The relevance of the Puebla Plan's operating strategy in the context of the partially privatized extension

Abstract

The general objective of the research work is to analyze the experience and relevance of the Puebla Plan from the point of view of the producers of the area under study, based on the elements of the operating strategy promoted by the Plan's technicians, which allowed them to take advantage of these technologies and services to favor agricultural development; it is also interesting to analyze whether these aspects are adequate under current conditions, in which a partially privatized extension is practiced.

The work in question was carried out in two of the five work zones that constituted the initial area of ​​influence of the Puebla Plan, the zones that constitute the study area cover 20 communities in 9 municipalities; a semi-standardized questionnaire was applied to 117 producers participating in the Plan and two semi-directive interviews were carried out: one of them to 12 key informant producers (mainly leaders of producer groups) and another to the five professional service providers (PSP) in charge of serving the producers within the partially privatized extension. Among the most outstanding results, the following stand out: on a scale that includes (Good, Average and Bad), 65% of the participating producers have a Good opinion of the Plan's performance and the rest have a regular opinion of the set of activities that were carried out. The activities are contained in three fundamental aspects of the Plan's operating strategy: technological, institutional and organizational.

In relation to each of the aforementioned aspects, the producers of the area under study and former participants of the Plan had generally favorable opinions on them and stated that the operating strategy is relevant today. The relevance in question is granted based on the poor performance of the PSPs of the partially privatized extension, which operate in the area under study.