Rural Extension Services Research Articles

How to build an agribusiness giant: the role of rural extension services in Brazil during the 20th Century

In this article, we argue that Brazil’s ‘exporting vocation’ is not a natural tendency but the result of national political and economic projects aligned with the international context and external interests. To support this thesis, we reconstructed the trajectory of rural extension services during the 20th century in three distinct phases, according to the official philosophical and pedagogical perspectives adopted in each. Based on extensionist reports and an interdisciplinary bibliographical review, our objective is to present the sociopolitical and economic panorama along with the motivations, general characteristics, and consequences of the extension service in establishing Brazil as an agribusiness giant. We conclude that rural extension services assisted rural and agrarian development that favoured the agrarian elite in the concentration of land, resources, and knowledge. It also consolidated agribusiness as an intensely active political category at all levels of Brazilian government.

Assessing the productivity effects of agricultural extension in a pluralistic system: an analysis of Brazilian family farming in 2017

ABSTRACT Purpose: This paper analyzes the impact of agricultural extension on the production of Brazilian family farmers, breaking down differences among extension providers. Design/Methodology/Approach: An Output Distance Function was estimated for Brazilian family farming using 5,463 municipality-level observations from the 2017 Brazilian Agricultural Census. The impact of extension on efficiency and technology was assessed. Findings: Rural extension services from public institutions, cooperatives, and private companies increased technical efficiency. Independent consultant services increased the adoption of more productive technologies and technical efficiency. However, public technical assistance increased productivity by 47.76%, technicians hired directly by farmers increased productivity by 31.25%, and technical assistance from cooperatives increased productivity by 31%. Practical implications: These findings could aid in the Brazilian Extension System’s goal of promoting productivity gains. The National Policy of Rural Extension has the ability to decentralize the role of the government and structure incentives to increase access to other providers based on these findings. Theoretical implications: This article expands the econometric estimation of Output Distance Functions to break down the impacts of extension on both efficiency and technology adoption. Originality/Value: Using readily available municipality-level data, this paper contributes to the understanding of the effectiveness of the different providers of rural extension for Brazilian family farmers and provides data regarding the impact on yield.

Do Agricultural stakeholder panels enhance post-harvest loss reduction? Evidence from Malawi

Post-harvest loss significantly affects food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and elsewhere across developing countries. Weak institutional factors like ineffective agricultural extension services in rural communities can exacerbate such problems among smallholder farmers in SSA and other developing countries. Therefore, international development policies have prioritized strengthening rural extension systems to enhance access to effective extension services and thereby enhance food security outcomes like ineffective agriculturalpost-harvest loss reduction among rural households. As such, the US-Agency for International Development supported the Strengthening Agricultural and Nutrition Extension program in Malawi from 2015 to 2021 to improve access to rural extension services by promoting Agricultural Stakeholder Panels (ASPs)—platforms designed to enhance farmer interaction with local extension agents in rural communities and thereby enhance improved access to quality extension services in rural areas. The ASP approach can reduce post-harvest losses for major crops, such as maize. However, rigorous analyses of the effects of ASPs on post-harvest loss reduction remain limited. To address this knowledge gap, we apply recursive bivariate probit regression to primary survey data from 2134 households in Malawi to estimate the effects of the ASP approach on post-harvest loss reduction in 2018. The results show that ASPs reduced post-harvest losses among households by 53%, and a crucial outcome that can improve household food security. The result demonstrates that policies that strengthen rural extension systems can contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals on hunger and food security in rural Malawi and similar contexts.

