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1 PG. Scholar, and 2 Professor and Head, Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala- 695522

Received : 09-08-2019; Accepted : 30-08-2019

Research Article
Journal of Extension Education
Vol. 31  No. 2,  2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.26725/JEE.2019.2.31.6269-6273

Performance Effectiveness of Agro Service Centres in Kerala

Safna Vatakke Kandy Meethal1 and B. Seema2

AbstRACt
	 Agriculture	 is	 the	back	bone	of	 Indian	economy. Time	bound	high-quality	agro	services	are	
essential	for	the	growth	of	agriculture	 in	our	country.	The	present	study	was	conducted	among	the	
beneficiary	farmers	Agro	Service	Centres	in	Kerala,	during	the	year	2018-19.	The	sample	of	the	study	
comprised	120	farmers	from	purposively	selected	26	Agro	Service	Centres.	Performance	effectiveness	
of	Agro	Service	Centres	was	measured	in	terms	of	Performance	Effectiveness	Index	(PEI).	Based	on	the	
analysis	of	data,	it	was	found	that	40	per	cent	of	the	farmers	placed	the	ASCs	into	high	category	of	
Performance	Effectiveness	 Index.	Most	of	the	 farmers	had	placed	the	ASCs	 into	high-	performance	
effectiveness	category	in	the	dissemination	of	information	and	technology.	

Keywords: Agro	 Service	 Centre,	 Performance	 effectiveness,	 Services	 delivery,	 Farmer’s	 income,	 
Kerala

INTRoDUCTIoN 

 Agriculture plays an indispensable role 
in the Indian economy. More than fifty per 
cent of India’s population finds their way of 
living through agriculture and allied activities. 
Even though Kerala is blessed with all natural 
resources, agriculture sector in Kerala exhibits 
an abrupt decline. This is mainly because our 
farmers are not able to purchase good quality 
seeds and other inputs in small quantity due to 
their higher prices. Also, they are not capable 
to buy equipment and machinery for farming 
activities and the farmers are suffering from 
different kinds of losses in their farming due 
to unavailability of clinical and diagnostic 
services from experts. Availability of time-

bound high-quality agro services are essential 
for the growth of agriculture in our country. 

Agro Service Centres (ASCs) are the “one-
stop-shops” offering timely services and 
inputs to the desired extent at reasonable 
rates in time in order to improve the economic 
viability of farming and standard of living of 
the farming community (Sidhu and Vatta, 
2012). The success of agriculture depends on 
the availability of the right quantity of inputs 
and services at the right place in right time. 
Agro Service Centres facilitate the farmers 
to achieve these and thereby help to bridge 
the gap between farmers and the agriculture 
domain experts by providing need-based, 
diversified information and services to 



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farmers (GoK, 2016). This study will help in 
revising the modus	operandi of Agro Service 
Centres and thereby act as an impetus for the 
establishment of more Agro Service Centres 
and productive functioning of the existing 
Agro Service Centres. 

METhoDoLoGY

 Performance effectiveness is 
operationally defined as the ability of Agro 
Service Centres to achieve the predetermined 
goals and objectives in appropriate time and 
right quality. Performance effectiveness was 
measured on the basis of three components 
namely performance effectiveness of ASC in 
dissemination of information and technology, 
Performance of ASC in services delivery and 
performance effectiveness of ASC on farmer’s 
income. Performance Effectiveness Index (PEI) 
was calculated for each component and later 
mean of these indices was found to obtain the 
performance effectiveness index as perceived 
by farmers. 

Performance effectiveness of ASC in 
Information and Technology dissemination 
(X1):The respondents were asked to give their 
opinion about the performance effectiveness 
of ASCs in information and technology 
dissemination on a three point continuum as 
good, average and below average with the 
scoring 3, 2, and 1 respectively. 

