Padmasiri Wanigasundera &

Nihal Atapattu

Extension Reforms in Sri Lanka – Lessons and Policy Options

(MAY YOU LIVE LONGER)

'AYUBOWAN'

Country Profile / Geography

• Area: 65,610 km2

People: 21 million

Religions:

- Buddhist 70%,

- Hindu 13%,

- Islam 10%,

- Christian 7%

Economy

Mainly depends on agricultural products, garment exports and tourism

GDP : $59.4 billion (2012 )

per capita : $2,923

composition by sector : -

agriculture : 11.1% industry : 30.4%

services : 58.5%

Unemployment rate: 4.0% (2012 )

Currency: Sri Lankan Rupee (US $ 1 = 130 Rupees)

- Black Tea

- Other exports: spices, rubber,

coconut, coffee, cocoa,

Rice: - 789,000 ha Asweddumized - 32% of the total labor force - Yield = 4.3 t ha-1

Economy: Agriculture

University of Peradeniya

• Agricultural extension under increasing pressure to become - more effective, more responsive to clients and less costly to governments

• Various attempts to reform for the effective dissemination of agricultural technology

• The process of reform has remained incomplete and future direction uncertain

Extension Reforms in Sri Lanka – Lessons and Policy Options

Introduction

Agricultural research and extension system for food agriculture sector:

• Made remarkable successes, achieving rice self-sufficiency

• Average rice yields increased by 2.5 tons/ha last 20 years

• Supply-driven or top-down

• Client dissatisfaction

• Declining investments in extension

• Lack integrated approach and partnerships

Introduction contd…

• Examine developments over the past two decades in the provision of agricultural extension services in Sri Lanka

• Demonstrate that the agricultural extension system has moved towards defining a greater role for the private sector

• Identify elements of an environment conducive for private participation in extension

• Delineate conditions under which private sector extension services could compliment to public extension services.

Study Objectives

• Staple food -rice and most other food crops -Department of Agriculture (DOA)

• Other agricultural sub sectors -several government and semi-government agencies:

Department of Animal Production and Health (DAPH)

Department of Export Agriculture (spices, coffee, cocoa)

Coconut Cultivation Board

Tea Small Holdings Development Authority

Rubber Development Department

Research and development institutes having their own advisory services

Evolution of the Public Extension Services

• started in 1920

• 1930s - Agricultural Officer (AO) for each province supported by 37 Agricultural Instructors (AI)

• 1957 - District level – Ag. Extension Officers (DAEOs) Village-level - Krushi Viapthi Sevaka or KVS )

• 1963 – Extension Division under Deputy Director (Extension) created

• 1990 - Over 2400 grassroots level extension workers

Development of DOA extension arm

Technology Transfer

1. Increased Cadre and hierarchical organization

2. Changed role

3. Research-Extension Linkages

4.Rrigid bi-weekly visits and training

5. Important crops

The First Reform – Training & Visit System

• 1989 – 13th Amendment of SL Constitution, central governance power devolved to eight Provincial Councils

• Agricultural extension functions of the DOA and DAPH were largely devolved to the provinces

• In 1990, 2400 KVSs were assigned to Public Administration as Village Officers (Grama Niladhari)

• Virtual breakdown of the extension service at the village level

• Fragmentation of extension management with many Ministries covering the subject of Agriculture

Devolution and Fragmentation

• In 1993, World Bank assisted Ag. Extension Project -Integrated Agricultural Extension Approach (IAEA)

• Four government institutions - DOA, DAPH, Department of Export Agriculture (DEA) and the Coconut Cultivation Board (CCB).

• IAEA - cost effectiveness by sharing the grassroots level extension workers

• Practice Farming systems approach

• Group extension approach e.g. Farmer Field School (FFS) to promote Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

• Poor teamwork of higher level officers

Recovery through Integration

• From late 1990s Group extension method with farmers of higher productivity potential

• Package of integrated crop management practices promoted by use of innovative extension tools:

Cyber extension service, Rice Knowledge Bank web site

interactive multimedia CDs,

Crop clinics,

Media campaign,

Picketing campaigns, and

Cultivation and yield competitions were also introduced and implemented to educate farmers

Rice production Yaya (Block) Demonstration Program

• Granary Area Program (GAP) - 2004 to 2007 in high potential rice growing areas

• The rice yield of 4.5 t/ha increased to 5.4 t/ha after 3 years

• DOA acts as the mediator between relevant organizations (Banks, Fertilizer and other inputs suppliers)

• Forward contract agreements

Rice production Yaya (Block) Demonstration Program Contd…

• In 2014, Phase 2 of Yaya launched

• Aim - increase national productivity to 5.3 Mt/ha by 2025

• Main interventions: Environment friendly Good Agricultural Practices - judicious use

of agrochemicals, IPNS and IPM etc.

