Frontiers of Agriculture and Food Technology

Frontiers of Agriculture and Food Technology ISSN 7295-2849 Vol. 3 (4), pp. 284-297, April, 2015. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Innovations in agricultural policy and services as a drive for successful extension

*¹Merlyna C. Bijevleveld, Weibe Rob Kok¹ and Adriaan Bijker²

¹Departement of Economics, Socio-Anthropology and Communication, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands.

²Department of Communication and Innovation Studies, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] 

Accepted 17 March, 2015

Abstract

In many parts of the world, agricultural policy is being restructured to promote changes which advance new mechanisms of financing knowledge-based services. In Bénin, a Project for Restructuring Agricultural Services (PRSA-Bénin) is achieved. This study considers this project journey and the recent changes in agricultural policy. A key concern of the Béninese government in advancing these changes, as argued in this article, is to make it a better policy instrument for more intensive involvement of farmers and other private sector organizations in funding arrangements. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, and reconstruction ex-post of activities undertaken were used to investigate the project journey. Additionally, to support our analysis, we made use of the results of evaluative studies, documents and project reports, and findings of meetings of a specified forum designed for three days. Results show that the perspective and management of agricultural policy and knowledge-based services changed. Several private sector organizations have interests, including farmers’ organizations, NGOs, commercial companies and micro-finance institutions. New mechanisms of financing agricultural policy and services are institutionalized. Results also question the conventional understanding and practices of agricultural knowledge-based services.

Key words: Agricultural policy, knowledge-based services, privatization, financing mechanisms, private sector organizations, demand articulation, Bénin.