41 Social and institutional trust: A comparison between non-associated and associated producers in Southeast Brazil

Abstract The social and institutional trust between two groups of dairy producers in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil was evaluated. The entity used in this comparison was the Rural Producers Association (RPA), in which two groups were formed: a) RPA members (AG); and b) RPA non-members (NAG). The questionnaire developed used model questions from the World Values Survey. Among a total of 38 producer-members of the RPA, 22 (58%) responded to the questionnaire. For the non-member producers, 44 were identified, while 39 (89%) responded to the questionnaire. To assess social trust, the following question was asked: "Generally speaking, would you say that people can be trusted or that we need to be very careful when dealing with people?". In AG, 81.8% of the producers responded that we need to be very careful when dealing with other people, and among the NAG producers, 87.2% also agreed with such a statement. Despite the lack of social trust in AG, 77.1% of the members fully or partially trust their association. To assess levels of trust in national institutions by producers, a question was asked as follows: "To what extent do you trust the institutions listed below?". For more than 50% of the NAG group, none of the institutions presented deserved full trust, reinforcing the lack of trust, as indicated in the previous question. For those in the NAG group that chose the option "I trust completely", the institutions opted were as follows: religious (46.2%), research institutions (43.6%), public universities (38.5%), and rural extension services (33.3%); while those opted as “I do not trust" were represented by political parties (82.1%), the municipal government (64.1%), and the national congress (61.5%). In the AG group, the institutions with the greatest levels of trust were the rural extension services (54.5%) and the RPA (54.5%), religious institutions (40.9%), public universities (40.9%), and research institutes 36.4%. Moreover, the institutions least trusted were political parties (63.6%), national congress (63.6%), municipal government (36.4%), and land organizations (36.4%). None of the producer groups were officially affiliated with political parties. An open-ended question was asked as follows: "What do you think about the current situation of the association, cooperative, or dairy in which you participate or commercialize milk with?" In the AG, 81.75% see RPA positively, and 18.25% believe that the association was in a bad situation and could even end. In the NAG, 59% of the producers commercialize milk in some type of organization (other than the RPA); in which among these, 43.47% have a negative image of such an organization in general. It is suggestive that regardless of the RPA participation, producers interviewed lack social trust. Future analysis is warranted to involve a multi-location and a broader population sampling.

EVALUATION OF THE IMPACTS OF PUBLIC RURAL EXTENSION SERVICES ON SMALL AND MEDIUM AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS IN THE SOUTH OF MOZAMBIQUE BETWEEN 2012 AND 2020

The main focus of this article is to analyze the evolution of access to rural extension services between 2012 and 2020 by small and medium-sized farms in the 3 provinces of southern Mozambique in particular and the country in general, taking as a basis for analysis and comparison of statistical data provided by the 2012-2014 statistical yearbook and the 2020 integrated agrarian survey, both from the Ministry of Agriculture of Mozambique. Thus, it was found that from 2012 to 2020, there has been a sharp drop in access to rural extension services by small and medium-sized farms in the south of the country in particular and the country in general. While in 2014 less than 9% of small and medium-sized farms had access to these services, in 2020 less than 7% of these farmers were covered by these services. These data demonstrate a series of challenges and constraints faced by the sector, among them the weak budget, the low number of extension workers, the problem of transport and communication infrastructures.

Characterization of the Guinea Pig Production Chain in Southern Colombia and Identification of Determining Factors for Adequate Provision of Extension Services

The development of agrifood systems in Latin America reflects contrasting policy goals. Most governments advocate that “modernization,” measured as increased rates of technology adoption, is the way to address persistent food insecurity. By contrast, peasants’ and indigenous people’s organizations and social movements propose advancing knowledge co-production and co-innovation to increase the resilience of agrifood systems. Colombia reformed the National Innovation System for Agriculture in 2017. The policy reform instructed transitioning from providing “technical advice” to rural extension services. The research aimed to fill the knowledge gap regarding the transition to rural extension along the guinea pig production chain. In addition to characterizing the production chain, we conducted qualitative and reflectivity analyses to understand better how institutional practices and research cultures hinder or promote transitioning to rural extension. The investigation revealed that small-scale farmers who rely on the production and commercialization of guinea pigs as a livelihood strategy have continued receiving advice to adopt the latest technologies. In closing, besides addressing technological deficits or inefficiencies, a systemic approach that considers cultural context and identity must integrate into rural extension to ensure technological adoption is aligned with the sustainability and resilience objectives of the guinea pig production chain.

