Toward a New Vision for Developing Advisory Services to Achieve Marketing Quality for Egyptian Agricultural Products and the Possibility of Applying It to Agricultural Extension in Arab Countries
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Agricultural product quality can generally be defined as a combination of features and characteristics that give the product value and importance—whether for human and animal consumption, promotion and beautification, or industrial use. Most research and production efforts have focused on increasing quantity without sufficient attention to quality. This neglect has created a significant gap between production and marketing, as production has not been aligned with market needs and demands.
This issue is partly due to a widespread misunderstanding of market economics, which some interpret as the absence of state intervention and unrestricted, unregulated movement without central control to enforce quality standards, protect the environment, and safeguard the national economy. Current developments necessitate a new formulation of the role of agricultural advisory services to achieve efficiency and quality in marketing agricultural products, with particular attention to emerging areas known as marketing extension. This aligns with achieving national goals amid globalization, increasing challenges facing the Egyptian agricultural sector, and opportunities for its integration into the global economy.
From this standpoint, and based on the roles of agricultural extension as a developmental tool, it can play an important role in enhancing the production and marketing efficiency of farmers and agricultural producers by educating and raising their awareness of new developments. The goal is to achieve quality in agricultural production and its products through a group of professionals, researchers, and local leaders aiming to improve their living standards by effecting desired behavioral changes—knowledge, attitudes, and practices—in production and marketing fields, along with various managerial skills.
