This study explored the impact of agricultural extension services on cereal production. Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire from a random sample of 262 farmers from four regions (east, west, north, and south) in Bhutan. Farmers assessed the impact of extension services on five aspects of cereal production (cereal seed, social, environmental, production, and marketing aspects). Percentages and an ordered logistic model were used to analyse the data. The study found a low level of farmers’ participation in extension services. The social aspect of cereal production was the most impacted by the extension programmes, while the marketing aspect was the least impacted. The farmers’ cultivated dry land (Coeff. = 0.21) and wetland (Coeff. = 0.72), their participation in extension services (Coeff. = 0.61), and the extra labour (Coeff. = 0.24) significantly contributed to cereal production. The provision of effective and high-quality extension programs by extension agents is critical for smallholder farmers to enhance their agricultural production.

This study evaluated the linkages between the approaches adopted by extension agents in providing agricultural extension services to farmers, the capacity building of the extension personnel, and the challenges for cereal production. Using purposive sampling, 62 extension personnel were interviewed through a semi-structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the deductive approach of qualitative content analysis. The study found that a participatory approach is not fully decentralized in planning and evaluation of the agricultural extension programs to meet the demand-driven services of the farmers. Moreover, there is a discrepancy between the capacity building of the extension personnel and the challenges incurred in cereal production— the training is mostly focused on production and post-harvest of cereal production, while having multitude of challenges in marketing as well. Therefore, it is recommended that a participatory approach must be fully promoted and the training of extension personnel must be melded with the demand-driven needs of farmers in approaching the cereal production issues. The study could be helpful for extension agents and policymakers to understand ways to increase the quality and effectiveness of agricultural extension services to foster agricultural production.

This research aimed to examine income risk perception and management of sugarcane contract farming at farm household level in Lao PDR. The study was conducted using a qualitative approach, employing purposive sampling with a total target group of thirty respondents that included older people from the village and heads of the sugarcane grower group as the key informants. The target group also included twenty five farm households who were planting and harvesting at least one hectare of contract farming sugarcane during a single season in 2014. In-depth interviews, group interviews and observation techniques were employed. Data collection was done during October-December, 2014. Content analysis was employed for the data analysis while descriptive analytic methods were used to present the results. The results indicated the sources of income risk to rural farm households engaging in sugarcane contract farming. These risks included the high cost of clearing land; in particular land containing large trees, the high cost of sugarcane stalk, which was often supplied contaminated with soil and tree branches, the high cost of fertilizer and also labor costs caused by annual inflation. Households were aware of the income risks from sugarcane contract farming and used their own strategies to manage them. These strategies would include reducing the amount of inputs, using their own labor, renting out their land to others and diversification in to other crops and livestock.