A model proposal for the technical assistance and rural extension service execution in Brazil

ABSTRACTThis study presents a proposal for a model for execution of Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (TARE) services in Brazil, presenting a flow of actions through methodological tools. For this purpose, the study used a mixed methodological approach, that is, it used the principles of data triangulation, which comprised a survey of qualitative primary data and secondary quantitative data to prove the evidence. In other words, this study raised, from semi-structured interviews with specialists in the execution of TARE, the main methodological tools used in the execution of that service. Based on the terms most frequently cited by the interviewees, a search syntax developed to carry out a systematic review of the literature to theoretically prove the tools raised. As a result of the verification, it was possible to identify a model based on six main TARE execution tools: awareness, diagnosis, individual service, collective service, reference unit and program. This article has as its main contribution the offer of a model validated in the literature. Proposes to standardize a model for the design of TARE notices, and execution plans to contribute with the maximum efficiency in offering the service to the beneficiaries.

From De-collectivization to Re-collectivization: New Transformation Trend in Agriculture Production in Taicang City of the Eastern China from the Perspective of 'Governmentality'.

The continuous development of agricultural technologies and produces trade and updated state reforms strongly shape the dominant organizing styles of local agriculture production. Since the end of the 1970s, rural China has witnessed a drastic agriculture transformation featured by de-collectivization, and recently in Taicang, a developed city in the eastern China, a kind of new cooperative farms have replaced the smallholders by pooling households' contracted farmland, signaling a new shift tendency towards agriculture recollectivization that is distinctive compared to other countries. Given the state governance's leadership in promoting this latest transformation, drawing on the theoretical concept of 'governmentality' that is powerful in understanding how to govern the society to meet certain objectives, this paper examines the accurate processes of agriculture re-collectivization in Taicang City based on the methods of semi-structured interview and participant observation. Our research shows that the China's tax-sharing and relevant reforms in the 1990s framed a new governance structure in line with the new mode of 'governmentality' closely linked to 'advanced liberalism', creating the responsibility shift from central to local governments and a set of evaluation technologies, and guiding various actors to engage in the agriculture re-collectivization practice in Taicang. Importantly, the considerable subsidies and the impressive extension services in terms of farming personnel training and agricultural techniques diffusion underpin the normal running of cooperative farms and contribute to the local implementation of national strategy of agriculture modernization. We argue that the combination of distinctive institutional arrangement of rural land owned by village collectives in China and the burgeoning local economy allows the developed areas to re-collectivizing the agriculture production for ensuring grain self-sufficiency rather than capturing more share in global agriculture products trade, and that the cooperative farms in our case have been deeply integrated into the 'modern procurement system' and become more sensitive to market fluctuation, requiring rural extension service to transform towards farms' capacity building for maintaining the long-term development momentum.

Financiamento da assistência técnica e extensão rural: análise dos marcos legais, de políticas públicas transversais e proposições legislativas

The model of technical assistance and rural extension services (ATER) institutionalized in Brazil since the 50s of the 20th century expanded geographically thanks to the association with the offer of rural credit, widely available and subsidized, especially in the 70s, when the organizations of the called the Sibrater system were nationalized. Economic and fiscal crises in the 80s and 90s disorganized Sibrater, which collapsed, at the same time that private service providers became more numerous. Through a bibliographic and documentary research, with a descriptive objective, the article aims to analyze the main legal frameworks and public policies that encourage and condition the public and private offer of Ater services. Among the results of the analysis, it is possible to affirm that the 21st century, especially the second decade, faced a reorganization of the system, with the creation in law of a national policy and an executive agency to implement it, in parallel with an increasing fund supplies, at least until 2015, when a new economic and fiscal crisis weakened the state capabilities. However, the 2006 and 2017 Agricultural Censuses showed that 80% of agricultural establishments remain without technical guidance, which gives rise to a re-discussion of the legal frameworks that support Ater services, so that they receive adequate state funding.

