Identifying the Components for Institutionalization Market-Based Extension Services with Rice Value Chain Approach in Rural Areas of Mazandaran Province of Iran

Neglecting market conditions and emphasizing merely on production increase is one of the basic problems of agricultural extension systems. Institutionalizing extension services based on a market-oriented approach can play a useful and effective role in increasing the quantity and quality of production and optimizing the value chain of products with a focus on employment growth, entrepreneurship and economic prosperity in rural areas. Therefore, this study aimed at identifying the components for institutionalization of market-based extension services in the rice value chain in rural areas of Mazandaran Province, as Iran’s most rice producing province, in 2019. The required data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 29 purposefully selected rice experts and were analyzed through an inductive analysis method. The results showed that based on the value chain approach, the activities were classified in the two categories including ‘primary activities’ such as the supply of inputs, production, processing, marketing and consumption of rice and ‘support activities’ comprising providing training and advisory services, financial supports, human resource management, supportive policies, and the provision of the necessary infrastructure. It was also found that support activities were identified as effective factors in the institutionalization of market-oriented extension services in the rice value chain.