Extension Services in the Transition from Post-Communist Agrarian Systems: The Case of the Plant Protection Stations in Ukraine

This paper addresses the transition of Ukrainian Plant Protection Stations (PPS) from technical agencies in the Soviet command economy to a public service for farmers in an emerging market economy. It opens with an overview of the cir- culation of agricultural knowledge and information in Soviet agri- culture. During the transition, the fundamental knowledge-based problem for agricultural sector actors has been to recognize dis- tinct private and public sectors which balance market incentives with the maintenance of social welfare and allow for adaptive de- cision-making with respect to technical, environmental, social, and financial trade-offs. Two annual surveys of plant protection stakeholders designed to improve development and delivery of appropriate pest management information have demonstrated some success in the delivery of technical information services for a privatized agricultural sector. The analysis concludes, however, that recognition of the need to evaluate technical, environmental, social, and financial trade-offs of market-based alternatives has yet to be developed.