Use of mechanized farming techniques preferred by the young farmers

Increase cropping intensity with crop diversification to increase the overall farm profitability

Separate technology packages for main rice growing agro-ecological regions

Frequent monitoring and motivation by all stakeholders

Yaya 2 - Paddy Production program

• 1970s the Farm Women Agricultural Extension service with female extension workers

• organize farm women to establish home gardens and other mechanisms to improve the family income and nutrition.

• 1976 Home economics training programs for women • 1982 programmes targeted to farm women included in

research and training agenda of DOA • 1987 Gender neutral extension with both male and female

extension workers serving women island wide • 2006 Farm Women organizations registered and constitution

formulated • 2011 Women entrepreneurship promotion – training and

equipment, mobile demo vehicle etc.

Gender Sensitive Extension

• In 2004, Cyber Extension project started with 45 Cyber Extension Units (CEU) at 45 Govijana Kendra (Agrarian Service Centers)

• Interactive Multimedia based digital extension strategies

• CDMA telecommunication facility and internet connections were provided

• Toll Free Agricultural Advisory Service with a dedicated hot line number 1920, later with SMS services

• Agriculture Wikipedia (www.govia.lk) - a participatory and interactive web tool

• Meteorological alerts through mobile phones

Cyber Extension: An ICT Initiative

• Substantial increase of field level extension team

1600 KVSs to work at village level under the AIs operating at Agrarian Service Center level

500 Agricultural Officers

13 new Principal Scientists to be designated as Principal Extensionists, Journalists or Educationists

Proposed Reforms -2015

• Pilot project to explored the feasibility of private advisory service by Second Perennial Crops Development Project (SPSDP), funded by the ADB

• Involved 3 specialized in input supply, output procurement, and crop advisory and farmer services

• Fee-based services introduced

• Pilot study showed potential for fee-levying private extension services among commercial-oriented farmers

Private Extension Services

• Non-state Advisory services:

- Suppliers of inputs and Engaged in marketing produce

- Development Agencies -INGOs, NGOs,

- Farmers cooperatives and societies

- Services limited by geography, product range and, time

• None solely deliver advisory services to farmers

Private Extension Services Contd …

Extension Service of leading Agribusiness firms: • Operate through regional sales offices

• Mobile units and other specialized teams

• Use of ICT and mass media in Novel and interactive modes to attract young people

• Market-Oriented Advisory services (MOAs)

Operated by leading retail chains, organic food exporters and niche product buyers

Private Extension Services Contd …

• Some tea processing factories have started PPP extension

• Two State sector Research and extension agencies (TRI and TSHDA) work with Input suppliers through tea factories

• The factory staff reach the farmers frequently

• The technical knowledge of the factory-based para- extension personnel is low

• Regular training and monitoring by the formal service help improve the knowledge system

• Farmers involved in higher partnerships shown progress

• Feed back of farmer problems to the research

Private-public partnership Extension in Tea smallholdings sector

Conclusions & Recommendations

• Reforms have forced the extension services to use less individual methods and more group and mass methods

• Integrated and demand driven extension not realized by the reforms

• Environment friendly technology dissemination justify public funding e.g. IPM, IPNS, Marketing contracts, etc.

• Public sector can partner with extension services and function effectively and efficiently

• Need to look for mechanisms that places agricultural extension workers under the command of the farmer communities with appropriate rewards for real achievements

• The young should be attracted to farming by employing creative use of ICT

Docu-musical video drama developed to attract the young people in rural areas into farming

Video Clip

• CIC Agri Business Started with the Pilot project under ADB Farm business services: soil-test based fertilizer recommendation service, problem-oriented crop protection advisory service, training in high-tech crop production systems for horticultural enterprises, etc. Over 110 extension staff work directly with over 20,000 farmers produce a variety of agricultural and livestock products (e.g. paddy seed, rice, fruits, vegetables, eggs, yoghurt)

• Other major input suppliers

Leading Private sector Extension services

Commodity Development Approach

• Improve Production and exports of fruits by

Intercropping fruits in Coconut lands, setting up Fruit

villages, Fruit fly eradication program and Certification of

fruits and vegetables for export

• Expansion of onion, potato, chili, Soya and vegetable

cultivation during off seasons and in new areas