Extension reforms in Sri Lanka: lessons and policy options

Abstract Agricultural extension services globally are face with a challenge to become more effective and responsive. This chapter examines the developments of agricultural extension services in Sri Lanka over the past two decades. According to the current context, there are several major drawbacks identified in the agricultural extension system in Sri Lanka such as client dissatisfaction, bureaucratic approach, large performance gap, declining investments in extension, and slow adjustment in responding to changing roles. In Sri Lanka, agricultural extension services are organized commodity sector-wise by relevant Departments, authorities as well as crop and livestock research and development institutes. The system has evolved through introduction of training and visit system, devolution and fragmentation, integrated agricultural extension approach, and continuing to progress. The efforts to integrate the different extension services dealing with food production have made limited progress. Cyber agricultural extension interventions have been gradually introduced. The toll-free hotline has been embraced by agricultural community to receive and clarify technical problems. The recent information and communication technologies (ICT) initiatives conducted by state sector in agricultural extension have faced limitations like poor computer literacy, limited internet access, and lack of support given by senior officials. Hence, reforms have been proposed, especially the expansion of agricultural extension cadres. ICT initiatives of private sector extension service providers include input supply and payment system, e-Crop advisory service, introduction of reality TV for agriculture, and advisory messages through mobile phones etc. The initiative towards introducing fee-levying private agricultural extension services among the commercial farmers is slowly progressing. In the plantation sector, private–public partnership extension services are being introduced by organizations dealing with agricultural inputs, developmental agencies as well as farmer-based associations, cooperatives, and societies. These recent changes could be considered as preconditions for privatizing agricultural extension services in the wake of diminishing state monopoly in technology generation, increased commercialization of farming, opening-up of input supply market, changing priorities of food sector, increasingly private good-nature of information needs, and transformation from a service into value-laden information. Hence, there have aroused a timely need to implement effective mechanisms that place agricultural extension service providers under the command of the farming community which is supposed to benefit from the services provided with proper monitoring.