Growth and Poverty Mailing List Archive

["Dick Tinsley" <<address removed>>]

I noticed someone commented on my previously message on extension, finding
it upsetting but not really refuting the underlying logic.  I hope that has
effectively stimulated some innovative thoughts on how best to reach
smallholders.

I would thus like to revisit the issue.

One concern I have is that we are basically dealing with governments that
have stalled.

That is when up to 80% of revenue funds are used for salaries leaving only
20% or so for reoccurring operating expenses.  When this happens there is
little for civil servant to do but sit around their offices collecting
salary and dreaming of what they could do if fund were available.
Effectively the best intentions have stalled.

Is this a reasonable term and definition?

For those of us interested in development we have to be very careful not to
encourage a civil service involvement that can not be sustained with revenue
funds.  When we encourage this commitment we have programs that can not be
sustained beyond the period they are facilitated with donor funds. Good for
short term promotions but ineffective in the long term.

Extension, more so then research, with it need for numerous field staff can
easily fall into this category.  Thus the need rely less on direct contact.
Developing country governments just don't have the revenue funds to afford
it.

Dick Tinsley


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