The Impact of Agricultural Extension Services: The Case of Grape Production in Argentina

In this paper we evaluate the impact of the provision of agricultural extension services to grape producers in Mendoza, Argentina, on yield and grape quality. Using fixed effects and matching techniques, we show that despite non-significant average treatment effects on yield, the program has large positive effects on productivity for producers who were in the bottom of the productivity distribution before launching of the program. There is also evidence of increased quality of their grapes, especially for large producers and those in the middle of the yield distribution ex-ante. However, large groups of producers did not see impact on yields or quality. Consistent with a previous qualitative evaluation of the program, these results point to the need to balance flexibility of the program with effective targeting mechanisms. Producers with different characteristics, such as land size, productivity or structure of production seek different objectives and have different needs, so that targeting these types of programs effectively to the different needs of producers would increase their effectiveness.