Comparative effectiveness of public and private extension systems: An exploratory study in Uttar Pradesh,  North India

Extension services are crucial in the fisheries sector, helping to bridge knowledge gaps, facilitate access to essential resources and promote sustainable practices. While many studies focus on public extension systems, there is limited research comparing the effectiveness of both public and private extension systems. To address this knowledge gap, this research was conducted in Shravasti, Ayodhya and Azamgarh districts of Uttar Pradesh. A sample of 120 fish farmers were selected using stratified random sampling and effectiveness index (EI) was calculated using four indicators. The findings indicated that fish farmers’ change in awareness was the most significant factor with an index value of 0.81 for the effectiveness of the public extension system, whereas the extent of delivery was identified as the least contributing factor to the perceived effectiveness, with an index value of 0.59. With an index score of 0.85, the fish farmers’ change in yield and income has proven to be highly effective by private extension system. In terms of overall effectiveness, group means indicated that effectiveness of private extension systems (M=0.76) is significantly higher (p<0.05) than that of public extension systems (M=0.70). The study suggests publicprivate partnerships (PPPs) can significantly enhance support for fish farmers by combining the strengths of both sectors. Keywords: Effectiveness index, Fish farmers, Knowledge gaps, Public-private partnerships