Abstract

Increased efficiency in extension delivery services has been viewed as a prerequisite for agricultural development. One of the policy options to minimize the constraints of the public extension has been the privatization of agricultural extension services. In Iranian context, considering the diverse needs of the commercial farmers and inadequacies of the public extension services for the small farmer, there is a necessity for searching suitable programs and practices related to private extension. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate and prioritize programs and practices of supplying private extension services to farmers, as perceived by Iranian agricultural extension specialists. A survey research was conducted using a questionnaire. The target population of the study encompassed 125 agricultural extension specialists of the ministry of agriculture. Based on these findings, prioritizing of the most important practices for supplying private extension services were: farmers extension organizations, private consultants and allocating subside to the farmers. Also, there was a significant difference between PhD and M.Sc respondents as to their perceptions to the appropriateness of the three aforementioned private extension practices.

Key words: Privatization of agricultural extension, private extension services, extension strategies, Iran.