A PROPOSED MODEL FOR DOWNWARD ACCOUNTABILITY AS AN APPROACH IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICES PROVIDED TO FARMERS IN IRAQ

The objective of this study was to preparing a proposed model for downward accountability as an approach to enhancing the quality of agricultural extension services provided to farmers in Iraq. To achieve this goal, a framework was designed, incorporating 90 evaluation criteria distributed across eight domains, namely: Evaluation of the Feasibility of Services, Evaluation of Farmers' Participation, Evaluation of the Content of Extension Services, Evaluation of the Methods and Approaches for Delivering Extension Services, Evaluation of Farmers' Accountability of Extension Service Providers, Evaluation of the Outcomes of Extension Services Provided to Farmers, Evaluation of Farmers' Satisfaction with Services,and Evaluation of the Responsiveness of Extension Service Providers. Data were collected from a stratified random sample of 395 respondents across eight Iraqi governorates(Nineveh,Salah al-Din,Baghdad,Diyala,Babylon,Najaf,Maysan,and Muthanna) through a structured questionnaire administered during the last third of 2024.The results indicated that the mean approval ratings for the proposed accountability model domains ranged from(4.28-4.39) On a five-point Likert scale (strongly agree, agree, somewhat agree, disagree, strongly disagree), with numerical values ranging from( 5-1).indicating strong agreement with the model. Moreover, the findings showed no statistically significant differences across most domains, suggesting a high level of consensus among respondents regarding the models importance and effectiveness in improving the quality of agricultural extension services. Based on these findings, the researchers recommend that policymakers and decision-makers in the Ministry of Agriculture and the agricultural extension system adopt the proposed model by integrating downward accountability mechanisms into agricultural extension programs and initiatives aimed at farmers in Iraq.