Developing and validating a competence framework for improving the productivity of smallholder farmers: a case study from Ethiopia

ABSTRACT Purpose Enhancing the relevance of rural extension services requires aligning extension education to the roles, tasks, activities and competencies of smallholder farmers. The objective of this study is to follow up on previous competence studies and to construct a validated competence framework. Design/Methodology/Approach Competence frameworks are generally being used to articulate performance requirements for certain jobs or professions. Whereas most competence frameworks display generic competencies and long lists of tasks, this study combines generic competencies, behavioural aspects, and content specifications of the job fields. The competence framework was empirically validated through workshops, focus-group discussions, and surveys involving 76 participants from stakeholder groups. Findings The results reveal nine roles: 1. Learner, 2. Manager, 3. Communicator, 4. Co-operator, 5. Professional, 6. Innovator, 7. Entrepreneur, 8. Planner, and 9. Producer. Furthermore, six job fields are defined, based on the content of the farmers' jobs: 1. Pre-planting, 2. During-planting, 3. After-planting, 4. During-harvesting, 5. Post-harvesting, and 6. Facilitating all farming activities. Combining the roles and the job fields results in the identification of 23 tasks and 25 competencies. Practical implications The competence framework validated in this study can serve as a starting point for extension workers to develop courses, training programs, and interactions with smallholder farmers. Theoretical implications The study demonstrates a research approach involving the contextualization of competencies, rendering them meaningful for improving rural innovation and the productivity of smallholder farming. Originality/Value The integrated approach used to develop the competence framework can be applied in any other context, and result in a comprehensive understanding of the respective job/profession.

Capacitação de agentes de ATER em processos de formação em agroecologia na Região Sudeste do Brasil

Este artigo tem por objetivo trazer reflexões sobre a formação de profissionais no campo da agroecologia para trabalhar nos serviços de Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural (ATER) com base em uma nova perspectiva sociotécnica. Para isso, foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo entre os anos de 2016 a 2018 junto a profissionais vinculados a instituições públicas e organizações sociais com atuação na prestação de serviços de ATER nos estados da Região Sudestes do Brasil (Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais e São Paulo). Os autores recorrem a um debate sobre Extensão Rural e suas conexões com a transição para a agroecologia, como um de seus princípios fundamentais, incorporado à Política Nacional de Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural (PNATER), ainda que relativizado pela Lei 12.188/2010, que adotou o termo agricultura de base ecológica em substituição ao viés agroecológico. Os resultados alcançados através das diferentes estratégias de formação implementadas na região estudada são apresentados e discutidos em detalhe. No que tange à formação de agentes de Ater no âmbito da Agroecologia, observou-se que este referencial é tratado como uma abordagem científica, viva, interativa e interpelada, que busca reconhecer em seus protagonistas, sobretudo em agricultores familiares e suas organizações, um papel importante para o desenvolvimento rural do campo brasileiro.

Perfil dos adotantes de sistemas de integração lavoura-pecuária-floresta do centro-oeste do estado de São Paulo.

This study evaluates the profile of adopters of integration systems in the state of São Paulo. The sample comprises 175 farmers of which 66 are adopters of the crop-livestock integration system (CLI), 24 adopters of the forestry-livestock integration system (FLI) and 85 non-adopters. The multiple correspondence analysis identified the adopters of CLI are associated with greater experience with agriculture, greater farms, more robust machinery structure, more employees, access to credit, as well as greater access to technical information through participation on agricultural events and rural extension services. Within the FLI adopters, it is highlighted the predominance of small farms.

QUILOMBOS PAULISTAS: The public policy of technical assistance and rural extension (ATER) in its interface with traditional communities in the face of São Paulo State bill nº 529 of 2020

The remaining quilombo communities at the São Paulo State in Brazil are in serious risk of negative changes in the provision of official rural extension services with the advent of state Bill nº 529/2020. The objective of this research is to evaluate how the traditional remaining quilombo communities located at São Paulo State can be directly affected negatively by the law proposal. For this, a scientific methodology was adopted, which is summarized in the review bibliographic and descriptive and exploratory documentary. As a result, no fact or argument has been found that legitimizes Bill nº 529 of 2020 from the perspective of traditional communities and other beneficiaries of the São Paulo ATER public policy.

