SOCIO-ECONOMIC GUIDANCE VERSUS OTHER FARMING CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Abstract

The need for agricultural consultants increases with the development, diversification and specialisation of farm produce and the transfer from the small family farm to the commercial farm. The level and quality of agricultural consultancy should increase accordingly. Agricultural consultants should become more and more market-oriented. Consultancy services that are strictly oriented towards their customers (the end beneficiaries) are specialised services. However, when they are provided for achieving a larger  purpose, such as contributing to economic growth and improving macroeconomic productivity through structural changes performed in agriculture, they become part of the socio-economic guidance process.