Module 3 - Venezuela: Contracting Decentralized Extension Services

The costs of the municipal project are shared between four contributors: participating farmers, the municipal government, the state government, and the national government. It is expected that farmer contributions will generally be small to begin with but will increase over time.

Extension approaches are based on farmer preference, the results of an annual diagnostic survey, and technical assistance available from subject matter specialists. Extension program design focuses on providing services targeted to small farmers in an effort to enhance social and gender equality. Environmental and natural resource conservation impacts of projects are given priority attention, and the project includes activities to increase the environmental awareness of farmers.

Benefits and Impacts

Benefits from the extension project are increased awareness by farmers with a better understanding of their own extension needs, as well as increased visibility and credibility of extension agents. Farmers are now organized into 76 ACE groups, representing about 10,000 farmers. Countrywide, 492 extension agents deliver services to 45,000 clients (not all clients are members of the ACEs) in 123 municipalities.

Program monitoring systems indicate that there has been wide adoption of the innovations introduced by the extension teams, with more than 4,000 innovations adopted in participating municipalities. While impact evaluations are being undertaken, demand from municipalities to participate in the program now exceeds the resources available to the program.

Nearly 25 percent of extension agents are women, and extension services for women have emerged as an important part of the overall municipal extension program.

Lessons Learned and Issues for Wider Applicability

Contracting extension service delivery from private firms and NGOs is becoming more common and is an effective way of enhancing accountability to clients, which is an important part of any service. Using existing or creating new social mechanisms is an effective way to make service providers more accountable to clients.

The project has already attracted considerable attention and has had visits from delegations from several African and Latin American countries that are also considering extension service reforms. A regional workshop held in 2001 provided an opportunity to share Venezuela’s experience with other countries in the region.