The changing public role in services to agriculture: A framework for analysis

This paper presents a framework for the analysis of the public sector role in agricultural service provision. Having laid out the goals of change, it looks at both the economic and social factors which militate towards a continued, though significantly altered, role for government in this area. In particular it stresses the fact that governments need to be responsive to Local conditions and to seek innovative and especially collaborative solutions to the problems which they are facing. Their ability to do so will be significantly enhanced if they undertake internal reforms, including decentralisation of decision-making power to more responsive lower level units.