Crop Farmers' Willingness to Pay for Agricultural Extension Services in Bangladesh: Cases of Selected Villages in Two Important Agro-ecological Zones

AbstractPurpose: Globally, many extension professionals and policy-makers are advocating fee based services, in addressing the fund shortage and sustainable provision of agricultural advisory services. Hence, the article attempts to expose the farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) as agricultural extension in Bangladesh is experiencing chronic fund crisis.Methodology: This study used contingent valuation method (CVM) for investigating farmers' WTP. Logit and Tobit model was employed to assess the determinants of WTP and amount willing to pay (AWTP) respectively. Besides, different qualitative methods were employed to have a deeper understanding of the research problems.Findings: WTP was conditioned by providing quality extension services at farm and/or home of the farmers. The study also focused on farmers preferred mode of payment, criteria influencing payment decisions and the type of services for which they are willing to pay. Paid model can contribute to quality extension services, if started with a marke...