if there exists high quality of monitoring and evaluation system (Mesic et al., 2007), but still it was found deficient in case of public-private partnership system of extension. Policy Implications: While investigating the set objective - the policy implications by comparing the strengths and weaknesses of both the extension systems, it noticed that present FSC set-up could not be successful enough in achieving the goal of coordination amongst the line agencies at the forum. To make one-window operation more effective, the FSC approach launched with one of the objective that all the line agencies and NWFP Agricultural University Peshawar would address the farmers concerns through this new system. However, the present study reveals that this objective could not be accomplished due to insufficient resources with FSC and least interest shown until now by the designated organizations. Suggestions and Recommendations: To make the FSC model a success story, it is obvious to implement the by-laws with litter and sprit. Being a farmers representative body, the Government should ensure the flow of developmental interventions through this channel. All the provincial agricultural activities of the line agencies should be implemented and monitored through FSCs. Furthermore the FSC registered farmers be facilitated second to none in the government provided facilitation and subsidies for various inputs and activities. For instance water users associations organized by On-Farm Water Management Department improved breeds of animal distributed by Livestock and Dairy Dev. (LDD) Department mega developments like Barani Area Development Project(BADP) interventions be executed by with registered farmers on priority basis. In compensating the FSC members a free, judicious and non-political atmosphere be ensured at any cost for achieving the goal of sustainable agriculture. Government should also formulate law to increase the participation of women in the present programs, as they are main component of agriculture. Conclusion: Based on the research findings, it is concluded that FSC model has the potential and strength to provide a break through to the province in achieving self-sufficiency in agricultural production. Respondents pinpointed that the involvement of farming community in management decision in the study districts made the farm production more efficient and economical. All this can further be improved, if the small farmers may also be provide with small and medium term (SMT) credit facilities through the FSC. This will create an opportunity for a cooperative farming and more coherent marketing subsystem. REFERENCES Amanor, K. and J. Farrington, NGOs and Agricultural Technology Development. In Agricultural Extension: Worldwide Institutional Innovation and Forces for Change (W. M. Rivera and D. J. Gustafson, eds.). Amsterdam: Elsevier. CEEC AGRI POLICY Rural technology transfer in transition economies in Lithuania. Under Project Agro economic policy analysis of the new member states, the candidate states and the countries of the western Balkan. Fitzggibbon, Carol, T. and L.M. Lynn, How to design a program evaluation, New burry Park CA: Sage. Government of Pakistan, Economic survey of Pakistan. An accountancy publication. Government of NWFP, Agricultural Policy Food, Agriculture, Livestock and Cooperation Department, NWFP, Peshawar. Government of NWFP, NWFP Sustainable Agriculture Development Policy. IUCNP-PSNP Sarhad Programme Peshawar, Pakistan. Hussain, S., B.N. Siddiqui and M.Z.Y. Hassan, A sociological study of factors responsible for migration: a case study of Faisalabad city (Pakistan). International Journal of Agriculture and Biology, 6(4): Khan, S.R.A., 2004 January 12) Wheat Production Scenario. Daily Dawn, retrieved from date 30/8/2013 Mesic, Ž., Ð. Žutinic and J. Wibberley, Rural technology transfer in transition economies in Croatia. Under Project Agro economic policy analysis of the new member states, the candidate states and the countries of the western Balkan. CEEC AGRI POLICY. Ogunjuyigbe, P.O., A. Akinlo and J.A. Ebigbola, Violence Against Women: An examination of men s attitudes and perceptions about wife beating and contraceptive use. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 40(3):

6 1160 Md Salleh Hassan et al, 2013 REMAN, G., M. VINCZE, A. KÖLCSEY and K. Kerekes, Rural technology transfer in transition economies in Romania. Under Project Agro economic policy analysis of the new member states, the candidate states and the countries of the western Balkan. CEEC AGRI POLICY Siddiqui, B.N., N.H. Malik, M.Z.Y. Hassan and A.S. Khan, Level of awareness about World Trade Organization and its objectives in Baluchistan Pakistan. J. Agri. Soc. Sci., 1(2): Shah, N., Production and Marketing of Citrus in Abbottabad District. NWFP Agricultural University Peshawar. Turner, M. and J. Wibberley, Rural technology transfer in transition economies in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Under Project Agro economic policy analysis of the new member states, the candidate states and the countries of the western Balkan. Retrieved from 204%20section%202%20summary.pdf date 30/8/2013