The development of a National Agricultural Extension Policy in Bangladesh

Abstract

Agricultural extension is moving away from externally imposed change programmes towards bottom-up planning, farmer participation and empowerment and catalysis of sustainable change, based on local needs and problems. However, many of these changes have been on a relatively small scale, in policy or institutional environments generally favouring a more traditional approach to agricultural development. For a broader process of sustainable agricultural development to occur, changes in the policy and institutional environment are required. This paper explores the process of developing an agricultural extension policy in Bangladesh and describes the content of the final policy statement, as an example of the approach taken in one country to developing a facilitative environment for sustainable agricultural development.

To date, the policy statement has been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, and an implementation strategy is being developed. The policy is only a stage in the process of change, and it is hoped that other countries which are developing mechanisms to facilitate sustainable agricultural development will find the experiences in Bangladesh both encouraging and potentially useful.