Rural extension and communication in the rural environment / Extensão rural e comunicação no ambiente rural

Rural extension is one of the branches of Agrarian Sciences that is concerned with providing formal education services of a continuous nature for the rural and fishing environment, assisting and promoting processes of management, production, processing and commercialization of activities, as well as agricultural and non-agricultural services, including agroextractive, forestry and artisanal activities. Rural extension is also understood as "a process of out-of-school education, or, not formal, whose objective is to contribute to the elevation of the quality of life of rural families and, consequently, to the well-being of society as a whole". The technical assistance provided to family farmers is of relevant importance in the process of communication and dissemination of new technologies generated by research (and possibly by farmers themselves or by official rural extension services) that are essential to rural development in its broadest sense, that is, in the development of agricultural, forestry, extractivism and fishing activities. The importance of technical assistance and rural extension in bringing technology closer to society is undeniable. However, in addition to similar ones, these two strands contain differences in important points, which leave them far apart from each other. In the rural extension it is necessary to have a link between the research and the productive sector, which, in this case, is the farmer. The focus of rural extension is to bring to the rural community from basic knowledge (such as borrowing from banks, economy, etc.) to technical knowledge in agriculture, including technology (materialization of science studied). It consists of being sure that the small farmer will know how to manage his land and his income, and creates an independence so that, in case of a problem, the farmer and his family know how to solve it without major problems and without requiring a technical assistant constantly. It is an educational measure aimed at improving production and income and, consequently, quality of life of the rural family. Technical assistance creates a certain dependence on the small farmer. It aims to solve immediate problems, with greater objectivity, but does not intend to pass on knowledge to the rural family. It is a way of using technology in a technical way, but with an individual character.

O empoderamento feminino e as políticas públicas para o espaço rural: o caso do Projeto Semeadura

As políticas públicas voltadas às mulheres rurais garantem os direitos e o acesso à documentação, à terra, ao crédito, à produção agroecológica, aos serviços de assistência técnica e extensão rural, à comercialização e agregação de valor à produção, à participação na gestão, ao desenvolvimento territorial e à manutenção da memória coletiva e dos conhecimentos tradicionais. Objetiva-se no presente trabalho discutir sobre alguns movimentos de mulheres do meio rural, trazendo, neste artigo, as atividades do Projeto Semeadura, que é resultado da parceria entre Ministério do Desenvolvimento Agrário e a organização da Sociedade Civil de Interesse Público a Guayí. Este tem como objetivo para sua realização, contribuir para o fortalecimento da auto-organização das mulheres trabalhadoras rurais, por meio de sua participação nos espaços de gestão social, na perspectiva de um desenvolvimento rural sustentável e solidário, contribuindo para a redução das desigualdades de gênero e para a ampliação do protagonismo das mulheres do campo.

What does ‘quality’ mean in the context of rural extension and advisory services?

The quality of rural extension and advisory services is a crucial element in fostering innovation and rural development. This article aims to clarify the concept of quality of rural extension and to develop a preliminary theoretical framework. An ample literature review was conducted in search of articles on service quality and quality of rural extension and advisory services. The first part presents the main results of the literature searchon quality of extension services. The definition of quality is not universal. Quality cannot be conceptualized only as farmers’ satisfaction or as extension results. It has different dimensions or components and stakeholders have different points of view about it. The second part of this article discusses the definition of service quality and the concept of Total Quality Management and underlines that the concept of quality variesaccording to industry types or contexts and is the result of complex negotiation among different stakeholders. Finally, a comprehensive theoretical framework for addressing quality of rural extension and advisory services is presented that differentiates among enablers that limit or facilitate the delivery of quality rural extension and advisory services, the production and delivery processes, and results obtained. Here, the key roleplayed by quality self-assessment and organizational learning is highlighted.

The unequal allocation of PRONAF resources: which factors determine the intensity of the program across Brazil?

Abstract The family farming sector in Brazil is an important player in the country’s economy, especially in poor rural areas., The government has created the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (PRONAF) to stimulate the development of family farming in Brazil. It a credit program that offers loans at a subsidized interest rate. Previous studies have shown that wealthier farmers and more developed regions have more access to subsidized credit. Due to this apparently unequal allocation of PRONAF resources, the study aims to analyze, through econometric regressions and interviews with specialists, the underlying determinants for the unequal credit allocation across the municipalities in Brazil. Results indicate that wealth and knowledge of farmers are significant determinants of loan size, whereas municipalities that represent a high risk have received significantly fewer resources from PRONAF per household head. Thereby, we can conclude that PRONAF’s operations are not fulfilling their pro-poor objectives of targeting poor farmers and municipalities. Progress in infrastructure and institutions to reduce risks, enhancement of farmers’ qualifications and organization, better access to markets and agroindustry, and improvements in rural extension services are found to be essential to increasing the access to PRONAF’s credit.

