Does Decentralization Improve Agricultural Services Delivery? — Evidence from Karnataka

The study has analysed the impact of decentralization of governance structure on the delivery of agricultural public services in the state of Karnataka using survey data collected from 36 grama panchayats through focussed group discussions. The evidence shows that discussions on agricultural issues in grama sabhas influence the public service delivery positively. Similarly, the regular participation of the officials of state department of agriculture in grama sabha meetings has a significant effect on joint agricultural activities, especially demonstrations of new technology to farmers. The study has underlined the importance of the institution and how such institutional structures can enable effective service delivery to the farmers.