Performance Effectiveness Index of this 
component i.e. PEI (X1) was measured using 
the formula

PEI (X1) = 

Where X1max is the maximum obtained value of 

X1 

X1i is the observed value of X1 

Range = maximum obtained value of X1 - 
minimum obtained value of X1

Performance of ASC in Services Delivery 
(X2): The respondents were asked to give 
their response regarding the adequacy of 
different available services in ASCs on a three 
point continuum as adequate, moderate and 
not adequate with the scoring 3, 2 and 1 
respectively. 

Performance Effectiveness Index of this 
component i.e. PEI (X2) was measured using 
the formula

PEI (X2) = 

Where X2max is the maximum obtained value of 
X2 

X2i is the observed value of X2

Range = maximum obtained value of X2- 
minimum obtained value of X2

Performance effectiveness of ASC on 
Farmer’s income (X3):The respondents were 
asked to give their response regarding the 
perceived changes in their farming after 
utilizing the information and services from 
ASCs on a three point continuum as ‘increase’, 
‘no change’ and ‘decrease’ with the scoring 3, 
2 and 1 respectively.

Performance Effectiveness Index of this 
component i.e. PEI (X3) was measured using 
the formula. 

PEI (X3) = 

Journal of Extension Education

X1max-x1i

Range
( (100 - x 100

X2max-x2i

Range
( (100 - x 100

X3max-x3i

Range
( (100 - x 100



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Where X3max is the maximum obtained value of 
X3

X3i is the observed value of X3

Range = maximum obtained value X3- 
minimum obtained value of X3. 

Performance effectiveness index (PEI) of ASCs 
as perceived by farmers was calculated as the 
mean of the indices of the three components 
of PEI and it was calculated using the formula

Performance Effectiveness Index as perceived 
by the farmer (PEI) = 

 

 Frequency and percentage analysis 
was carried out to find the distribution of 
farmers based on their perception regarding 
the performance effectiveness of Agro Service 
Centres and the centres were classified into 
three categories namely low, medium and 
high based on the range of PEI as perceived 
by the farmers. 

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIoN 

 Agro Service Centers in Kerala 
were providing agricultural information, 
technologies and services to farmers through 
suitable disseminating systems. Considering 
the overall Performance Effectiveness Index 
of Agro Service Centres in Kerala, it was found 
that majority of the beneficiary farmers had 
placed the Agro Service Centres in high and 
medium performance category. The perception 
of farmers about the performance of Agro 
Service Centres in services delivery was low 
and for most of the farmers, the services of 

Agro Service Centres have contributed to an 
increase in income from farming.

Performance of Agro Service Centres (ASCs) 
as perceived by beneficiaries

Table 1 shows the categorization of Agro 
Service Centres based on Performance 
Effectiveness Index as perceived by the 
farmers. 

Table 1 
Categorization of Agro Service Centres 

based on Peformance Effectiveness Index as 
Perceived by the Farmers

Category Frequency  Percentage 
Low (<33) 26 21.66
Medium (33- 
66)

46 38.34

High (>66) 48 40
Mean 55.88
Total number 
of farmers

120

 From Table 1, it is found that 40 per 
cent of the farmers scored the ASCs into high 
category of performance followed by 38.34 
per cent of the farmers scored the ASCs 
into medium category of performance. Over 
twenty per cent (21.66%) of beneficiaries 
opined that the performance of ASC was low. 
Hence it is inferred from the result that based 
on the perception of farmers, the overall 
performance and service delivery mechanism 
of Agro Service Centres was satisfactory.

 Performance Effectiveness of Agro 
Service Centres in the Dissemination of 
Information and Technology (X1)  

Performance Effectiveness of Agro Service Centres in Kerala

PEI(X1) + PEI(X2) + PEI(X3)

3



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 Performance effectiveness of ASC in 
information and technology dissemination is 
defined as the performance of Agro Service 
Centre in the dissemination of information 
and technology for the welfare of farming 
community. Table 2 shows the categorization 
of Agro Service Centres based on its 
performance effectiveness in information and 
technology dissemination

Table 2 
Categorization of Agro Service Centres 

based on its Performance Effectiveness in 
Information and Technology Dissemination.