Helping the Helpless: Contribution of Rural Extension Services to Smallholder Farmers’ Climate Change Adaptive Capacity and Adaptation in Rural Ghana

While there is no doubt that extension services play an active role in promoting smallholder farmers’ adaptive capacity and adaptation to climate change, there is a dearth of information and research on how this institution champions climate change adaptation in rural farming communities in Ghana. This study employed a qualitative case study design and interviewed 15 extension officers and 26 smallholder farmers to understand how extension services enhance smallholder farmers’ climate change adaptive capacity and adaptation in the rural Adansi North District in Ghana. The findings indicate that extension services adopt multiple strategies to build the adaptive capacity of farmers to climate change. Through the transfer of skills and knowledge, technology and innovations, supply of inputs, technical advice and liaison role with existing local institutions, farmers are able to adapt to climate change. The study further revealed that extension services are hindered by geographical, sociocultural and economic challenges which affect their alignment and fitness to effectively assist smallholder farmers. The study recommends strengthening the capacity of the extension institution. Moreover, more experts must be trained to provide special, targeted and important services to smallholder farmers in respect of climate change sensitization and adaptation.

Assessing fertilizer use efficiency and its determinants for apple production in China

Overuse of chemical fertilizer in apple production has resulted in environmental contamination in China. Existing research related to fertilizer use efficiency has focused on grain crops, and few studies have considered cash crops despite the significant structural shift of fertilizer application from grain to cash crops and the impacts of climate factors on fertilizer use efficiency. This paper employed a stochastic frontier method to examine the technical efficiency and fertilizer use efficiency of apple production by adopting panel data of eight major apple production provinces in China from 1992 to 2014. Further, the panel random-effects Tobit model was used to explore the factors influencing fertilizer use efficiency. The fertilizer use efficiency score ranged within 0.002–0.878, with a mean value of 0.472, which was much lower and had greater variability than technical efficiency with an average value of 0.868. Irrigation fees, land size, non-agricultural employment opportunities, apple planting area ratio and fertilizer prices had significant positive effects on fertilizer use efficiency in apple production. Disaster ratio, precipitation, sunshine hours, and apple prices had a significant negative effect on fertilizer use efficiency. Formula fertilizer promoted by governments had no significant effect on improving fertilizer use efficiency. Fertilizer use efficiencies are more sensitive to education level and fertilizer price than non-agricultural employment opportunity and land size, and it is weakly sensitive to climate factors, apple price, and apple planting area ratio. Policies aimed at improving fertilizer use efficiency and reducing environment pollution should, therefore, focus on promoting non-agricultural employment opportunities and land circulation, strengthening and expanding rural extension services, raising environmental protection awareness and controlling fertilizer price, and encouraging farmers to adopt new production technology.

Socio-economics of Acai Production in Rural Communities in the Brazilian Amazon: A Case Study in the Municipality of Igarapé-Miri, State of Pará

The Acai, a fruit of the Acai tree (Euterpe oleracea Mart.), is one of the main foods consumed by the riverside communities in the Brazilian Amazon. In addition, it has become the main source of income of these small producers as its consumption has widely expanded since the 1990s due to the recognition of its properties as an energetic and functional food. In order to analyze the production system and the socioeconomic changes that occurred in rural communities whose economical support is from the management of the Acai tree, a case study was carried out in two communities on the island of Mamangal, in the municipality of Igarapé-Miri, in the state of Pará, Brazilian Amazon. Fifty-two semistructured questionnaires were applied to the Acai farming families in these communities located in the municipality in the largest Brazilian producer of this fruit. The main transformations observed in the assessed communities, especially since the last decade, were influenced by the access to electric energy and the expansion of income from the Acai that made possible the expansion of the acquisition of durable consumer goods that even contributed to diversifying the diet of those farmers. Some of the difficulties faced by Acai production are the lack of technical assistance and rural extension services as well in addition to the strong dependence of the communities on the income generated by the Acai.