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Hands off but Strings Attached: The Contradictions of Policy-induced Demand-driven Agricultural Extension

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  • Laurens Klerkx
  • Karin Grip
  • Cees Leeuwis

Abstract

Although many governments have privatized their agricultural extension services, there is widespread agreement that the public sector still needs to play a role in the “agricultural knowledge market” in order to prevent market failure and other undesirable phenomena. However, appropriate mechanisms for intervention in the agricultural knowledge market are still in their infancy. This article discusses the case of the Nutrient Management Support Service (NMSS), a government-funded support service in The Netherlands designed to optimize the fit between the demand and supply of “agricultural knowledge products” that reduce nutrient emissions into the environment. The activities of the support service were four-fold: (1) distributing vouchers to farmers, (2) establishing mechanisms for quality control, (3) facilitating the articulation of end-users’ needs, and (4) improving market transparency. We analyze the extent to which the NMSS has succeeded in supporting a demand-driven knowledge market for nutrient management issues. We question some of the conceptual and practical assumptions underlying this style of intervention. In addition, we argue that the notion of demand requires considerable refinement before it can be useful for guiding state involvement in demand-driven extension. Copyright Springer 2006

Suggested Citation

  • Laurens Klerkx & Karin Grip & Cees Leeuwis, 2006. "Hands off but Strings Attached: The Contradictions of Policy-induced Demand-driven Agricultural Extension," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 23(2), pages 189-204, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:23:y:2006:i:2:p:189-204
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-005-6106-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Feder, Gershon & Willett, Anthony & Zijp, Willem, 1999. "Agricultural extension - generic challenges and the ingredients for solutions," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2129, The World Bank.
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    Cited by:

    1. Laurens Klerkx & Andy Hall & Cees Leeuwis, 2009. "Strengthening agricultural innovation capacity: are innovation brokers the answer?," International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(5/6), pages 409-438.
    2. Thomas Pircher & Conny J. M. Almekinders, 2021. "Making sense of farmers’ demand for seed of root, tuber and banana crops: a systematic review of methods," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(5), pages 1285-1301, October.
    3. Julien Lamontagne-Godwin & Peter Dorward & Irshad Ali & Naeem Aslam & Sarah Cardey, 2019. "An Approach to Understand Rural Advisory Services in a Decentralised Setting," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-18, March.
    4. Alex Koutsouris, 2012. "Exploring the emerging facilitation and brokerage roles for agricultural extension education," Working Papers 2012-4, Agricultural University of Athens, Department Of Agricultural Economics.
    5. Julien Lamontagne-Godwin & Peter Dorward & Naeem Aslam & Sarah Cardey, 2019. "Analysing Support towards Inclusive and Integrated Rural Advisory Systems," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-18, October.
    6. Yang, Huan & Klerkx, Laurens & Leeuwis, Cees, 2014. "Functions and limitations of farmer cooperatives as innovation intermediaries: Findings from China," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 115-125.
    7. Villamayor-Tomas, Sergio & Sagebiel, Julian & Olschewski, Roland, 2019. "Bringing the neighbors in: A choice experiment on the influence of coordination and social norms on farmers’ willingness to accept agro-environmental schemes across Europe," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 200-215.
    8. Pierre Labarthe & Lee‐Ann Sutherland & Catherine Laurent & Geneviève Nguyen & Talis Tisenkopfs & Pierre Triboulet & Noemie Bechtet & Ellen Bulten & Boelie Elzen & Lívia Madureira & Christina Noble & J, 2022. "Who are Advisory Services Leaving Out? A Critical Reflection on ‘Hard to Reach’ Farmers," EuroChoices, The Agricultural Economics Society, vol. 21(1), pages 50-55, April.
    9. Ton, Giel & Klerkx, Laurens & de Grip, Karin & Rau, Marie-Luise, 2015. "Innovation grants to smallholder farmers: Revisiting the key assumptions in the impact pathways," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 9-23.
    10. Klerkx, Laurens & Leeuwis, Cees, 2008. "Matching demand and supply in the agricultural knowledge infrastructure: Experiences with innovation intermediaries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 260-276, June.
    11. Sophie Payne-Gifford & C. S. Srinivasan & Peter Dorward, 2021. "Blunting EU Regulation 1107/2009: following a regulation into a system of agricultural innovation," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(1), pages 221-241, February.
    12. Daniel Velden & Joost Dessein & Laurens Klerkx & Lies Debruyne, 2023. "Constructing legitimacy for technologies developed in response to environmental regulation: the case of ammonia emission-reducing technology for the Flemish intensive livestock industry," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(2), pages 649-665, June.
    13. Amy Proctor & Andrew Donaldson & Jeremy Phillipson & Philip Lowe, 2012. "Field Expertise in Rural Land Management," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(7), pages 1696-1711, July.
    14. Menary, Jonathan & Collier, Rosemary & Seers, Kate, 2019. "Innovation in the UK fresh produce sector: Identifying systemic problems and the move towards systemic facilitation," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    15. Balaine, Lorraine & Buckley, Cathal & Dillon, Emma J., 2022. "Mixed public-private and private extension systems: A comparative analysis using farm-level data from Ireland," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    16. Julie Ingram & Jane Mills & Jasmine E. Black & Charlotte-Anne Chivers & José A. Aznar-Sánchez & Annemie Elsen & Magdalena Frac & Belén López-Felices & Paula Mayer-Gruner & Kamilla Skaalsveen & Jannes , 2022. "Do Agricultural Advisory Services in Europe Have the Capacity to Support the Transition to Healthy Soils?," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-26, April.
    17. Abbasi Fatemeh & Esparcia Javier & Saadi Heshmat A., 2019. "From Analysis to Formulation of Strategies for Farm Advisory Services (Case Study: Valencia – Spain). an Application through Swot and Qspm Matrix," European Countryside, Sciendo, vol. 11(1), pages 43-73, March.

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