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Dramatic changes are taking place in farming worldwide as a result of globalisation, liberalisation, and rapid urbanisation. Farmers are intensifying existing patterns of production and diversifying their farm enterprises in an attempt to improve their livelihoods. Technical know-how is not enough. In order to be competitive and take advantage of the new opportunities that are arising farmers increasingly have to adapt their farm business to market changes and improve efficiency, profitability and income.
The desire to increase income by taking advantage of market opportunities requires farmers to become better decision makers and better at competing in this new environment. The emphasis on the market and the need of farmers to be competitive , calls for better farm management skills . Marketing and farm management have rapidly gained predominance globally over the last two decades. Farm business management skills and knowledge is recognised as important for farmers to effectively respond to present day farming challenges. Farm management advice helps farmers to make the right choice between crop enterprises according to individual levels of financial, labour and land endowments and at their level of risk adversity. As farmers become more market-oriented, extension needs are changing and extension workers and farmers face new challenges in providing appropriate advice.
As a response to these changes, the service has been involved in providing strategic guidance to policy makers and programme managers in farm management extension, developing training approaches and materials for improving farm management skills of extension workers and farmers and provide guidance to policy makers and extension workers on farm data collection, analysis and dissemination. Close internal partnership is also maintained with other services in the Rural Infrastructure and Agro Industries Division, as well as with other divisions and services in FAO.
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