|
What is agricultural advisory service?
This is a professional service providing information to agricultural commodity producers on production technology, management, marketing, law etc. It improves their professional knowledge in order to enhance farming efficiency, hence improvements in rural livelihoods, and helps to analyze problems and develops responsibility for one’s own decisions. Agricultural advisory service is an “information bureau” to answer farmers’ questions and “transformer-interpreter” to interpret scientific achievements in practical language and, at the same time, facilitate selection of relevant themes for researchers.
Agricultural advisory services are dynamic structures to respond promptly to clients’ needs. They can deal with non-agricultural issues as well, especially if they see them as income generating opportunities, i.e. providing advice to local self-governments on maintenance of reserves, parks, recreation areas, culture institutions, public catering and other public accommodations; establishment and operation of communal enterprises, houseowners’ associations etc.
Why was it necessary to create advisory services?
First of all, because of radical changes in the Ukrainian agricultural sector in the course of land and agricultural reforms. As of 1 January 2003, 11 272 collective agricultural enterprises were reorganized. Around 15700 farming enterprises were set up on their basis with private land and property ownership in line with the current legislation: private enterprises, limited liability companies etc. that together with 43 family farms and over 500 000 private households formed the institutional basis for private economic management in rural areas.
New farming enterprises and rural households faced a number of problems related to their operation in the market environment. The most typical problems include:
- the need to make independent management decisions and take full responsibility for end results;
- lack of practical experience of working in market conditions;
- shortage of qualified sector specialists in agriculture;
- lack of new knowledge and practical skills for farming with limited resources.
Agricultural advisory services help rural residents and farmers to master and efficiently use best farming practices and implement innovative technologies; they provide services in marketing, management and rural social development, solve rural employment and legal training issues, facilitate development of servicing cooperatives, credit unions, community organizations and other non-farm entities.
Most important, agricultural advisory services disseminate relevant knowledge to rural population and farmers. And “knowledge investment” is the most promising and profitable investment in the modern world.
Which oblasts are covered by advisory services?
Actually, advisory service elements are realised by 25 agricultural advisory services in 21 oblasts. They are in the making in Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy oblasts. For the most part, the credit of advisory service development should be given to the international community, in particular, the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, EC.
How can a farmer get access to relevant information?
Through personal contact or communication facilities. In countries with well-developed and accessible electronic communication the latter is a priority way of communication between farmers and advisory services.
Who finances advisory activities?
State and local budgets, payment received from agricultural producers, private, cooperative firms and companies, community organizations; funding from international programmes and projects, and charitable contributions can be sources of finance for advisory services as well as other legitimate sources.
Annual expenditures of the US State Cooperative Extension Service are up to US$1.5 billion, a third of them being covered by the US Congress, 45% coming from the states, and the rest (20-30%) being financed from district budgets.
At present, advisory services in Ukraine are mostly funded by international technical assistance projects.
On foreign advisory service experience
Various kinds of advisory services exist in 120 countries worldwide, including all the countries in Europe and North America, Japan, Baltic states etc. They are in the making in China, the Russian Federation and other countries.
Unlike extension services in North America countries where they operate at universities, the European advisory services are independent private entities with their own research base.
The Council of Europe in its European Charter for Rural Areas (1996) determined that agricultural advisory service is a basic element of agricultural knowledge system that includes research and education.
Ukraine’s membership in WTO envisages certain commitments on reduced state support to domestic agricultural producers. But the so-called Green Box measures are not subject to restrictions.
|
