How to make services work for the poor?

This question is particularly relevant in the context of traditional public agricultural extension services. Expensive and burdened by high rates of under-staffing and low levels of accountability, privatization of extension services may be a way to improve cost-effectiveness. However, private services may lack incentives to tailor their services to the poorest, making them an unsatisfactory substitute for a public system of extension. This issue is particularly salient in sub-Saharan Africa, where markets for agricultural services are typically lean.