Category Frequency  Percentage 

Low (<33) 23 19.17

Medium (33- 
66)

41 34.16

High (>66) 56 46.67

Mean 60.31
Total number of 
farmers

120

 According to majority of the 
respondents, the performance effectiveness 
of ASCs was found to be high in Kerala in the 
dissemination of information and technology. 
Around 46 per cent of surveyed beneficiary 
farmers scored the ASCs into high category of 
performance in delivering different agricultural 
information and technologies to farmers. 
The result implies the adequacy, reliability 
and timeliness of ASCs in disseminating the 
information and technology to the farmers. 

Performance of ASC in Services Delivery (X2)

 Performance of ASC in services 

delivery is defined as the adequacy of different 
services of ASC to meet the requirements of 
farmers. Table 3 shows the categorization of 
Agro Service Centres based on its performance 
in services delivery.

Table 3 
Categorization of ASC based on its 
Performance in Services Delivery.

Category Frequency  Percentage 

Low (<33) 41 34.17

Medium (33- 
66)

68 56.67

High (>66) 11 9.16

Mean 41.94
Total number of 
farmers

120

 Table 3 revealed that more than fifty 
per cent (56.67%) of the beneficiaries had 
scored the ASCs into medium category of 
performance in services delivery followed 
by 34.17 per cent scored the ASCs into low 
category. Only 9.16 per cent of beneficiaries 
were satisfied with the performance of ASCs 
in services delivery and hence they scored 
ASCs into high performance category. 

 Hence it is clear from the above table 
that the performance of ASCs in services 
delivery has not yet been able to meet the 
current service needs of farmers. Lack of 
enough experience in handling the service 
delivery system of ASCs may be the reason 
for the poor performance of ASCs in services 
delivery. 

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Performance Effectiveness of Agro Service 
Centres on improving Farmers’ Income (X3)

 Performance effectiveness of ASC on 
farmer s’ income is defined as the perceived 
impact of the services of ASC in farming 
and in farmer’s income. Table 4 shows the 
categorization of Agro Service Centres based 
on its performance effectiveness on farmer s’ 
income.

Table 4 
Categorization of ASCs based on its 

Performance Effectiveness on Farmers’ 
Income

Category Frequency  Percentage 

Low (<33) 19 15.83

Medium (33- 
66)

28 23.34

High (>66) 73 60.83

Mean 65.41
Total number of 
farmers

120

 From Table 4, it was found that 
majority (60.83%) of the beneficiaries scored 
the ASCs into high category of performance 
effectiveness on farmer’s income followed by 
23.34 per cent scored the ASCs into medium 
category of performance and 15.83 per cent 
beneficiaries scored the ASCs into the low 

category of performance effectiveness on 
farmer’s income. Hence it is clear from the 
above table that, for most of the farmers 
the services of Agro Service Centres have 
contributed to an increase in income from 
farming. 

CoNCLUSIoN

 It can be concluded that considering 
the 26 Agro Service Centres brought under 
the purview of the study, 40 per cent of 
them were categorized in high performance 
group by the respondents and of the three 
indices, service delivery was identified as the 
least contributing factor to the performance 
effectiveness. This implies the need to 
strengthen the service delivery aspects of the 
Agro Service Centres in Kerala for enhancing 
its performance effectiveness in farming. 

REFERENCES

GOK[Government of Kerala]. (2016). Report	
of	evaluation	study	on	agro	service	centres	
in	 Kerala.	 Directorate of agriculture 
development & farmers’ welfare, 
Thiruvananthapuram. pp112.

Sidhu R S, & Vatta, K. (2012). Improving 
economic viability of farming: A study 
of cooperative   agro machinery service 
centres in Punjab. Agricultural	 Economics	
Research	Review. 25(1): 427-434.

Performance Effectiveness of Agro Service Centres in Kerala