Extension for Profit: Agents and Sharecropping in the Highlands of Ecuador

Abstract

Profit motive distinguishes private agricultural extension from (government) extension. Usually, private extension services are provided farmers for a fee or as a production investment while government services are provided free of charge as a public good. Sometimes, however, government extension agents engage in particularist extension, providing services, often through patron/client relationships, for personal benefit. In the highlands of Ecuador, extension agents sharecrop with small farmers for profit. This article looks at the institutional aspects of extension for profit, agent and farmer motivations for entering into arrangements, technology introduction through agent/farmer sharecropping, and how choice of sharecropping clients may increase social stratification among Ecuadorian small farmers.