Requirements for Applying Downward Accountability to Improve the Quality of Agricultural Extension Services Provided to Farmers in Iraq

Abstract

The aim of this study is to identify the requirements for applying downward accountability to improve the quality of agricultural extension services provided to farmers in Iraq. To achieve this goal, a framework consisting of 82 requirements was developed, distributed across 8 domains: ( a reference framework for accountability, an enabling environment and appropriate extension policies, the commitment and responsibility of extension management and farmers towards accountability, updates in the agricultural extension system, raising awareness of accountability and capacity building, transparency and building trust, interaction, dialogue, and the flow of information and data, and an effective monitoring and evaluation system within the agricultural extension framework. After assessing the validity and reliability of the instrument, a five-point Likert scale was used to measure the respondents’ agreement with the requirements, with values ranging from 1 to 5. The questionnaire was then administered to a random sample of individuals working in agricultural extension and agricultural organizations (senior management, middle management, executive management, and farmer leadership), comprising 395 respondents from the provinces of Nineveh, Salahaddin, Baghdad, Diyala, Babylon, Najaf, Maysan, and Al-Muthanna. The results indicated that the mean scores ranged between (4.09 - 4.67) with importance percentages ranging from (81.80% - 93.40%) and an overall average of (4.36) with an importance percentage of (87.20%). These results suggest a high level of agreement among the respondents on the requirements for applying downward accountability, and emphasize the need to adopt these requirements to ensure the accountability of agricultural extension service providers, thus improving the quality of services offered to farmers. The researchers recommend that these requirements be adopted by policymakers and decision-makers in the Ministry of Agriculture and the agricultural extension system, to implement downward accountability, enhance farmers’ participation in service evaluation processes, and involve them as active stakeholders in the improvement process through considering their opinions, feedback, and evaluations of services and their providers. This will lead to enhancing the quality of agricultural extension services, reforming agricultural extension systems provided to farmers, and achieving the goals of sustainable agricultural development in Iraq.